OK, short and sweet, three practical tips for using (canister) gas in cold weather:First, choose good fuel. Avoid "regular" butane and only use isobutane/propane blends. In the US, Snow Peak, MSR, Brunton, and JetBoil should be fine. Don't get Coleman, Optimus, Glowmaster, or Primus for cold weather use.Second, start with a warm canister. Keep the canister in your bag/quilt at night or in your inside jacket pocket (or something) during the day.Third, keep the canister warm by placing the canister in water. If you chose good fuel in the first...
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Monday, 28 November 2011
Gas stoves (also called "canister" stoves) can struggle in cold weather. Just how cold of weather can I run my gas stove in?Good question. Do you want the short answer or the long answer? :) The short answer is that for the typical upright canister stove (that's the kind where the burner screws directly onto the canister), about 20F/-7C is a good planning number. Do make sure you have winter capable gas before you try...
Friday, 25 November 2011
For warm weather use (above 50F/10C), it doesn't much matter what brand of gas you buy.For cold weather use, the brand of gas you buy does make a difference. Typically, gas canisters contain some blend of propane mixed with either "regular" butane (n-butane) or isobutane. Some canister brands contain all three gasses. For cold weather use, you generally want a canister with as little n-butane as possible. Even though propane is the best cold weather gas, I'd take a canister with 10% propane and 90% isobutane over a canister with...
Thursday, 24 November 2011
I got a good question recently:Hikin Jim, I see you refill [your backpacking canisters] with butane. What is the advantage over straight propane if propane works in lower temps? For that matter, why are these cartridges blended at all? I have wondered about this for a while. An excellent (and important) question. It has to do with vapor pressures. Take a look at the following boiling points table. Boiling pointn-butane -0.5C 31Fisobutane -12C 11Fpropane -42C -44F As...
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Hexamine (such as ESBIT brand) stoves are very interesting.Ultralight hikers prize them for their light weight, but they can be a nice addition to any kit as an emergency stove. They've got about the most stable fuel around. The fuel doesn't evaporate or go bad. You can generally burn 40 year old fuel that hasn't been sealed without problems. I keep mine sealed and protected (they can be crushed or chipped pretty easily), but I've seen some old hexamine fuel that burned just fine. They're great for long term storage in a kit that you...
Friday, 18 November 2011
People have asked me what I think about the Trangia burner in and of itself.A Trangia alcohol burnerI think the Trangia burner is a good one. It's meant to be used in conjunction with other components, but if we consider the burner alone for a moment:1. It's brass. Can you say solid? Yeah, you can still break them, but the chances of it crushing in your pack are pretty much nil unless you fall off a cliff or something (in which case...
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
I can recommend at least four "tricks" for alcohol stoves in cold weather:Keep your alcohol in a coat pocket or somewhere where it will stay warm. Use methanol such as comes in the yellow bottle of HEET that can be purchased at Walmart, auto parts stores, etc. Methanol generally has a higher vapor pressure than denatured alcohol and will work better in cold. DON'T drink methanol, don't breath the fumes, and don't get it on your hands. Methanol is toxic and can lead to severe neurological problems, blindness, and death. Yipes! But...
Monday, 14 November 2011
Let's say you wanted a reliable stove. A really reliable stove. A stove where there's nothing to go wrong. A stove that's going to work in any conditions, no matter what.What's that? It's a trick question? No, there really is such a stove, the Trangia. The Trangia alcohol stove system is, simply put, the most reliable backpacking type stove in the world.A Trangia 27Now here's the funny thing about what is...
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Hey, Jim, all these stoves are all well and fine, but what about sustainability?Well, good question. Petroleum based fuels are great, but in no way are they sustainable. However, there are a couple of fuels out there that are considered "green:" alcohol and biodiesel. Now, some people will be thinking "what about wood?" Wood is a sustainable fuel, but in heavily traveled areas, the forest can be picked clean of downed...
Friday, 11 November 2011
OK, first, I'm talking about domestic US Mail here in the contiguous 48 states only. What I'm saying here does NOT apply to packages sent outside the United States. I'm also not talking about UPS, FedEx, etc. I'm just talking about US Mail within the contiguous 48 states -- surface mail only in other words. No air mail. No international mail. No Alaska. No Hawaii. No overseas APO's or FPO's.First, you generally can't send fuel in the US Mail, but there are exceptions. The exceptions are for...
Monday, 7 November 2011
I've seen every retailer in my area discontinue carrying Coleman Powermax Fuel all at the same time. Suspicious, I wrote Coleman to ask if they had stopped making the canisters.Here is the answer I received:Jim, The Powermax fuel has been discontinued, The fuel is being discontinued due to low volumes . You might still find some sporting good store from existing stock.I apologize for the inconvenience.Thank you, Margie Coleman Consumer ServiceIn...
Friday, 4 November 2011
In the context of alcohol stoves, you may hear the term "meths" when people talk about fuel. What is "meths?" (aka "metho") How is that different than Methanol? How is that different than "Denatured" alcohol?THE THREE TYPES OF ALCOHOL Generally, there are three types of alcohol:Ethanol (ethyl alcohol)Methanol (methyl alcohol)Isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol)Ethanol ("grain" alcohol) is what you get if you buy beer, wine, liquor, etc. It's not really in stove-ready concentration in most alcoholic drinks, although if you buy something...
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