[pct-l] Re: stove debate

[stillroaming at lycos.com (Scott Parks)]

Mr. Granite,

Here's the method I use with Esbit:

In a 1.2L pot add 750ml of water and your noodles, in
this case 2 pkgs of Ramen. Light 1 esbit tab and place
your covered pot over the flame. It will be completely
cooked and boiling in ~10 minutes. Add tuna and flavor
packets....yuuummmm!

You MUST have a windscreen. I use a piece of aluminum
foil folded over 2-3 times, very light. Your windscreen
should come close to the upper edge of your pot. You
should have no more than a 1/2 inch gap between the pot
and your windscreen. No holes are required in the 
bottom of your windscreen. The un-even ground makes
enough gaps. 

This also works well with Liptons Noodles and Sauce. 
Water varies.

Some folks feel the residue on the bottom of the pot is
a great injustice in itself and negates using Esbit. 
Actually, it's no big deal. What little residue that
collects, simply rub the bottom of your pot in the 
dirt. Done.

Scott Parks



>>
I just started testing out an Esbit stove, in the hopes to leave 
my heavier whisperlite at home.  At 6500', a cube lasted around 
10-11 minutes, enough for me to boil water for my oatmeal and cup 
of tea (a little more than 2 cups).  Dinner (risotto for two people), 
however, took 3 cubes.  I'm looking into how many 'instant' dinners 
I can handle, as opposed to dinners like rice or pasta that need 
some additional cooking time.  Though I'll try O David's method 
of letting food sit, and see if that works.

There was a little bit of residue from the cube, but really nothing 
to speak of -- I always burned the entire cube, so I can't speak 
to 'leftovers'.  The soot at the bottom of the pot was annoying, 
but the whisperlite can do that at times as well.  I used my whisperlite's 
windscreen, which worked fine.  The only occasional hitch for me 
was lighting the cube, since  it took a few seconds for the cube 
to light and so had to be protected from the wind while doing so.

I don't know yet if I'll take it on my JMT trip, but at least it's 
a cheap, lightweight alternative to experiment with.
<<

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