how much alcohol for my stove?

[Uncle Walkie]

If I carry an alcohol stove, how much fuel will I need to carry? Daily I would use the stove in the morning for coffee, then for supper and hot tea at night...

I am looking at the Sierra zip stove as well, I like not having to worry about obtaining fuel...anyone know if that stove will pack inside a grease pot (the Imusa from Wally World)

many thanks

[Uncle Walkie]

btw, the alcohol stove I have is the Vargo Titanium Decagon Stove

[Rocket Jones]

My fancy feast stove will boil 3 cups of water on a little less than an ounce of alchohol. I used to use the grease pot, which works fine, but recently switched to a GSI kettle. The kettle is more efficient for boiling only, but I give up the ability to easily clean up if I want to cook. Since I only FBC, it was a good trade off for me.

[Phreak]

I only cook dinners on the trail and carry 1oz of fuel per meal.

[Skidsteer]

If I carry an alcohol stove, how much fuel will I need to carry? Daily I would use the stove in the morning for coffee, then for supper and hot tea at night...

I am looking at the Sierra zip stove as well, I like not having to worry about obtaining fuel...anyone know if that stove will pack inside a grease pot (the Imusa from Wally World)

many thanks


btw, the alcohol stove I have is the Vargo Titanium Decagon Stove

Make a few meals using your stove in the backyard on a breezy day. That's the best way to answer your question.

[mweinstone]

carry at least a pint. and a quart going into the smokeys . its best to be fule rich. i use it for insect bites and cleaning things and heating my tent and all maner of cooking anytime i feel the need. and i heat bath water several times a day. so i allways have bettween a pint and a quart for my trangia with its clickstand. by the way, a trangia with a clickstand burns esbit or wood as well as alcohol.

[mweinstone]

and it seperates into 3 burnners with the addition of rocks for stands.
the empty clickstand with a twiggy fire
the trangia burner with simmer lid and 3 rocks or sticks for stand
the trangia burnner screw on lid , o ring removed, filled with fuel as a catcan stove with 3 rocks or sticks.
turn the burnner over in the stand and its measured for esbit.

[LIhikers]

Yep, a little extra alcohol is a wonderful thing to have. Nothing like using it to clean tired feet at the end of a long day :)

[Spokes]

I keep my fuel into a 14 oz. Tropicana OJ bottle. The trick is to measure your fuel EVERY time. You'll end up wasting less. I carried a plastic 35mm film canister which holds exactly 1 oz. as a guide. Before long I got to now just how much fuel was needed based on the number of cups to boil.

I think I ended up using .5 oz for breakfast and .75-1 oz for dinners.

Made me sick watching other hikers just slosh their stoves full fuel then wonder why they were always having to buy more so soon.

[Snowleopard]

Don't use methanol or denatured alcohol on your skin!
The alcohols used by hikers are either methanol (Heet) or denatured alchohol (ethanol with methanol or other nasty chemicals added). Methanol is toxic by absorption through the skin. I wouldn't trust denatured alcohol for use on skin, because of the denaturing chemicals.

Drinkable ethanol or Everclear would be fine to use on skin, or take a small bottle of purell or rubbing alcohol.

... i use it for insect bites and cleaning things ...


Yep, a little extra alcohol is a wonderful thing to have. Nothing like using it to clean tired feet at the end of a long day :)

[Doc Mike]

Don't use methanol or denatured alcohol on your skin!
The alcohols used by hikers are either methanol (Heet) or denatured alchohol (ethanol with methanol or other nasty chemicals added). Methanol is toxic by absorption through the skin. I wouldn't trust denatured alcohol for use on skin, because of the denaturing chemicals.

Drinkable ethanol or Everclear would be fine to use on skin, or take a small bottle of purell or rubbing alcohol.


ditto methanol is a good way to go blind or worse

[WILLIAM HAYES]

I use a tea light stove that I made which incorporates a pot stand as one unit. I fill the Tea light with fiberglass insulation like the stuff in the attic and with a little over 1/2 OZ of fuel I get a little over 5 min of burn time depending on ambient temperature. I think 1 OZ for most alcohol stoves is probably sufficient some stoves obviously are more efficient than others and you should do your research-mini bull stoves are very efficient. If you are interested in how to make a tea light stove check out Jason Klass's website-he has some good ultra light information. My tea light stove weighs next to nothing and fits inside my cook pot along with 8 OZ of fuel

Hillbilly

[Skidsteer]

Don't use methanol or denatured alcohol on your skin!
The alcohols used by hikers are either methanol (Heet) or denatured alchohol (ethanol with methanol or other nasty chemicals added). Methanol is toxic by absorption through the skin. I wouldn't trust denatured alcohol for use on skin, because of the denaturing chemicals.

Drinkable ethanol or Everclear would be fine to use on skin, or take a small bottle of purell or rubbing alcohol.

Agree with you on methanol but walk into the health and beauty section in most stores and you will find facial products(astringents) and hairsprays with denatured alcohol as a primary ingredient.

[Snowleopard]

Agree with you on methanol but walk into the health and beauty section in most stores and you will find facial products(astringents) and hairsprays with denatured alcohol as a primary ingredient.
Facial products would have FDA approval, and hair sprays probably do. The chemicals used for denaturing cosmetics are less likely to be toxic than those in hardware store denatured alcohol.

For example, Klean-Strip Denatured Alcohol is 45% to 50% methanol and 1% to 4% Methyl isobutyl ketone.http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat2/MSDS/MSDS%20-%20SLX.pdf I've done a bit of research for a home project (shellac uses denatured alcohol for thinner). I have asthma, so I have to be careful with things like this. The best denatured alcohol that's easy to get is Klean Strip Green Denatured Alcohol, and it is up to 10% methanol and up to 10% Methyl isobutyl ketone. For inhalation I'm more worried about the methyl isobutyl ketone than the methanol, but I'll be using lots of ventilation.
Using these as fuels in a well ventilated place (e.g. camping) is probably OK. Using fuels that contain methanol on your skin is a really bad idea. Using hardware store denatured alcohol on your skin is probably a bad idea even if it does not contain methanol.
I think in the European Union denatured alcohols are generally safer than in the USA. Everclear or other drinkable ethanol is the least toxic option for fuel.

[Skidsteer]

Facial products would have FDA approval, and hair sprays probably do. The chemicals used for denaturing cosmetics are less likely to be toxic than those in hardware store denatured alcohol.

For example, Klean-Strip Denatured Alcohol is 45% to 50% methanol and 1% to 4% Methyl isobutyl ketone.http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat2/MSDS/MSDS%20-%20SLX.pdf I've done a bit of research for a home project (shellac uses denatured alcohol for thinner). I have asthma, so I have to be careful with things like this. The best denatured alcohol that's easy to get is Klean Strip Green Denatured Alcohol, and it is up to 10% methanol and up to 10% Methyl isobutyl ketone. For inhalation I'm more worried about the methyl isobutyl ketone than the methanol, but I'll be using lots of ventilation.
Using these as fuels in a well ventilated place (e.g. camping) is probably OK. Using fuels that contain methanol on your skin is a really bad idea. Using hardware store denatured alcohol on your skin is probably a bad idea even if it does not contain methanol.
I think in the European Union denatured alcohols are generally safer than in the USA. Everclear or other drinkable ethanol is the least toxic option for fuel.

Good to know.

I wonder if "cosmetic denatured alcohol" is available to those in the know?

[weary]

On a backpacking walk, I mostly use nothing except my Zip Stove, but I suppose an alcohol backup might be usefull in an emergency -- like after a long night partying, and I feel the need for a 3rd cup of coffee before starting the next day.

But I prefer to take a few moments to identify a strange flower or plant -- or possibly an unusual animal track -- while my mind recovers.

[mweinstone]

dark is dark but lights up with light


toxic crap spills on our liver and our liver cleans itself off just fine


scared of denatured alcohol on your skin cause it may afect your health badly?


wow. you have alot of time on your hands. trust me, a nobody, i know nothing. absolutly nothing. thats who you should trust. those of us who admit to knowing less than nothing. for it is the knowlage that kills us all. trust me. i know nothing. not a thing. im thingless. absolutly without thing. my knowlage is so small it fits on head of pin on other pin. first pin to small.
my knowlage is so small , even the hubble telescope cannot find.
my knowlage so small, hedron colider cannot colide with it.
my knowlage is so small, its theoretical particals only exist in theory.

thats small. only knolage this small can squeeze between the tumblers of the lock and allow acsess otherwise denied. only those who break in quietly may pass the door of this. i , matthewski, am that pick.

[weary]

dark is dark but lights up with light


toxic crap spills on our liver and our liver cleans itself off just fine


scared of denatured alcohol on your skin cause it may afect your health badly?


wow. you have alot of time on your hands. trust me, a nobody, i know nothing. absolutly nothing. thats who you should trust. those of us who admit to knowing less than nothing. for it is the knowlage that kills us all. trust me. i know nothing. not a thing. im thingless. absolutly without thing. my knowlage is so small it fits on head of pin on other pin. first pin to small.
my knowlage is so small , even the hubble telescope cannot find.
my knowlage so small, hedron colider cannot colide with it.
my knowlage is so small, its theoretical particals only exist in theory.

thats small. only knolage this small can squeeze between the tumblers of the lock and allow acsess otherwise denied. only those who break in quietly may pass the door of this. i , matthewski, am that pick.
Whatever, Matty. Have a good night.

[Jonnycat]

The trick is to measure your fuel EVERY time. You'll end up wasting less. I carried a plastic 35mm film canister which holds exactly 1 oz. as a guide. Before long I got to now just how much fuel was needed based on the number of cups to boil.


I do the same thing, using a clear 35mm film can. I can even adjust the amount needed if the water I am using is a little on the cold side or out of a pond and warm.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your pot lid come up steaming just as you hear the fliffle of the stove going out.

[Snowleopard]

Sorry for the thread drift.

Skidsteer's suggestion of "cosmetic denatured alcohol" led me to search some more.
Cosmetics can contain alcohol denatured by methanol (95% ethanol, 5% methanol), so that is presumably safe for skin. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11358111 That does not mean that 10% or 50% methanol is 'kind of safe' for skin application. The other ingredients in denatured alcohol aren't as well studied and I wouldn't want to use them on skin.

Disclaimer: IANAT (I am not a toxicologist, though I play at being one on the internet).

[garlic08]

An alcohol stove only really works to save weight if you can minimize your fuel use. I heard somewhere and agree that if you routinely carry more than 10 oz of alcohol as fuel, you should probably be using a different fuel. Ten ounces was plenty for ten days (two people) on my PCT hike, for simple cooked dinners only (no simmering). Most solo hikers I met never carried more than seven or eight ounces ever. It sounds like most above agree on no more than 1 ounce per meal. If you start carrying quart bottles of alcohol in order to have cooked breakfasts, extra coffee, sterilized water, melted snow etc, you might save weight by using petroleum products which have a higher energy density than alcohol. Or wood, of course if you want to take the time, and deal with the soot.

[tolkien]

Whatever, Matty. Have a good night.
Whenever I read something supprisingly odd or inane, I have to double-check to see if it's matt or not before I procede to wonder about the sainity of the poster.

[Spokes]

......

There is nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your pot lid come up steaming just as you hear the fliffle of the stove going out.

I agree Jonnycat. It's Nirvana I tell ya!

[LIhikers]

Don't use methanol or denatured alcohol on your skin!
The alcohols used by hikers are either methanol (Heet) or denatured alchohol (ethanol with methanol or other nasty chemicals added). Methanol is toxic by absorption through the skin. I wouldn't trust denatured alcohol for use on skin, because of the denaturing chemicals.

Drinkable ethanol or Everclear would be fine to use on skin, or take a small bottle of purell or rubbing alcohol.


Thanks for the heads up!

[RWBlue]

Lets see what can I add to the conversation.

Different AL burn differently. Although I enjoyed carrying Everclear, I recommend carrying denatured AL. I buy it buy the quart at Lowes.

In my Altoids tin stove (not the most efficient beast), I can take mostly frozen water on a windy day up to a good boil, make a double hot chocolate, and drink it while rewarming the hot chocolate (and my nuts), with I think it is 2 onces. Well it is a little shampoo bottle I picked up at a fancy hotel.

[Tinker]

btw, the alcohol stove I have is the Vargo Titanium Decagon Stove

Titanium alcohol stoves are notoriously slow cookers. Titanium is very good at getting rid of heat, which is opposite of what you need an alcohol stove to do.

For my Supercat stove I allowed 16 ozs. for my hike through the Hundred Mile Wilderness in 2008. The trip took 8-1/2 days and I had about 2 oz. left over. I had oatmeal and coffee in the morning and Knorr-Lipton dinners (with other items added) for dinner. Lunch was bagels with peanut butter.
Hope this helps.