View Full Version : Is this a good amount of fuel?
http://thetrailwiki.org/images/2/2a/Totem_Fuel_Bottle.jpg
I made a fuel bottle out of a $0.30 clear Ketchup dispenser, the DP can is for size reference. It wasn't airtight so I used gasket goo on the threads (it holds up perfectly,) and before anybody says anything, I'm not worried about alcohol peeling off my gauge or ink (it's tough to see but I've got another layer of clear tape covering the entire bottle and in this design it's next to impossible to **** up enough to spill onto it... if i do, i have probelms and posterity is the least of my concern)
Each line is about 2oz of fuel and represents the amount needed to boil 3 cups of water, with some fuel to spare. The actual amount to boil is actually less than 2oz, but I rounded up, I can actually get 9-10 servings out of this bottle (from overestimation and fuel above the gauge, but hopefully I'll forget this so I'm pleasantly surprised on the trail) So my questions are the following.
2oz of Denatured Alcohol to boil 3cups of water = Good?
8 servings of 3 cups of boiling water = Good for 3-5 day hikes?
Forgot to mention my gear if that's up for the jury's consideration,
I use a vargo titanium alcohol doohickey
http://www.rei.com/product/752671?preferredSku=7526710012&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-datafeed-_-product-_-7526710012&mr:trackingCode=65BB80EB-528E-DD11-873B-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA
and a Snowpeak 600 ti whatchamacallit
http://www.tripleaughtdesign.com/x-treme%20gear/stoves%20&%20cook%20gear%20main%20main/snowpeak_double_wall_ti_600_mug.htm
with a perfectly sized windscreen (and lid for the whatchamacallit) from a crushed-tomatos (quart-sized?) can.
i did my testing last night, it was about 57 degrees outside, light wind
I can't comment on how much fuel you'll need, but I can give you my experience in a side-by-side Vargo Ti stove and Supercat stove comparison.
I had the Supercat, another hiker had a Vargo.
His stove took twice as long (about 9 min) to boil two cups of water than mine did in warm weather.
Titanium is not anywhere near as good at holding heat as aluminum is, therefore the alcohol does not boil in the stove as readily, making the cooking flame much cooler.
I used less than 16 oz. of denatured alcohol to do the Hundred Mile wilderness. I used the stove for oatmeal and coffee in the morning and Lipton Dinners in the evening. I hiked for 8 days, taking one day off at Whitehouse Landing, but I still had enough fuel for at least three meals when I was done.
The Supercat is super efficient. Btw, I used an Evernew 1.3 liter pot - the wider the bottom of the pot, the more efficiently it works with an alcohol stove because of the massive flame spread that burnig alcohol has.
I use the same stove and cup with a titanium foil windscreen and a flat round aluminum lid for a 7oz kitchen. I flip it over and burn fuel tabs. I have tested it with alcohol but only plan to use alc. when fuel tabs are not available. The vargo triad seems to use more fuel than other alc. stoves discussed here
Hmmm. Supercat. I've only made a pepsi-stove before. Fortunately, I think it's feeding time for King Pussy, So maybe I'll work on that today.
I flip it over and burn fuel tabs.
i probably have a slightly different model from yours (i know they started making the vargo doohickey to intentionally use both fuels) but when I flip mine over, the surface is completely flat, and my esbit tabs emit some oil of sorts and then around/off the surface of the doohickey. Is yours flat, and if so, how do you overcome this annoyance?
I also absolutely hate the smell of esbit tabs. I happened upon a Sports Authority where the manager was a complete idiot, he Clearanced about 10 boxes of esbit tabs to $0.50 each and I walked way with something to the tune of 120 tabs for $5.00. They smelled like fish and chlorine, so I locked them up in a military surplus ammo box so as to tame the beast.
I don't know if I could stomach walking with these in my bag. I use one of my stuff sacks as a pillow and the last time I had esbit in my pack, it smelled of foul.
I also absolutely hate the smell of esbit tabs. I happened upon a Sports Authority where the manager was a complete idiot, he Clearanced about 10 boxes of esbit tabs to $0.50 each and I walked way with something to the tune of 120 tabs for $5.00. They smelled like fish and chlorine, so I locked them up in a military surplus ammo box so as to tame the beast.
I don't know if I could stomach walking with these in my bag. I use one of my stuff sacks as a pillow and the last time I had esbit in my pack, it smelled of foul.
Thank you for that observation, now I know what to expect when I get a chance to test them out. Sounds the same as trioxane and hexamine. Bad news odors for sure.
It's possible if you keep it in a ziploc within a ziploc, that you'd keep the smell out, its not like everything they touch stinks, but eventually the smell permeates the surfaces its kept with.
i'd been saving dryer lint for 2 years and i threw some esbit tabs in there (emergency fire kit for a bug-out bag... dont ask) and now, 2 years of dryer lint smells like a fishpool
8-oz sounds good, it will last me 5-days of cooking one good meal a day with a few warm-ups of other meals that don’t require a full fledged cooking, and boiling of water several times for cappuccino.
For alcohol I use a homemade burner more then the Trangia burner (both are good) I use it in a one of the folding Esbit stoves, if I ever ran out of alcohol I could turn the stove into a wood burner by shoving sticks into it as I cooked with it.
If that is the same bottles I have seen used for ketchup, it may be soft plastic that will not hold up to tough abuse. How well does the flip-top stay on?
I use Listerine bottles for gasoline and denatured alcohol, they have worked well for both liquids for going on 7-years with the original bottles.
How well does the flip-top stay on?
I put gasket sealant on that as well, So I have a molded peg inside the cap that goes about a cm into the nozzle when I close it. Worse comes to worse, I could use a pencil eraser that I shaved up a bit to be a cap as well.
It is a soft plastic, but i also sleeve it into the husk of a poland spring water bottle with the top cut off (that i use to dip in contaminated water) for added protection
This isn't for a thru-hike so I don't expect it to be abused, just my 3-5 day equip. I need the nozzle top because the Vargo Triad Doohickey is finnicky when filling it (tiny hole draining into the stove itself) I cant just pour in like I could a supercat or can.
Interesting concept with the mouthwash though.
Just a note on alcohol fuel bottles. Most hikers I've met use Coke or other pop bottles. I thought about going that route on the Hundred Mile hike, but opted to take my heavy duty Nalgene 16 oz. fuel bottle (no longer made). It hase a pouring spout that nests upside down under the cap until you need it.
Finding out that your fuel bottle leaks in the middle of a trip is probably second only to finding out that your water bottle or bladder leaks as far as equipment malfunction goes on a long trip. I always carry a back-up for water, but not liquid fuel.
Just a note on alcohol fuel bottles. Most hikers I've met use Coke or other pop bottles. I thought about going that route on the Hundred Mile hike, but opted to take my heavy duty Nalgene 16 oz. fuel bottle (no longer made).
I have 2 of these Nalgene bottles (I like them) a 16 & a 32-oz size. Tough stuff, they are as durable as you could reasonably ask for in a plastic bottle. I use them for gasoline.
But they are heavy, this would make most hikers pass them by.
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/3621/dscn2690smallbf6.jpg
I put the bottle on the right side of my pack in that mesh pocket... I took a PowerAde bottle and cut its top off... Powerade bottles are surprisingly strong, the fuel bottle fits right into it and i'm more than confident this provides the ample protection i'd need for 5-days at a time.
In terms of fuel consumption, I went ahead and made a Red Bull Alcohol Stove that'll boil water in 6.5 minutes (with .75-1.5 minute warmup, totalling 8minutes max) with slightly less than 1 oz of denatured alcohol
Eye Candy for those who care:
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2213/dscn2697smalliz2.jpg
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/7276/dscn2698wincezr4.jpghttp://img55.imageshack.us/img55/4405/dscn2699winceas5.jpghttp://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8750/dscn2702wincehf2.jpg