PDA

View Full Version : stoves



blindeye
09-23-2004, 10:55
i am considering buying a jet boil stove it's a little heavy but i keep hearing how efficent they are. my question is they use cannister propane/butane for fuel i heard that fuel can be tough to light at cold temps like under 40 degrees . anyone have an opinion? any help is appreciated

bagheera
09-23-2004, 11:41
Lighting cannister stoves in the cold really isn't that big a deal, it just takes a few minutes of prewarming inside your shirt (or pants if your feeling a little lonely). My concern is getting cannisters along the way, maildrops are questionable (technically you'd have to ground ship them) and from looking through the companion I doubt you could get them at in town outfitters every time you'd needed one, I'd love to here how folks managed using a cannister.

chris
09-23-2004, 15:26
I don't particularly like the Jet Boil, as the capacity of the pot itself doesn't appear to be larger enough to hold the vast quantity of food (actually, just double helpings of familiar favorites) I eat for dinner.

About getting cannister, this isn't much of a problem if: You don't cook much and you move faster than most. From my experience on the GDT with a SnowPeak (first time I used a cannister), I tend to get about 10 days of use out of a standard sized SnowPeak or MSR cannister. If I was going to cannister it, I would:

Start at Springer witha full load. Hike to NOC (10 days). Pick up a new cannister at the NOC. Go from NOC to Hot Springs (7 days). Get a new cannister in Hot Springs. Hike to Damascus (10 days). Get a new cannister in Damascus.

I didn't go to any outfitters between Damascus and Waynesboro, and unless you are a strong hiker, you would need to get something inbetween, or carry 2 cannisters out of Damascus. Get a cannister in Waynesboro. Hike to Harpers Ferry (4 days) and get another one. Both will get you to Delaware Water Gap, where there is another outfitters. I seem to recall an outfitters in Port Clinton, but didn't stop in. Take one cannister from DWG and cross NJ and NY and hike into Kent, where you can buy another one. From Kent, you can then get to Manchester Center and buy another one. Can't help with the stuff north of Manchester.

If you've been following the distances, you'll note that these are above the "normal" pace of a thruhiker by quite a bit. If you want to hike 12 mile days, you'll need a different plan.

smokymtnsteve
09-23-2004, 15:32
I would need a different plan...cannisters should be available at the outfitter in Fontana and in G'burg TN at THE HAPPY HIKER.

in erwin at (i hate to say this :D ) Uncle johnny's .

SalParadise
09-23-2004, 19:01
Probably a third of hikers use the propane/butane cannisters, as I did on my thru-hike attempt this year. Don't get a stove that only uses those blue cannisters, as those are somewhat hard to find, but the regular MSR ones I never had any problems getting ahold of, every outfitter along the way will carry those. But obviously the town you stop in better have an outfitters, though most do. I used my stove once a day and one regular-sized cannister would last me two weeks, and I didn't carry a spare because they're too heavy for that.
Regarding the JetBoil, it does boil water fast, as all propane/butane stoves will. The difference between the JetBoil and every other stove should only be about 30 seconds per liter. ...and now that I think about it, the JetBoil might be too narrow to fit the fuel cannister inside, which is nice to be able to do for space considerations.

orangebug
09-23-2004, 20:54
Miss Janet's had blue and other color canisters in the hiker box. The price was quite good. :p

I think it is pretty easy to carry two small canisters, and purchase a new one every week or so, hence avoiding ever being out of fuel.

I bet that the local Ace Hardware in Erwin carries canisters, assuming the NOC didn't.

Bill...

blindeye
09-24-2004, 09:01
thanks for the help everyone

bagheera
09-25-2004, 11:46
That has been by far the most helpful answer to that question I have recieved!
Thanks

Pencil Pusher
09-25-2004, 18:29
You can also fashion a heat exchanger out of copper tubing. Basically the author of this created a closed cell foam sleeve for the cartridge, leaving the bottom open for priming. Then he pounded flat a 24 inch piece of copper tubing to conform to the cartridge in a vertical orientation, with both ends terminating at the flame. Priming was done by using a lighter's open flame on the under side of the cartridge.

This was for rather cold conditions, but food for thought.

MisterSweetie
09-25-2004, 23:23
I finally got around to making a v8 stove today. Worked very well in my very first burn. Didn't cook anything, though. Just played around. :)