View Full Version : Questions about Vargo stove
Pardon the pun, but I'm really warming to the idea of switching from my PocketRocket stove to a Vargo titanium alchohol stove. Just a few questions for anyone familiar:
1. What do you carry your fuel in?
2. How does the overall weight/pack space of the stove and alchohol compare to the weight/pack space of a PocketRocket + fuel canister?
3. Are these stoves tricky to get and stay lit?
4. Are they susceptible to poor performance in the cold?
5. How would you rate overall reliability, 1 being awful to 10 being stellar?
I have a hundred and one other questions swimming around, but I suppose these are the most prominent. I'm eager to switch, but want to be sure this is the right decision. Thanks!
Greentick18d
10-27-2007, 10:30
Pardon the pun, but I'm really warming to the idea of switching from my PocketRocket stove to a Vargo titanium alchohol stove. Just a few questions for anyone familiar:
1. What do you carry your fuel in?
2. How does the overall weight/pack space of the stove and alchohol compare to the weight/pack space of a PocketRocket + fuel canister?
3. Are these stoves tricky to get and stay lit?
4. Are they susceptible to poor performance in the cold?
5. How would you rate overall reliability, 1 being awful to 10 being stellar?
I have a hundred and one other questions swimming around, but I suppose these are the most prominent. I'm eager to switch, but want to be sure this is the right decision. Thanks!
1. Plastic 12oz coke bottle
2. 0.9L Ti cookpot, stove, lighter, windscreen, bottle cap = 5oz
3. Lighting can be a pain. You have to fill it with about an ounce of fuel to be able to prime/light it. I put a metal bottle cap with like 1ml (just cover the bottom of the cap) under the stove to prime. If you do that you can get away with using a half ounce or so of fuel to boil 16oz of water in about 6-7 minutes. Once you've done it 1-2 times it's easy.
4. Haven't tried it in the cold yet but if dog mushers in Alaska use alcohol stoves I suspect they can handle anything the AT can dish out.
5. It performs as expected. I would say I am satisfied with the stove.
Note: I did attempt several homemade stoves but am a stove building dummy so I caved and bought one of these.
look at backpackinglight.com they did a thorough evaluation on it.
take-a-knee
10-27-2007, 10:54
That Vargo is okay, it works okay with a Heineken pot, the pot nests into the stove's legs. As already noted, it won't light without at least one ounce of alcohol, that means if you want to heat just 12oz of water, you'll waste fuel, so you need to heat water in batches. I see it's niche as a backup stove, it only weighs an ounce and you can flip it over and burn esbit on the flat bottom. Most any of Zelphs' or Skidsteers' homemade stoves are far superior, if you don't want to make your own, I'd suggest something from minibulldesigns.
Thanks all. I opted for the Decagon model and can't wait to give it a try.
Wise Old Owl
01-20-2008, 21:36
Homebrew and Tinny's stuff accept more and less alcohol. The vargo appears to require a "full tank" to pressure upon heating, causing some waste and spillage. After blowing out you are to pour the unused portion back in. The instructions and times to boil are out of proportion to reality. I have had mulitple attempts and different pots, well all I can say is it was an exspensive experiment. My Bud & Heini pot were - fun and less trouble. Don't sell your pocket rocket just yet.
take-a-knee
01-20-2008, 22:55
Homebrew and Tinny's stuff accept more and less alcohol. The vargo appears to require a "full tank" to pressure upon heating, causing some waste and spillage. After blowing out you are to pour the unused portion back in. The instructions and times to boil are out of proportion to reality. I have had mulitple attempts and different pots, well all I can say is it was an exspensive experiment. My Bud & Heini pot were - fun and less trouble. Don't sell your pocket rocket just yet.
You can't blow that sucker out, it requires at least an ounce to bloom and start. It works okay with a heine can if you nearly fill it. It really is a dud of a stove compared to so many others. I think the best manufactured stove is the white box.
Aluminum is a better material for alcohol stoves than ti. Titanium cools down too fast to keep the fuel boiling. Make a supercat.
Nearly Normal
01-21-2008, 02:35
Which one are you thinking of?
http://store.sundogoutfitter.com/Stoves/
I've been thinking of getting a Decagon but I won't retire my Trangia Westwind.
Wise Old Owl
03-11-2008, 23:45
:eek:Do not do it!
sheepdog
03-12-2008, 11:03
I have two Vargo stoves. A Decogon and a Triad. IMO They are both junk. I would not count on them. They look like they should work real well but they dissapoint. The Triad boils real well when it is full of Alcohol(about 3ozs) But it wastes it, pouring it back into the bottle when your done. The Decogon looks sweet but boils real slow.
I must admit that I am a newbe at alcohol stoves. I have a home made pepsi can stove that works ok. I am just not sold on the whole alcohol thing. I can never get an advertised boil time, even when the stove is sitting on my kitchen stove with no weather factors.
Wise Old Owl
03-12-2008, 18:25
You can't blow that sucker out, it requires at least an ounce to bloom and start. It works okay with a heine can if you nearly fill it. It really is a dud of a stove compared to so many others. I think the best manufactured stove is the white box.
I agree, It doesn't need to be Titanium and it should be updated, I just returned mine back to the store. Glad to see it go.
HeartWalker
03-16-2008, 09:15
I have a Penny stove coming and am looking forward to using it. I currently have A Brasslite Turbo D and it works OK but seems to use a lot of fuel.
Wll i got one this how i get mine to fire up fast two ways one a fiberglass wick just put between legs the other under stove.So the stove not the best but in my shop good for making hot water for coffee.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d52/oops62/stoves%202/th_vargotriad.jpg (http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d52/oops62/stoves%202/vargotriad.jpg)
Pardon the pun, but I'm really warming to the idea of switching from my PocketRocket stove to a Vargo titanium alchohol stove. Just a few questions... ETCETCETC,.........................
Stay with the POCKETROCKET.....less mess....& not all those QUESTIONS!:D
"Jigsaw" & I will see you out there in April/May in the "Shennies":D
Good Luck with your hike!
Nessmuk has been using the same little brass ETOH stove for about 10 years. He likes it so much he just bought another at Rockfish Gap because he is afraid the company will stop making them. He has been using it so long that he has it down to a science--how much fuel, etc. It always lights, and he has little waste. It is heavier than titanium. He carries his fuel in the can it comes in if we are truck camping, or in a plastic bottle when backpacking.
He is a gadgety gear freak, though. He just bought a new Crux, I think it is called. For our Swamp Tour, which begins next Saturday, we will be taking the Crux. I will be surprised if he likes it better than the littl brass stove.
Just my 2 cents,
Frau
Greentick18d
05-22-2008, 07:12
Update on my reply in the vargo triad stove thread:
1. Plastic 12oz coke bottle
2. 0.9L Ti cookpot, stove, lighter, windscreen, bottle cap = 5oz
3. Lighting can be a pain. You have to fill it with about an ounce of fuel to be able to prime/light it. I put a metal bottle cap with like 1ml (just cover the bottom of the cap) under the stove to prime. If you do that you can get away with using a half ounce or so of fuel to boil 16oz of water in about 6-7 minutes. Once you've done it 1-2 times it's easy.
4. Haven't tried it in the cold yet but if dog mushers in Alaska use alcohol stoves I suspect they can handle anything the AT can dish out.
5. It performs as expected. I would say I am satisfied with the stove.
Note: I did attempt several homemade stoves but am a stove building dummy so I caved and bought one of these.
On a section in the Smokies about a week after this post the stove repeatedly flamed out with a pop it would lose a significant amount of fuel and not heat my water. I had bought the stove because I already had the evernew pot and have an innate disability when it comes to building stoves. I am eagerly awaiting my caldera cone now that they have one that fits the evernew .9L pot (thanks to the reviews here).
I am eagerly awaiting my caldera cone......Excellent choice! I use a Caldera Cone with my Titan Kettle and it boils water like no one's business. Definitely one of my best pieces of gear. To increase its efficacy, I cut a double layer piece of aluminum foil to the size of the base of the Cone. I put this under the stove itself so that it reflects most of the heat that would normally be lost to the ground back up to the pot. I haven't busted out with the stopwatch, but it does boil water faster that way. I hope you enjoy your Cone, Greenstick!
Odd Thomas
05-22-2008, 07:41
I just got my Decagon 2 weeks ago, also got a kmart greasepot for use with it. Tested it outside and it boiled water in the exact time quoted.
Greentick18d
05-22-2008, 07:43
Excellent choice! I use a Caldera Cone with my Titan Kettle and it boils water like no one's business. Definitely one of my best pieces of gear. To increase its efficacy, I cut a double layer piece of aluminum foil to the size of the base of the Cone. I put this under the stove itself so that it reflects most of the heat that would normally be lost to the ground back up to the pot. I haven't busted out with the stopwatch, but it does boil water faster that way. I hope you enjoy your Cone, Greenstick!
Thanks for the tip! I am hoping it it waiting for me when I wake up this afternoon (working overnight in the ER).
Wise Old Owl
05-30-2008, 23:47
You can't blow that sucker out, it requires at least an ounce to bloom and start. It works okay with a heine can if you nearly fill it. It really is a dud of a stove compared to so many others. I think the best manufactured stove is the white box.
Ok --- So we agree with each other Right?
I was avoiding calling it an outright dud, My returning it to the store note was ample enough?
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-31-2008, 07:29
I have a Vargo Triad because He-Dino was afraid we would crush a soda can stove. I have only had the flame out problem once - when the stove was over-filled by He-Dino. A bit of patience is required to fill the stove to the optimal point for priming.
It is not hard to keep lit except in heavy wind. A wind screen dramatically increases the performance of this and virtually any alcohol stove. It has performed well down to about 32F for me. I don't camp in really cold weather due to all the metal in my leg.
The Triad holds about 1.3 ozs of fuel - enough to boil water for two hungry Dinos on a single filling most of the time. I have had to refill a few times when cooking for two in cold, windy conditions.
The stove must be primed and the normal method involves filling the stove completely. I have primed it using the method described earlier in this thread. You can also blow the stove out and pour the fuel back into your fuel bottle using one of the legs as a spout. It does work - I have done it after a second filling many times.
The Caldera Cone is a fine piece of equipment and if I ever change stoves, that will be my choice.
Odd Thomas
05-31-2008, 07:43
Thanks all. I opted for the Decagon model and can't wait to give it a try.
I just bought one of these, mine says #59 on the packaging, wonder if that means that's the 59'th one made?
love the thing
take-a-knee
05-31-2008, 21:48
Ok --- So we agree with each other Right?
I was avoiding calling it an outright dud, My returning it to the store note was ample enough?
We must agree 'cause REI in Atlanta got my Vargo back a few weeks ago. OOPS56 says that stove can be wickatized and that will remedy it's problems.
Yep i also took the legs off today use can cover for prime hardware cloth for pot stand.
Odd Thomas
05-31-2008, 23:04
I agree, It doesn't need to be Titanium and it should be updated, I just returned mine back to the store. Glad to see it go.
The Decagon is my first alcohol stove, so my opinion might be naive.
It does work as advertised for me, and my first timing of the stove boiled water in the time they said it would take, to the second. The titanium cools quickly after the flame goes out, I can usually pick it up in about 30 seconds. It doesn't require a pot stand, and has a wide sturdy base.
With that said, I don't know how it compares to other stoves, and I admit I bought it just because it looks cool. :p
I'm a big believer in Etowah outfitters stoves. They work great.
Wise Old Owl
09-22-2008, 12:14
++++Warning Thread Swerve++++
I know I posted this before and I can't find it without going back through my last months posts.
I have been working on a smaller alcy stove to near boil a cup of tea or coffee in a Titanium cup. The coke/bud can proved to be too big. Then the fuel was burning up too fast for heat transfer. So I played with a bottom chamber to slow it down. Some posted the idea to use rabbit screen as a support and tea light cup and guess what-it worked, only it looks like crap. And appears too easy to spill
The idea is have the whole thing except wind screen fit inside the cup, for day hikes.
Any help would be appreciated - please PM me your ideas.
Two Speed
09-22-2008, 12:31
Ever looked at the PMS, as developed by WB's own Skidsteer?
Was known as the "8gKS (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=17737&catid=member&orderby=views&direction=DESC&imageuser=1339&cutoffdate=-1)" during development, later renamed the Potted Meat Stove.
Wise Old Owl
09-22-2008, 12:50
Yea than I found out he used a diamond wheel and dremel to cut the side holes for the supports - that killed it, $$$ on tools. I think I have this solved though. I just have to visit the hardware store for a clean steel screen. I will put something togther for utube eventually.