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jeramie75
09-24-2011, 23:09
Anyone have any experience with this stove? http://packafeather.com/stove.html I have used home made stoves in the past and switched to canisters due to the ease and the ability to use only the fuel I need however I do like the options and availability of denatured alcohol. Thoughts?

Wil
09-25-2011, 03:49
I have used home made stoves in the past and switched to canisters due to the ease and the ability to use only the fuel I needI looked into that stove and decided to stick with my fancy feast stove; sorry that I can't remember the details of my decision.

But the notion that you can't "use only the fuel I need" with simple alcohol stoves is wrong. With experience you learn exactly how much fuel to load and none is wasted. At first add a little more than you think you need; wasting a few drops is better than not enough heating.

Absent experience, it is still reasonably easy to recover unburnt fuel from a simple stove such as the fancy feast. There are a few good methods but here's mine: turn your windscreen upside down so that the air holes at the bottom of the screen are now at the top. You need something to protect your fingers from the hot windscreen. A handkerchief works fine but you need to wrap it around your fingers tight so loose fabric isn't at risk to catch fire. Then you blow hard directly down to extinguish the flame. If you don't turn your windscreen upside down your breath escapes through the windscreen holes at the bottom and is not as effective as an extinguisher.

The stove then cools quickly. Pour, with a quick tilt, back into your fuel bottle with your fingers blocking the vent holes the fuel is flowing over, and you lose virtually no fuel. I haven't had to do that for a long time because I start with exactly how much fuel I need.

Franco
09-25-2011, 17:52
This is the way I recover alcohol:
http://www.youtube.com/user/francodarioli?feature=mhee#p/u/2/xX9j7pF38Tw


Note : not recover from alcohol...
Franco

Mountain Wildman
09-25-2011, 18:32
Anyone have any experience with this stove? http://packafeather.com/stove.html I have used home made stoves in the past and switched to canisters due to the ease and the ability to use only the fuel I need however I do like the options and availability of denatured alcohol. Thoughts?

I love my Packafeather XL, I did a review on it here: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?62856-PackaFeather-XL-Alcohol-Stove
With the bottle attachment you suck up un-used fuel back into the bottle and have no wasted fuel. It also holds more fuel than most other alcohol stoves.

handlebar
09-25-2011, 18:47
I'm a satisfied Featherfire user. Mine has been fired up twice a night for more than 7 mos. on various trails. I like the simmer control and find the pot supports quite solid. I can say that like all alcohol stoves, it is somewhat difficult to fire up in very cold weather. If it's colder than 32 F., I squirt a small amount of alcohol onto the top and find that is enough to prime it. I suppose one could carry the alcohol bottle in an inside pocket to keep it warmer and more volatile.

jeramie75
09-25-2011, 20:50
Is the simmer function really functional? Also I never liked the idea of priming; I always come into contact with the fuel and most denatured alcohol contains methanol which is toxic. In short, my first foray with alcohol stoves was messy and tedious. The canister is quick and easy but if newer models eliminate that I want to give them another shot.