white gas..how many ounces do you carry?

[DavidNH]

Hi,

for those out cooking with white gas stoves, and specifically Whisperlite stoves (which is what I have) how many ounces of fuel do you carry? My current thoughts is that 11 ounces might be a bit skimpy and 33 ounces might be a bit too much. How frequently can one find resupply of fuel?

I currently have an 11 oz fuel can and a 33 oz fuel can. Wondering if I should dish off both and get the 22?

I would be using the stove mostly just for dinner and occassionally for breakfasts and always to mostly just boil water (even at home I am only into simple cooking and like to let restaurants do the complicated stuff :) ).

David

[hikerjohnd]

Although I am trying to make the switch to alcohol for LD hiking (and the wonderful folks here will give you an earful about doing that), I prefer a larger bottle for white gas. The weight difference between a 33 and a 22 oz bottle is negligible, and having the extra capacity for longer outings appeals to me. Just because the capacity is 33 oz does not mean you have to fill it all the way.

All of this assuming space in your pack is not a premium...:-?

[MOWGLI]

Hi,

for those out cooking with white gas stoves, and specifically Whisperlite stoves (which is what I have) how many ounces of fuel do you carry? My current thoughts is that 11 ounces might be a bit skimpy and 33 ounces might be a bit too much. How frequently can one find resupply of fuel?


David

I carried a Whisperlite and an 11 oz fuel bottle on my hike. Running out of fuel was rarely (if ever) an issue. White gas is readily available along the trail.

[Lone Wolf]

When I used white gas I never carried more than a pint anywhere between Georgia and Maine and I cooked a lot. I never ran out between supply points.

[Moose2001]

Assuming you're only cooking for one, the 11 ounce bottle works fine. Just about every town stop has gas available. I once heard an adage on the trail that says "Never carry food to town or water to water". I'd add to that... or carry gas to town!

I know 11 ounces doesn't sound like a lot of fuel and you probably have fears of running short. Not to worry.

[grrickar]

I'd agree, use the 11oz bottle. I carried a full 22oz on a 10 day section hike, had a mishap and spilled several ounces, but ended up with fuel left anyway and I never refilled along the way.We passed several towns where I could have picked up white gas. While I used only white gas, I carried a multi-fuel stove capable of burning most anything, so in a pinch I could have used kerosene or some other alternate fuel.
We only cooked one hot meal per day, then boiled water for cleaning up and the occasional tea or hot chocolate. I'd get accustomed to your stove and measure it's fuel consumption over various burn times, then use that info to gauge how much fuel you really need to carry, or how many days that 11oz bottle will last you between refills.

[Alligator]

A 22 will allow you to purchase pints without having to deal with what to do with the other 5 oz.

[MOWGLI]

A 22 will allow you to purchase pints without having to deal with what to do with the other 5 oz.

I found that hostels and other service providers generally had a gallon can sitting around. You took what you needed and paid by the ounce. I think there was one or two occasions where I had to buy an entire can.

[Peaks]

When I thru-hiked there was ample white gas available by the ounce. Never needed to buy a pint. I know that 11 ounce will work for the southern half when cooking for one, because that's what I did. I suspect that it will also work in for the northern half, but didn't confirm it myself.

[cutman11]

I have the whisperlite too. I read somewhere that the 11 oz bottle when filled will heat 20 quarts or so of water to boiling. At 2 cups per meal, 2 meals per day, that would be 20 days worth. Even if I am off by a factor of 50%(more cold conditions or spillage, etc), it would be 10 days worth, which in my hiking of the southern 800 or so miles, would be more than enough to come across a town or outfitter with the stuff. As others have posted, most places will sell it for pennies per oz, so it isnt a factor either. I usually section 3-7 days at a stretch, and usually with a partner, and only carry the bottle half full to start, have never run out.

[Alligator]

A couple of interesting points.

1. Fuel is readily available by the ounce :o . As I am a very infrequent customer (section hiker) I have only noticed the pints out of the corner of my eye. But you can still put a pint of fuel in a 22 oz. bottle:banana

2. NHhiker is very unlikely to need to do this based on cooking style and service availability.

3. I was real surprised at that 20 qt/11oz fuel figure. It comes directly from the rate of 7.3 liters H20 boiled/100g fuel. If you use 0.8 as the specific gravity of gas, you get 58.4 liters of water boiled/liter of fuel and the units cancel, so 58.4 to 1 (boiled water/fuel). Multiply by 11 and you get about 20 quarts per 11 oz bottle. HOLY HOT WATER BATMAN!

4. I never get that efficiency. My first problem is I use a simmerlite, which is actually less efficient than a Whisperlite, at 6.6 liters of boiled water/100g fuel. The end result is about 18 qts/11 oz bottle.

5. My second problem is my cooking style. I cook a lot, so repeated firings waste fuel due to priming.

6. My third problem is that I simmer things frequently, both in cooking and in rehydrating. Now, that rate of fuel use appears to be for bringing the water to a boil and I would bet money that they boil all the water at once. Unless you have a cozy, you will need to simmer many foods.

7. I personally run through more fuel than just about everybody on this board, so I tend to be conservative when recommending fuel amounts. I would absolutely need to have more than an 11oz bottle for more than four days. That's why I was thinking pints.

8. But enough about my problems, you folks need to live a little. Have some hot tea in the morning, and some pancakes or hash browns. Maybe a hot lunch once in a while. Two dinners is always nice, like a Lipton's then a homemade dehydrated meal. You folks need the calories right? Don't forget a hot cider or two around dinner time and a hot chocolate for a night cap. It's supposed to be the time of your lives EAT, DRINK, and be MERRY:clap .

[mdjeeper]

I carry 22ozs though I havent thru-hiked yet, have done several long (30 day) sections at a time. I have never run out, and I cook breakfast (75% of the time), lunch (15%) and dinner (95%). I probably would have been okay with only 11oz in most instances, but the old boyscout in me keeps telling to be prepared, so I like to have extra. In 30+ yrs of backpacking with whitegas, have never had a fuel bottle leak either.

[The Solemates]

We started carrying the 22 ouncer, and then switched over to the 11 ouncer midway through our hike when it started getting warmer. We carried the 11 oz bottle and we were cooking 2 meals a day for 2 people and we never ran out. We resupplied every 4-6 days. If I was solo, Id definitely carry the 11 oz. What are you doing with so much fuel that you need 33 oz?!