RE: [pct-l] Esbit stove for two

I doubt the debate over Esbit will ever get settled, however I'll put in my
2 cents. 

I finished building the new Fallingwater Multi-Fuel Stove last night. I've
still got some work to modify the current stove web page to reflect the new
design. Hopefully it'll be up by the end of the week. I'll post to the list
when it's done.

The new stove is a single piece that doesn't require a separate windscreen
for burning alcohol. The alcohol burner is integrated into the stove. Total
weight of the stove is 2.2 oz. and it's size is 4" x 3". It fits nicely in a
small Titanium pot. 

Anyway as with the original dual fuel stove it supports both Esbit and
Alcohol. With alcohol you need about 2 tablespoons (.4 oz) of fuel to boil 2
pints of water in approx. 7 minutes. For solid fuel tabs you can use either
Esbit or Stansport tabs. I've created a webpage describing results of the
tests of two fuels (http://fallingwater.com/pct2000/gear/fuelcomp.asp). In
recent tests with the modified alcohol burner, boil times seem to be pretty
much the same between the alcohol and solid fuel tabs. 

Esbit fuel may be purchased by the case (144 tablets) for $57 from
http://outdoorstoreuse.com. They also claim to offer free shipping. This
would put the per tablet cost at about $.40 per tablet. The Stansport fuel
cost .37 per tablet. 

Alcohol fuel can be purchased for less than $1.00 for 12 fl. oz in the form
of Dry Gass and found in Auto and Hardware stores along the trail. A 12 fl.
oz. bottle should last a couple of weeks on a single meal per day. I haven't
calculated out the per meal cost. 

Later this week or next, I'm planning to run a series of comparison test
with different water temps and wind conditions on each of the fuels. When
they are complete I'll also post the results to the web.

Ron "Fallingwater" Moak
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