Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Ask questions and share your experiences with hiking & backpacking gear, and share trail recipes and gadget tips. Please see classifieds forum for buying/selling stuff.
User avatar
awildman
Posts: 918
Joined: June 6th, 2009, 5:20 pm
Location: Portland

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by awildman » August 21st, 2010, 5:40 pm

Good beta from everyone!

I think it would be a good idea to invest in two stoves: a lightweight canister stove for long trips, when you're cooking for two, or feeling "gourmet"; and a pop can alcohol stove for your shorter or solo trips. All told, you're looking at less than $40 for both if you shop right.

As all good backpackers from the early 1990s, we had our tried and true MSR Whisperlite International (burns everything but cow dung) but the stove was confiscated on a trip just after 9/11 and we had to buy a new stove upon landing at our destination. We went and purchased the cheapest canister stove we could find: a cute little Primus. It cost about $25 and we still use it as our primary stove when we're in a +2 situation. It weighs very little and fits in the palm of my hand, but I'm sure there are lighter and smaller versions out there now. Since we were used to the jet engine thrum of the MSR, we were delighted to learn how easy and quiet the canister stove was.

The drawbacks, of course, were outlined by others: half empty canisters, windscreen problems, and disposal issues. (We have about a dozen partially full canisters sitting in our basement waiting for a couple of one-nighters.)

I have been using a Tin Man alcohol stove all summer for my solo hikes. I use about 2-3 oz of fuel a day, which includes morning water for coffee and hot cereal and evening water for a one-pot meal and tea. The kit I purchased (because I'm not really good at building stuff) comes with a little measuring cup which I think is really helpful for monitoring fuel use. You can borrow one from a cough syrup bottle or similar. After a couple of meals, you'll figure out exactly how much fuel you need.

I've only set the ground on fire once, but I was totally prepared. :) I usually bring a small square of heavy duty aluminum foil to protect the ground.

In short, I love my alcohol stove. It's so simple and elegant, I almost weep with happiness each time I fire it up. On the other hand, it's not practical for +1 situations or if you need to boil water for a long time (e.g., for pasta) or saute things. I say, get the alcohol stove for yourself and ask for a canister stove for Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzza. Or your birthday. Or for Justferscus. :)
Rambling on at Allison Outside

User avatar
Grannyhiker
Posts: 4598
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Gateway to the Columbia Gorge

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by Grannyhiker » August 21st, 2010, 6:43 pm

My little Tinman stove arrived in the mail yesterday. It took only 2 days to get here from North Carolina! I haven't gotten the denatured alcohol yet to try it out, but I already suspect that I'm going to use this stove nearly all the time except when I'll be fishing and (assuming I catch anything) need the canister stove for a fish fry. I'll try it out at home first, of course, especially since I have to figure out how much fuel I need per day.

It has 1 oz. and 2 oz. marks in the stove, so I'll leave the measuring cup behind. I also had to cut down the windscreen that came with it to fit my 550 ml pot. So the total weight of stove, priming pan, cut-down windscreen and 8-oz. capacity fuel bottle is 2.4 ounces.

User avatar
guernica
Posts: 175
Joined: January 17th, 2010, 10:04 am
Contact:

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by guernica » August 22nd, 2010, 8:33 am

Love this thread! Thank you! :D Gear junkies are the best. Thanks for the references on stoves, I also am horrible at building things, but my husband might enjoy a little project.

Yeah, why not have three stoves? There's nothing that says I can't, right? Also, Allison, what about Festivus? :lol:
___________________________
Trail Log: http://myroadstraveled.blogspot.com/

User avatar
skimanjohn
Posts: 152
Joined: July 4th, 2008, 6:04 pm
Location: Portland

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by skimanjohn » August 22nd, 2010, 2:48 pm

I love both my canister and white gas stoves when used for what they were designed for but after reading all the input i may just have to try an alcohol stove just because.I do not find the canisters to be a problem when only partly full because i use the same system as retired jerry to calculate how much fuel remains.Since my base weight,with out water and camera gear and food,is 14.4 lbs a few ounces does not concern me much.But just for the sake of trying something new i will have to order one and try it out.Thanks for all the input.

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14396
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by retired jerry » August 22nd, 2010, 4:44 pm

I've been thinking about making an alcohol stove, just to experiment, save a few ounces on shorter trips.

They have lots of web sites with instructions, such as http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html

User avatar
jkb
Posts: 34
Joined: May 16th, 2010, 1:12 pm
Location: Oregon City, OR
Contact:

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by jkb » August 22nd, 2010, 7:52 pm

Homemade alcohol stoves rock! I made both a Supercat and a Unican homemade alcohol stoves and tested them out before my 4-night backpacking trip. The Unican worked out better on my patio, during my unscientific testing, so I brought it along on my trip and it worked out just fine.

Pnw.hiker
Posts: 193
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by Pnw.hiker » August 23rd, 2010, 11:39 am

awildman wrote:Good beta from everyone! I have been using a Tin Man alcohol stove all summer for my solo hikes. I use about 2-3 oz of fuel a day, which includes morning water for coffee and hot cereal and evening water for a one-pot meal and tea. The kit I purchased (because I'm not really good at building stuff) comes with a little measuring cup which I think is really helpful for monitoring fuel use. You can borrow one from a cough syrup bottle or similar. After a couple of meals, you'll figure out exactly how much fuel you need.
That looks like a real nice stove, but side-burners are not for me.

Side burners double as a pot stand - a very poor, tippy as hell pot stand. Then you need the preheat pan as well as a wind screen. So there is no advantage with the stove doubling as a pot stand, which it doesn't do very well anyway. It works fine in his video, on a stable smooth level table top.

To reduce parts and get the highest efficiency, I'd suggest combining the windscreen and the pot stand. You get a wide footprint, reduced parts count and you can design it to envelope the bottom of the pot for good heat transfer.

Zen Stoves has a good page on windscreens.

Here's some more pictures of my latest version.
Last edited by Pnw.hiker on August 24th, 2010, 6:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Grannyhiker
Posts: 4598
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Gateway to the Columbia Gorge

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by Grannyhiker » August 23rd, 2010, 7:53 pm

I agree with Pnw.hiker that you want a separate--and wider--pot stand if you're using a wide pot. However, my little 550 ml solo pot is definitely more stable on the little Tinman stove than it is on my Primus Micron canister stove. If I were using a bigger pot for more than one person, I'd probably look at the Trail Designs Caldera Cone.

I just did a quick trial of the Tinman stove on my patio (it's easier to see alcohol flames in the dark). Since I'm getting ready for a family trip this weekend (which may be postponed if the long-range forecast doesn't improve), I didn't have time to try a second round. I did discover that you have to wait a minute or so after lighting the alcohol stove before putting the pot on, or it puts the fire out! This is not an issue with a separate pot stand. After I relit the stove a couple of times, there wasn't quite enough fuel left (I started with 1 oz. before the two relights) to get the water boiling, although it was quite hot. I'll try again next week, unless we postpone the weekend trip.

One safety issue to watch with the alcohol stove is that if it runs out of fuel before you are done, you need to let it cool off before refueling. That's why I want more practice with it before I take it out on the trail!

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14396
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by retired jerry » August 24th, 2010, 4:35 am

What happens if you don't let it cool off before adding fuel?

Like, you could put on not enough fuel and after it burns up want to put a little more on to get your pot all the way hot.

Pnw.hiker
Posts: 193
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Canister vs. Alcohol Stove

Post by Pnw.hiker » August 24th, 2010, 6:45 am

retired jerry wrote:What happens if you don't let it cool off before adding fuel?

Like, you could put on not enough fuel and after it burns up want to put a little more on to get your pot all the way hot.
It sizzles a little bit when you add more fuel. Then relight with a match or lighter.

Post Reply