Sterno folding stove and fuel?

[Indigo Hawk]

So I'm just getting a sense of things I might take with me and I saw the Sterno folding stove at Walmart. Is this too much for just boiling and heating water for meals and coffee/tea? I keep seeing alcohol burning stoves mentioned and I do plan on looking those up too.

[Feral Bill]

Don't do it. Heating water for dinner on those Sterno stoves is a career. There are better options.

[Tuckahoe]

Don't do it. Heating water for dinner on those Sterno stoves is a career. There are better options.

1+ this!

I actually use sterno quite a lot with a Tommy cooker for Great War living history. It's only good at warming water enough for coffee. You'd be retired and on social security by the time it actually boiled the water.

[SteelCut]

I tried this *once* in Scouts in 1974. I'm still waiting on the water to get hot....

Plus you'd probably never find it at most resupply locations unless you could get to a Wal-mart.

Lots of discussions on alcohol stoves on here. Much better route if you want a stove on a thru hike.

[Old Hiker]

Pocket Rocket.

[Moosling]

So I'm just getting a sense of things I might take with me and I saw the Sterno folding stove at Walmart. Is this too much for just boiling and heating water for meals and coffee/tea? I keep seeing alcohol burning stoves mentioned and I do plan on looking those up too.

This might help a lot of good info and ideas. http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/

[swisscross]

We used them in Scouts and ate many a cold meals.
I still have mine (hard to believe it is almost 40 years old) with all my old gear.
Still have my old Scout mess kit too.

[Indigo Hawk]

Oh wow. Alcohol stove it is. :)

Speaking of mess kits, I was thinking of getting a 5 piece one that I've seen a few times. I'm not a huge fan of only having a pot or pan type thing.

[SteelCut]

I use the SnowPeak Mini Soloist pot. I left the cup at home. I made a insulated coozy that the pot fits into from a reflectix windshield sun screen that helps "cook" the food once the stove is put out. All this plus a few freezer bags for the more messier cooking was more than enough to do the cooking I do. I'm a hiker not a camper so the "mess kits" and their extra weight don't appeal to me.

[Indigo Hawk]

I was thinking that the weight would be a lot too but the kit I'm looking at is 10.4 oz. The little extra weight doesn't bother me.

[Tuckahoe]

There are so many better choices for a cooking set up than those ol Coleman 5 piece cook sets. You're getting 5 pieces and 10 ounces without any real capacity -- especially that all important cook pot, with only 16 fl oz capacity. My other issue with the cook pot is that it is squat and wide and rather unbalanced.

I can can appreciate that you're not a one pot sort. But you can really do better --

Right now I think the best deal going is this Chinese made anodized aluminum cook set that -- http://www.ebay.com/itm/151489824113?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

It is $11 and change, weighs 8 oz, while the pot has a 5 cup capacity and the fry pan/cup has a 2 cup capacity.

I recently paired this with a BRS 3000T canister stove and a Light My Fire spork for a total stove set up at $30, for a kid I have been mentoring.

Personally I use alcohol, with a DIY stove, and a 12cm Imusa aluminum pot -- I like the simplicity of a single pot.

[zelph]

Yes, get an aluminum Folding Sterno Stove. Good choice. Can be used for small twig fires also.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iveQVZFGYwI

[Indigo Hawk]

I'm glad there's a better set out there. I was worried about the one I was looking at falling apart eventually.

[Five Tango]

I tried one once a long time ago.Threw it away once I learned what alcohol was all about.

[Five Tango]

I tried one once a long time ago.Threw it away once I learned what alcohol was all about.

Maybe I will just wait until Zelph introduces a super light weight wood burner and spring for that when it happens.....:D

[Hoofit]

Pocket Rocket.

I'll second that....it's just the empty can burden when you're out in the woods but the Pocket Rocket served me well for fourteen hundred miles.

[Indigo Hawk]

My dad is going to help me make the alcohol stove. I'm not particularly good with metal DYI projects. Does anyone here use a windshield for it? If you do is it collapsible or not?

[Five Tango]

You can learn all you ever wanted to know about alcohol stoves from YouTube.Be sure to check out Fancee Feast stoves.I personally like my Zeph "Go To" stove with the nifty simmering collar on it.The flame pattern that thing puts out is about as perfect as you can get on my 1.3L Evernew pot.Be careful not to get the "alcohol stove addiction" or you will have more stoves than you can ever use before you know what happened............lots of nice alcohol stoves out there you can make or purchase.

[zelph]

You can learn all you ever wanted to know about alcohol stoves from YouTube.Be sure to check out Fancee Feast stoves.I personally like my Zeph "Go To" stove with the nifty simmering collar on it.The flame pattern that thing puts out is about as perfect as you can get on my 1.3L Evernew pot.Be careful not to get the "alcohol stove addiction" or you will have more stoves than you can ever use before you know what happened............lots of nice alcohol stoves out there you can make or purchase.

Glad you're liking it. It comes with a 6"EZ-Fold windscreen. Once my inventory is gone, I won't make anymore. The heavy duty Venom bottles are no longer made ;-(

[vamelungeon]

I had a Sterno kit when I was a kid too like a lot of others here. I made an alcohol burner but here's what I use now- the Trangia Mini set- http://www.amazon.com/Trangia-327508-28-T-Mini/dp/B000LN7HUC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440859072&sr=8-1&keywords=trangia+mini

[Five Tango]

Glad you're liking it. It comes with a 6"EZ-Fold windscreen. Once my inventory is gone, I won't make anymore. The heavy duty Venom bottles are no longer made ;-(

Wow!Do you mean to tell me I have purchased a collector's item?!Can you adapt your other models to use the slide collar for simmering?I really like the slide collar and the flame pattern.It boils and then simmers for quite awhile too.Hard to beat it.......I also like the simmering model you make as well.

[fboggess]

When I first started backpacking with friends in Texas back In the early 70's I used a friends hand me down Kelty external frame and did not have a tent so I used a tube tent that me maybe $3. Then I used a stereo stove. We would backpack in the fall and early spring to avoid E. Texas Mosquitos. That cost for the sterno and stove was a few dollars. My sleeping bag was a Coleman. I would still consider a tube tent and the sterno stove even today out on the trail.


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[Siestita]

Like others here, as a Scout I learned that STERNO works poorly as a cooking fuel. Others will correct me if I'm wrong about this, but I suspect Sterno's limitations have a simple explanation.

Reportedly Sterno is just alcohol, but in solid form. Not enough oxygen reaches that jellied alcohol to enable it to produce very much heat. By burning slowly, at buffet events Sterno can keep pans of food warm for quite a while, but the stuff is worthless as cooking fuel. The company (and perhaps Walmart as well) should be ashamed of themselves for marketing Sterno as "camp fuel" and describing gadgets associated with it as "stoves". To me, "Sterno stove" is an oxymoron.

"My dad is going to help me make the alcohol stove. I'm not particularly good with metal DYI projects. Does anyone here use a windshield for it? If you do is it collapsible or not?"

I'm not inclined towards doing DYI projects using metal either, but I have learned that even very simple "equipment" can enable me to do backcountry cooking with fuel alcohol. In other words, liquid alcohol can be an excellent cooking fuel even if you don't have a fancy stove. All you need is:

(1) a small metal container in which in hold the alcohol while it is burning. I currently use Fancy feast cat food cats for this purpose, with, of course, the lid and contents removed. Fortunately, a can opener is one of few tools that I know how to use. If you want more or less heat that you'll get using a little fancy feast can, try using instead a container with a larger or smaller diameter.

(2) A means of holding your pot above your 'burner', while simultaneously permitting oxygen to reach to alcohol to enable it to burn. I currently use a small "pot support" made from metal "hardware cloth". But, this challenge can also be addressed in other ways. Reportedly some people use tent stakes or small rocks as their pot supports. Another approach is to empty three small (8 oz.) cans of tomato sauce, turn them over, and then use them to hold your pot above your Fancy Feast can burner.

(3) A windscreen. A folded piece of aluminum foil (preferably 'heavy duty') can serve this purpose. When they wear out those windscreens are easily replaced. Or, a slightly heavier but more durable folding aluminum wind screen can be used. Such a wind screen can either be purchased or produced DYI.

(4) Liquid alcohol, for example Heet (Yellow bottle, auto supplies) or 'painting supply alcohol' such Walmart's SLX.

You and your Dad may have in your home, right now, everything the two of you would need to immediately use fuel alcohol to do back country cooking. You could together do some experiments, first at home and then later along a trail. Always light stoves outdoors, rather than inside your house.

[Five Tango]

If you want to use Sterno,just don't eat,sniff,or drink it and NEVER put it in your NASCAR.The things you didn't know until you came to WB and went googling the history of Sterno.Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterno

[fboggess]

On a recent section hike, I shared camp with joe from Ohio who used the sterno stove for dinner and breakfast. We talked about past sterno experiences. He was with the Boy Scouts for many years and likes the stove. I think the key for him is using two sterno canisters at one time instead of just one. The stove itself can hold a good size pot. At the same time I was cooking with a bottle rocket - great stove - only complaint is that the top is limited in the size of the cooking pot that will fit without falling over.


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[Indigo Hawk]

You and your Dad may have in your home, right now, everything the two of you would need to immediately use fuel alcohol to do back country cooking. You could together do some experiments, first at home and then later along a trail. Always light stoves outdoors, rather than inside your house.

Thanks so much for all the advice! I have three spoiled cats so the cat food cans are easy to come by. Would a bigger can (say Friskies as opposed to Fancy Feast) be hotter or colder? Also, my friend has a sterno stove (Scouts dude) that he's looking to get rid of; would I be able to combine the stove part and the Fancy Feast can to hold my pot above the flame or would that be too high?

[booney_1]

The CAT alcohol stove does need need a stand...in fact it won't work if you use one. The pot seals the top and the flames come out the holes punched in the top. I don't think a larger can would be Hotter...you might be able to cook longer as you can put more fuel in it. But if you are just boiling a couple of cups of water the fancy feast works fine.

[Indigo Hawk]

The CAT alcohol stove does need need a stand...in fact it won't work if you use one. The pot seals the top and the flames come out the holes punched in the top. I don't think a larger can would be Hotter...you might be able to cook longer as you can put more fuel in it. But if you are just boiling a couple of cups of water the fancy feast works fine.

Thanks! I'm new to all this so this is really helpful. I'll have to try both just to see which I like better. I've decided on one pot instead of the cook set so I'll just see which one I like with that pot. Thank you, seriously. :)

[Grinder]

the very simplest alcohol stove is the bottom inch or so of a 3 OZ juice can, a wind screen made from two aluminum beer cans and a small tomato sauce can drilled full of holes for a pot stand.
I have used the same set up for at least 7 years. several years ago I reduced the hole size in the burner because Skidsteer said it would burn more efficiently.

I'm not sure it made any difference.

[plexusbritt]

(Raises had sheepishly) I still use one. I don't mind it at all. It's fine in the wind and fits in with my goals.

I hike to slow down. Escape the microwave society. If I weren't so adamant about LNT, I'd probably be trying to figure out how to cook over a fire.


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[vamelungeon]

If you want to use Sterno,just don't eat,sniff,or drink it and NEVER put it in your NASCAR.The things you didn't know until you came to WB and went googling the history of Sterno.Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterno
Sterno was a plot device in Michael Crichton's science fiction book "The Andromeda Strain", an old man drank it after squeezing it through a cloth.