What stove to use on the Appalachian Trail

[JNI64]

I snagged the all Aluminum pot JetBoil Sol below half price as Gander Mountain was closing. Great water boiler for freeze dried meals. Ridiculously fuel miserly!
Wayne

Interesting on the Gander Mountain closing aspect part of this discussion, did they close down everywhere? I asked because the new gym I joined used to be a Gander Mountain.

[cmoulder]

Yes I concur I prefer the softer side of nature sounds for sure.
I didn't know they were experimenting in vertical heating exchangers. Makes perfect sense, bringing heat right up the pot no waste.
This reminds of me when I've used my alcohol or Esbit in combination of my woods stove and tall stainless Walmart pot the flames shoot straight up the sides of the pot and super heat to boil!

MSR has sold a vertical heat exchanger for a few decades now. OK it's ponderously heavy and clunky, and I don't really believe it adds all that much efficiency, at least not the way it is designed. The bottom flux rings make a lot more sense, along with a snug windscreen that goes up the side of the pot for some distance. And the neoprene covers on JB pots actually do help retain heat.

[zelph]

The Moulder Strip is very efficient at transferring heat to the sides of a canister of fuel to increase it's efficiency.

[Five Tango]

My all time favorite setup is the Beaded Caldera Cone F Keg coupled with the Starlyte XL3.Quiet,stable so as not to scald anyone,impossible to spill the fuel(I spilled a Fancee Feast once and ruined a Frogg Tog and down jacket).For someone who only wants to do hot drinks and Freezer Bag cooking it is hard to beat because of the weight,practicality,and the fact that the Caldera Caddy serves as a coozey and a drinking cup.My configuration with homemade insulation weighs in at around 10 ounces with a long neck cigar lighter in the mix.Did I mention that its Quiet?I got quite a few negative comments regarding my BRS stove......

[zelph]

Beaded Caldera Cone F Keg coupled with the Starlyte XL3.Quiet,stable so as not to scald anyone,impossible to spill the fuel

That is a really nice set-up. I like quiet

I got quite a few negative comments regarding my BRS stove......

I've read a lot of negative comments from folks over at BPL about the BRS's...on the otherhand, lots of good comments on the Fancee Feest.

I've had good results with the Etekcity canister stove.

[HooKooDooKu]

The Moulder Strip is very efficient at transferring heat to the sides of a canister of fuel to increase it's efficiency.

How does a Moulder Strip improve efficiency?
I understand the idea that in cold weather, the strip makes sure the fuel stays warm enough so that the fuel continues to vaporize and therefore burn. But I'm not sure how that improves efficiency. Increases the pressure? Sure. But if you're using a "regulated" stove, the output should remain fixed regardless of the pressure in the canister (presuming the pressure isn't getting below "working" pressure).

[Five Tango]

That is a really nice set-up. I like quiet





I've read a lot of negative comments from folks over at BPL about the BRS's...on the otherhand, lots of good comments on the Fancee Feest.

I've had good results with the Etekcity canister stove.

Not saying that I don't like my Fancee Feast.But I had a sooted up bottom on a pot that it stuck to until it didn't when I lifted the pot up and then the "fun" started.Fancee Feast is a Ford Model T compared to a Thunderbird once the Starlyte XL3 hit the market.Only downside is that it requires a stand of some sort but that's not that big of a deal for some of us...

[Venchka]

Interesting on the Gander Mountain closing aspect part of this discussion, did they close down everywhere? I asked because the new gym I joined used to be a Gander Mountain.

The Gander Mountain store where I shopped was in Tyler, TX. I would check the stove section whenever I was in the store. The SOL was never on sale. Finally, they put up the everything half price signs. I got the last Sol they had. When I got home I realized that a piece was missing: the pot adapter. I have a lot of pots and that piece was important to me. I called JetBoil. Explained the missing piece. They mailed a replacement quickly.
Fuel consumption: On a road trip with my granddaughter, I boiled water for 3 Mountain House 2 person dinners with a canister holding 9 grams of fuel. AND. The water boiled faster than I was ready for it!
Wayne

[zelph]

Not saying that I don't like my Fancee Feast.But I had a sooted up bottom on a pot that it stuck to until it didn't when I lifted the pot up and then the "fun" started.

Thanks for negative comment on the FF

Sooted pot bottoms are a PITA. Early on in the development of the FF someone had the stove stick to a clean pot. It caused me to add vent holes to the pot support to resolve the problem. It's the same problem that occured with the Jim Woods SuperCat stove.

[zelph]

How does a Moulder Strip improve efficiency?
I understand the idea that in cold weather, the strip makes sure the fuel stays warm enough so that the fuel continues to vaporize and therefore burn. But I'm not sure how that improves efficiency. Increases the pressure? Sure. But if you're using a "regulated" stove, the output should remain fixed regardless of the pressure in the canister (presuming the pressure isn't getting below "working" pressure).

Let's ask cmoulder what he thinks about the increase of efficiency.....cmoulder come on in!

[Five Tango]

Thanks for negative comment on the FF

Sooted pot bottoms are a PITA. Early on in the development of the FF someone had the stove stick to a clean pot. It caused me to add vent holes to the pot support to resolve the problem. It's the same problem that occured with the Jim Woods SuperCat stove.

I love my FF but now that the XL3 is in my pack it has become a moot point.Also like my original style Starlytes of which I have several including the classic one with the built in wire pot stand.Caldera Cone is my windscreen and pot stand now.Gas cannisters are great but they just aren't like cooking with alcohol........

[zelph]

I'm going to retract my my statement that the Moulder Strip is efficient since he has not added any info to support my comment.

[cmoulder]

I'm going to retract my my statement that the Moulder Strip is efficient since he has not added any info to support my comment.

Sorry, got busy with other stuff... going for a quick overnighter myself to play with stuff in the woods!

Since we're talking about the efficiency of transferring heat from burner to (and specifically into) the pot, the HX strip from burner to canister is really a different beast.

In the case of the copper HX strip you're really not looking for maximum efficiency, i.e. transferring as much heat as possible, but rather just enough heat to keep fuel vaporization going but not enough to overheat the canister. So it involves energy management, although in a different way.

But if you're using a "regulated" stove, the output should remain fixed regardless of the pressure in the canister (presuming the pressure isn't getting below "working" pressure).

Regulators are a bit of a gimmick IMO. They work in a very small temperature range, above which they aren't needed and below which they don't work... as you alluded to, if there's no pressure there's nothing to regulate.

[goatee]

Another vote for Fancee Feest stoves.

[zelph]

Since we're talking about the efficiency of transferring heat from burner to (and specifically into) the pot, the HX strip from burner to canister is really a different beast.

We were talking about metal transferring heat to the sides of a metal container. Fins on the bottom, fins on the side, metal transferring heat, works the same on the bottom as it does on the sides. The Bulin HX pot is a good example of some metal on the sides of the pot doing some transfer.

[zelph]

I like the size of the MiniMo pot, anyone use this size for cooking?

JetboilMIniMo.jpeg

jetboilminimo.jpeg

[HooKooDooKu]

I own a MinoMo, and would have liked to have used it on my JMT thru hike. But with the way I was packing my pack with a very large bear canister, the pot was too wide to fit in my pack and so I instead used the pot from my JetBoil Sol. But most of my hikes are just two-night trips where I don't need the efficiency of the JetBoil to save fuel and so I use lighter weight pots.

[cmoulder]

We were talking about metal transferring heat to the sides of a metal container. Fins on the bottom, fins on the side, metal transferring heat, works the same on the bottom as it does on the sides. The Bulin HX pot is a good example of some metal on the sides of the pot doing some transfer.

Definitely agree with the metal-to-metal heat transfer, and increasing surface area with both the pleated fins and the shroud, and channeling heat up the sides of the pot. That combo is the way to achieve max heat transfer.

[cmoulder]

I have a couple of Minimos but use them only in the winter for melting snow. Even then, if snow melting needs are minimal I'll go with the Sterno Inferno and Ocelot/FMS-300.

Other times I do not need the volume and heat output and use alcohol or Esbit.

ocelot_plate_04.jpg

[zelph]

Sorry, got busy with other stuff... going for a quick overnighter myself to play with stuff in the woods!

Regulators are a bit of a gimmick IMO.

What makes you think it's a gimmick?