Camp Stoves and Wood Fires

Stoves

Your first question when stove shopping should be, "How do I plan to use it?" For long-term economy, heat output and year-round versatility, white gas and multifuel stoves are the most popular, but simmering can be tricky with some models.

For flame control, low initial cost, and sheer three-season convenience, butane/propane cartridge stoves are the winners. Trouble is, fuel-canister costs add up, you have to pack out the empties, and they usually can't be recycled. denotes seasonal suitability.

For simplicity, silence, and environmental correcthess, an alcohol stove is the best choice. The drawbacks? Fuel can be expensive, hard to find, and packs only a fraction of gasoline's cooking power for comparable weight.

If you're planning extensive Third World travels, kerosene or multifuel stoves are your only reasonable option. And if you're planning a month-long unsupported backpacking trip, a forced-air wood stove designed to burn twigs will save a lot of fuel weight as long as there will be plenty of wood to burn where you're going, of course.

Seasonal Considerations

Each season and activity makes its own demands on your equipment. This guide is set up to help you match the right stove with the proper fuel for a reliable combination whatever your activity

Three-Season Stove: A three-season stove emphasizes convenience and simmering ability over cold-weather function and performance. The gas-cartridge stove dominates this category. Pack a TS stove along when you don't have to worry about the mercury diving way below freezing. If frost decorates your meadow, expect tougher start-ups and longer boiling times.

Four-Season Stove: A four-season stove can crank out maximum BTUs year-round and usually burns happiest at full gallop. It's the tool of choice when you want fast hot drinks and quick one-pot meals. White-gas or multifuel models are usually pump-pressurized to maintain full blowtorch mode at frigid temperatures. Most also require priming to start. This dicey operation improves with practice, but is still unsafe to do inside your tent. The multifuel model is ideal for overseas travel where kerosene and auto fuel may be your only options.

High-Altitude Stove: This featherweight, ultraconvenient stove is designed to operate in the cramped confines of a bivouac tent or snow cave. Most are gas-cartridge models with integrated pots and windscreens designed for hanging from tent ceilings or climbing anchors. This type is most useful for boiling water and instant meals for one or two half-starved mountaineers.

Fuel Types

Alcohol: The alcohol stove boasts a small but enthusiastic following. This type has few moving parts and is dead silent while cooking, a relief from the constant tinkering and rocket-launch racket of most white-gas or kero stoves. Alcohol's low volatility makes it safer in confined spaces such as boat cabins and tent vestibules. It's also a renewable alternative to petroleum-based fuels. The downside is that denatured alcohol produces about half the heat per equal weight of gasoline, so boiling times can be long. Fuel can be hard to find outside of a drugstore or hardware outlet, and the price is usually higher than that of white gas.

Petrol (Gasoline): Money-conscious campers face the enticing prospect of buying cheap auto unleaded petrol rather than expensive super-refined white gasoline. But unless your stove is designed to run specifically on auto unleaded, it will probably smoke and fume a lot, quickIy leading to sputtery burners and sooty black cookware. Leaded gas contains even more toxic stove-clogging and lung-choking additives. If you must burn auto fuel, buy the lowest octane-grade available, and burn it outdoors.

Butane and Blended Fuels: The butane-blend cartridge stove is popular for three-season cooking because this type is far and away the simplest to use. Mixtures of butane and propane (and straight isobutane) have largely supplanted pure butane because of the better cold-weather performance. In general, cartridge stoves do not perform well in subfreezing temperatures at low altitude, so most winter campers will prefer something with more flame power.

Most of these stoves work above 15,000 feet because the reduced atmospheric pressure helps the fuel vaporize even in subzero cold. These fuels come prepackaged in various thin-walled steel canisters, which are more expensive than white gas or kerosene on a per-meal basis. Besides fuel cost, another big drawback to this type is the difficulty of recycling empty canisters. Some cartridges cannot be removed from the stove until empty a headache for packing.

Paraffin (Kerosene): Paraffin is inexpensive and widely available both domestically and overseas. We recommend the cleaner, more refined l-K heater fuel instead of sooty, additive-laced auto diesel. The downside is that Paraffin can be hard to light, smokes liberally on start-up, smells terrible, and takes a long time to evaporate if spilled. Once it's rolling, though, kero puts out excellent heat per fill-up.

Propane: Propane burns hot and happy in subzero temperatures, but transportation regulations require that the bottles be thick-walled steel canisters which, unfortunately, weigh several pounds apiece. That's a big drawback for backpacking, but the propane stove remains popular with river runners and Scout troops, where the extra weight can be floated or split up between hikers.

White Gas: This additive-free gasoline is the best cold-weather performer and typically produces the shortest boiling times year-round. WG packs more cooking power into a smaller bottle than any other choice. Though readily available in North America (Coleman fuel is one example), white gas can be a headache to find overseas. Virtually all white-gas and auto-gas stoves must be primed, but once up to speed, white-gas stoves generally burn clean and hot, and over-all fuel costs are low.

Wood: Downed limbs are a fuel of choice in fast-growing temperate forests. A lightweight collapsible sheet-metal stove can warm a roomy wall tent, and a few wood burners designed for backpacking can rival white-gas heat output if the fuel is right. A wood-burning pack stove must be tended carefully for best performance. Dry softwoods work well for starters. Finger-size chunks of seasoned hardwood burn longer and put out more heat. A wood stove saves fuel weight for long unsupported trips, but it's an acceptable alternative only in places where woody growth rates outpace use.

Design Features

Boiling Time: We advise a healthy dose of skepticism when interpreting manufactures boiling times. Boiling time is dependent on; operator skill; stove cleanliness; fuel quality; beginning water temperature; ambient temperature; altitude; and prevailing winds. For a faster boil keep the pot covered and use a wind screen.

Burn Time: Another manufacturer supplied statistic. It shows how long the stove will burn at full blast, starting with a full fuel tank.

Brand Specific Hints; hard won feedback from the field

Each brand has it’s own idiosyncrasies, comforting strengths, and infuriating weaknesses. Here are a few hints for operating and repairing some common models.

Camping Gaz, EpiGaz, Olicamp, and other bottled brands. A hanging wind-screen/pot set (Bibler, Markill Stormy, Scorpion II Cookset, and others) really improves overall efficiency. Prewarming cartridges by hand or in your sleeping bag helps frosty morning start-ups. Boost heat output by hand-warming the canister while you heat water on the stove. After the water heats up a bit, dip the fuel can briefly into the warm liquid - but never into boiling water. Do not warm fuel canisters with a match or cigarette lighter. Repair kit: spare stove or a campfire, otherwise it's cold oatmeal if you have a problem.

MSR XGK and Whisperlite . These popular stoves have earned a reputation for clogging that's not entirely their fault. Most clogging comes from the sputtering yellow flame that lingers after shutoff and coats the burner jet with soot. Blow out the flame and let the stove fume away - outside - to let raw fuel cleanse the jet. Also, use clean fuel. Don't overfill the tank - leave 1 or 2 inches of air space. Keep the leather pump cup oiled. Repair kit: cleaning needle (taped to fuel bottle), extra burner jet. MSR cable/jet tool.

Coleman/Peak 1 Multlfuel and Feather models. More recent Peak 1 models cold-start better than previous incarnations, but can clog during priming and require replacement of the entire preheat tube assembly. Carry a spare assembly on a long trek. New models are jetted to run on auto unleaded gasoline. To reduce start-up flaring on all models, avoid overfilling the fuel tank.

Coleman Apex. This new model mimics MSR's remote-fuel-bottle design. Protect the rather fragile burner unit by packing it in a cook pot. The hose remains connected to the fuel bottle, so put it away where you won't mind a bit of dribbled fuel. Always cover the hose end with the provided cap lest pack-pocket cooties flub up the burner’s superb lighting and simmering capabilities. Avoid filling the fuel bottle more than two-thirds full.

Optlmus. This sturdy Swedish stove may not be as ubiquitous as it once was, but it remains as simple and reliable as ever. Priming paste helps reduce carbon buildup; alternatively, fill the priming cup with an eyedropper of fuel, which produces less flaring than dousing the whole burner. Avoid wrapping foil windscreens closely around the Climber 123 (originally Svea) model; we've overheated two that way, blowing the safety valve with spectacularly unpleasant results. Repair kit: wrench or vise-grips, spare jet, extra name-spreader plate.

Zzip Ztove. Feed this solid-fuel stove with dry sticks or charcoal briquettes and it'll keep pace with most gas models. But feed it green twigs and you'll smoke out half the campsite. Remove the draft-fan battery for transport; the primitive switch gets clicked on easily in the pack. The Zzip also serves as a cheery mini campfire for marshmallow roasts. Check backcountry fire regulations - some strictly no-fire zones don't allow the Zzips.

LIFE ON THE ROAD WITH STOVE: hot tips on getting along with your cooker

Pack your stove and fuel carefully in a side pocket, padded bag, or special stove case away from food and clothing.

Carry cleaning needles taped to your fuel bottle and keep key spare parts right in the burner sack. Stove maintenance is generally simple: Learn to recognize problems and to make repairs before they are necessary.

Test-fire your new stove at home before relying on it in the field.

Check the fuel for water and sediment before filling a gas or paraffin stove. Fuel sometimes develops condensation during extended storage. Use a filter funnel to keep detritus from clogging your unit.

Use a stove base when cooking on snow, uneven ground, or tent floors. A plywood scrap, ceramic tile, or old license plate works well as a base.

Clean your stove immediately if it won't run at full efficiency before excessive carbon buildup worsens the situation.

Cover pots and use a windscreen for increased efficiency. A full wraparound windscreen is the most effective, but make sure it isn't reflecting heat onto the gas tank.

Cook with a blackened pot because it heats faster than a silvery clean one. A heat exchanger further decreases boiling times and fuel consumption rates, which become logistically important on long treks.

Opt for a multifuel stove if you're globe-trotting, but this type typically comes with a hefty price tag, and some models are more complex than other stove types, creating more potential for failure.

Always carry extra fuel. Even the best stove won't work if you’re out