Stove Fuel And Environment?

[Gondor]

I would like to list all commonly used stove fuels and would like to see comments (facts) how the temperature and altitude affect them. I will update the thread as more info gathers.

Fuel Tablets (Esbit, Coghlan's): Not affected
Alcohol:
Gas Canisters (Butane, Propane, Isobutane):
White Gas, Kerosene, Diesel, Naptha:

[Grandpa]

MSR uses Isopro.

I have opinions but not facts so I'll wait for the experts to comment

I do know that kerosene and diesel are paraffin based and in extreme cold, the paraffin will solidify and plug the fuel filters unless an additive is added. That would apply to engines etc, not sure how it would affect a stove.

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


In cold country, above ground fuel tanks are filled with a lighter grade of fuel oil (or certainly should be). When I was servicing oil-fired furnaces, I would always recommend a fuel oil additive to the owners as a precautionary measure. Most people were very receptive to that.

NOTE: the fuel oil additives were very different from gasoline anti-freeze additives.

[wvbreamfisherman]

Well- "Paraffin " applied to fuel oils is not the same as "paraffin" as in the stuff gramma used to seal jelly jars.

Kerosene or #2 fuel oil (which are pretty much the same) will get thick at VERY cold temperatures and will need to be preheated to burn, since their flash point is pretty high (100-150 F).

Alcohol (ethanol in particular)has a flash point of 54F , so it may be a bit hard to start as well.

Butane (boiling point 33F) and isobutane (2-methylpropane, boiling point about 15F) canisters will need to be warmed to get them going, This is the main reason to add propane (boiling point about -45F) to the mix.

White gas has a flash point below 0F so it will normally ignite readily, especially when atomized in a stove or lantern.

Solids, such as esbit tabs and trioxane really don't have a flash point, but I would expect them to be tough to ignite at very low temperatures.

My $0.02

[Gondor]

I guess that outside temp can be a misleading term because you can always preheat a gas cartridge or a piece of equipment by keeping it close to you for a few minutes.

[Barney]

Here are some facts but check again just to be sure. wvbreamfisherman is right which means that in low temps most of the Propane will go first leaving you with Butane in the cartridge.

[ghostdog]

At the moment my favorite is alcohol but I have stoves that use most fuels available. My alcohol stove is one ounce, fits easily in my cookset and I can top off the fuel bottle unlike my Snow Peak iso/pro stove. I still like the Snow Peak. They say it does not do well in cold weather but we have used the iso/pro fuel down a bit below freezing with no issues. The Snow Peak Giga stove is small and light too.

As for alcohol, the lowest temps we have used it are 17F/-8C and we had no problem lighting it up and boiling a liter of water.

Our MSR Dragonfly will use white gas, gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. We have only used white gas with it and it is a great solid stove with that fuel. It is bulky though and Girlfriend does not like it as well as the White Box alcohol stove or the Snow Peak Giga so I have far less experience with it.

[Gondor]

Originally Posted by ghostdog

At the moment my favorite is alcohol but I have stoves that use most fuels available. My alcohol stove is one ounce, fits easily in my cookset and I can top off the fuel bottle unlike my Snow Peak iso/pro stove. I still like the Snow Peak. They say it does not do well in cold weather but we have used the iso/pro fuel down a bit below freezing with no issues. The Snow Peak Giga stove is small and light too.

As for alcohol, the lowest temps we have used it are 17F/-8C and we had no problem lighting it up and boiling a liter of water.

Our MSR Dragonfly will use white gas, gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. We have only used white gas with it and it is a great solid stove with that fuel. It is bulky though and Girlfriend does not like it as well as the White Box alcohol stove or the Snow Peak Giga so I have far less experience with it.

To me alcohol is in the last place because it almost never works when you need it the most, at least in my experience. I like gas stoves #1, multi-fuel stoves #2, fuel tab stoves #3 and then alcohols stoves #4.

[wvbreamfisherman]

For me the order would be: White gas, Alcohol (for solo day hikes, mostly), then cannister gas, followed by my little folding sheet metal stove that burns nearly anything.

I have practically no experience with tablet stoves, although I've used the fuel tabs as firestarters wit good success.

A lot of it depends on what you'll be using the stove for. I love my Whisperlight, kinda wish I'd sprung for the multi fuel version, but $$ were scarce at the time.

[ghostdog]

Originally Posted by Gondor

To me alcohol is in the last place because it almost never works when you need it the most...

What kind of alcohol are you trying to use? I use Denatured SLX and have used it thousands of times in all kinds of situations, various altitudes and temps. It lights right up, has never let me down at all and has worked perfectly every single time. We are big on soups, teas and hot meals and do an average of 5 boils a day when backpacking. From my experience it always works.

You can't top off an iso/butane can so you get all these little extras with a little left over and lots of cans for the landfill. Fuel tabs are messy and they stink to high heaven. I have used both. Multi fuel stoves are rock solid but need maintenance occasionally or they loose performance or plug up. I have never had any issues with my White Box alcohol stove, it needs zero maintenance, I can top off my reusable fuel bottles and it is renewable fuel. It blows water to a boil fairly fast, not as fast as iso/butane or white gas but fast enough that I don't notice. It will boil a full liter of water in 8.5 minutes flat. A half liter is much faster than that.