Alcohol Stoves

[hooky]

In another thread where JerryB gave a great trip report, I asked if he would consider moving towards an alcohol stove in more situations. JerryB's opinion is below, but I'm hoping to hear from others both pro and con. Thanks in advance.

Thanks. I think the issue of alcohol stoves could form a whole new thread in another area, but here is my answer:

I will not switch exclusively to an alcohol stove, even in warmer weather. The primary reason is I boil too much water, with the result that I would need to carry too much fuel. If I am going to carry that much fuel, I would stay with white gas and the advantages that offers. I personally would never consider an alcohol stove if I did any real cooking, but I limit myself to rehydrating food and making coffee. All that said, I love the use of an alcohol stove as a back up or auxiliary stove. I suppose if I was going out for a day or two, it would also be fine as my only stove. But, as I used it, the alcohol stove provided peace of mind in case I had a problem with my "real" stove or ran out of fuel. It certainly extended my fuel supply. I also had some fuel pellets as a fire starter and I could have placed one of them in my home made alcohol stove. That meant I had my primary stove, alcohol and a few fuel pellets with the last serving as a firestarter.

I know there are others who swear by alcohol stoves for all purposes and I am not suggesting they are wrong; it just is not my choice. (Another fun option is a twig stove.)

[one]

I am going to bring the Vargo hexagon wood stove to my trip. It is only 4 ounces and you don't have to bring any fuel. The big downside is the extra time and work but I don't think it will be too bad. Does anyone recommend not using a wood stove at IR for any reason? Even if it is wet outside, I don't think the wood stove would be that much of a problem. It takes over 10 minutes to get a rolling boil but the benefits seem to outweigh most of the cons. Has anyone used a wood stove at IR?

[Tightlines01]

I have not but thought it would be neat as most sites do not have fires at the sites. The two biggest problems I see are 1. dirty pots and stove from soot and 2. What do you do when it's raining. I certainly wouldn't want that going under the rain fly on the tarp and would hate trying to huddle in the rain under a tree to cook.

[DonNewcomb]

The Zen Backpacking Stoves website is an excellent resource. In a nutshell, an alcohol stove is a good choice for shorter, one or two person trips, where the weight savings of the lighter, simpler stove compensates for the added fuel weight. Where they are not such a good choice is in large parties, long expeditions or when you need to melt snow or ice to make water. In these cases, the added weight of fuel overwhelms the weight savings on the stove.

One I.R.-specific consideration is that, last time I checked, the only thing like fuel alcohol available on the island was very expensive fuel system dryer sold at the marina. It's high-test isopropyl which burns with a black soot. The two stove fuels I recall being available were white gas and isobutane cartridges.

[drobarge]

I am going to bring the Vargo hexagon wood stove to my trip. It is only 4 ounces and you don't have to bring any fuel. The big downside is the extra time and work but I don't think it will be too bad. Does anyone recommend not using a wood stove at IR for any reason? Even if it is wet outside, I don't think the wood stove would be that much of a problem. It takes over 10 minutes to get a rolling boil but the benefits seem to outweigh most of the cons. Has anyone used a wood stove at IR?

The ashes left after burning mixed with a little water to form a paste will effortlessly remove the soot from your pot. Make a paste, rub it in & rinse... viola clean pot.

[one]

I will give that a try. Thanks.

I just got my vargo hexagon today. It is surprisingly light. I look forward to using it.

[MikeT]

Having used all 3 types of stoves (gas, alcohol and stick) I like all 3 and they also (like everything else) have their good points and bad points. I will list some of my thoughts off the top of my head...
(I will qualify this by saying I only heat water)
GAS:
Plus - dependability under all weather conditions, speed of heating, easy to control
Minus - weight, high cost of fuel, large footprint in pack (including fuel), mechanical failure
ALCOHOL:
Plus - lightweight, low cost of fuel, no mechanics, small footprint
Minus - weather conditions (fuel temperature and wind), no control
STICK:
Plus - no cost of fuel, no mechanics, lightweight (the new ones anyway), ambiance
Minus - gathering sticks, weather conditions, flammability, soot, ashes, no control

The key thing is what you are comfortable with. With a stick stove, make sure you bring some good fire starter in case things are soaked.
Personally, I bring alcohol and stick on trips with longer portages. Alcohol on backpacking trips. Gas and stick on paddling trips with short portages. Gas and stick in winter/cold weather conditions.

[DonNewcomb]

ALCOHOL:
Plus - lightweight, low cost of fuel, no mechanics, small footprint

Quibble. Have you priced fuel alcohol recently? Doesn't qualify as "low cost" to me.

[NancyT]

DeNatured alcohol is still quite a bit cheeper than regular fuel.

[MikeT]

@$16 for a gallon of denatured alcohol. Pretty cheap compared to butane or Iso-butane.

[DonNewcomb]

@$16 for a gallon of denatured alcohol. Pretty cheap compared to butane or Iso-butane.

But a gallon of Coleman fuel is about $7.25 and the generic is a bit cheaper. White gas has a higher BTU value than alcohol. 1/2 gal of charcoal lighter, which I use in place of kerosene, is about $6.25 and it has a higher BTU value than any of the others. If you don't mind the odor I think you can get regular kerosene for under $6/gal. All of these fuels make alcohol look like the "high priced spread" by comparison.

Don't get me wrong, I like and use alcohol as a camping fuel. I would just not want to describe it as "low cost". Now, there's no reason I know of for it to be $16/gal. I think that's a rip-off. I think more like $5-6/gal would be reasonable.

[Redbad]

A liter of Everclear 190 is available for around the same price as the denatured alcohol....

From just a straight BTU perspective, Kerosene has most followed by Napthta/White Gas followed by butane followed by alcohol (denatured or otherwise). Kerosene can be a real PITA to use -- I have had flameouts with pressurized Kerosene spraying over my pots and being ignited on the hot surface of the stove (MSR Dragonfly). Not fun. Kerosene also clogs the filters on my stove. On the other hand, 1 liter of kerosene boils more water than 1 liter of white gas or alcohol or butane and on an extended trip this can make up for the added weight of a kerosene capable stove over an alcohol stove.

IF you are taking an alcohol stove and plan on flying in, you should check with SAS first. I don't recall if HEET is available at the RH or Windigo stores. Butane and white gas is available (at elevated prices).

[DonNewcomb]

A liter of Everclear 190 is available for around the same price as the denatured alcohol....

And Everclear has other (medicinal ) uses that strongly favor its use.

IF you are taking an alcohol stove and plan on flying in, you should check with SAS first. I don't recall if HEET is available at the RH or Windigo stores. Butane and white gas is available (at elevated prices).

White gas was our choice. At Windigo I could buy just exactly as much as I thought we'd need to cover the rest of the trip, not an ounce more.

[fredly]

I started out using white gas stoves (MSR Whisperlite, Snowpeak). Then I moved to canister stoves (MSR Pocket Rocket, SnowPeak LiteMax). Then I learned about Trail Designs Caldera Cone stove systems. http://www.traildesigns.com They make a variety of alcohol stove systems that use a windscreen which doubles as a pot support. These are made in different sizes to fit different pots. One of the founders, Rand Lindsly, responded to all my email questions within hours. I now use two different systems from them, depending on the trip. I have a Caldera Keg system I use for shorter solo trips and a Caldera Ti-Tri system for my Evernew 1.3 liter pot that I use for other hike. The Ti-Tri is a titanium system that allows me to use three different fuels, alcohol, esbit tablets, or wood. I love the versatility of this system and would encourage everyone to check them out!

[Lucybeat]

I brought a brand new JetBoil to the Smokies that broke on the second night. Thank goodness someone had a very basic alcohol stove that he picked up from antigravity gear.com. I'm going to IR at the end of August and although I don't want to carry the wgt of liquid, having a stove that will work is more important.