[pct-l] Fuel Amounts for Pepsi can stove

[ROYROBIN at aol.com (ROYROBIN@aol.com)]

I have used the pepsi can stove now extensively, and I defy those who say 
they only use ONE oz to boil water, or more importantly cook a meal.   I have 
found REALISTICALLY It takes TWO oz per heat up or meal, considering evaporation, 
wind etc., and that is a big difference. ONE oz is two tablespoons of fuel. 
Try it yourself,  and see what you conclude.... One oz of alcohol, if you 
> are lucky, will burn 10 min.... 
> 
> Let's try a little test at zero day on cooking with only ONE oz of alcohol, 
> love to see it work. 
> 
_____

It works.  The little test you propose was actually done at the ADZ, was it 
in 1999?  So, thanks for your endorsement of the CatStove, which brought one 
cup of water to a rolling boil faster than any other stove tested, including the 
Pepsi Can stove.  In a more meaningful comparison, the CatStove brings two 
cups of water to a boil in four minutes, using one ounce (2 Tbsp) of fuel.  It 
takes two cups of water for most trail meals, and I presume this is the amount 
you were using.  The Pepsi Can Stove was the runner-up in this head-to-head 
contest, boiling the water in a bit over five minutes.  That's not bad, 
considering that some poorly designed alcostoves won't boil two cups of water at all!  
 

You might also try tweaking your Pepsi Can stove.  A good one should not 
require two ounces of fuel to boil a pint of water.  You mentioned that, "One oz 
of alcohol, if you are lucky, will burn 10 min...."  That's a tipoff.  An 
efficient stove, Pepsi or Cat, will burn one ounce of fuel in about 6 minutes, 7 
minutes at the most.  If it takes longer than that, you're not getting heat into 
the pot as fast as you should, the warming water has longer to lose heat, and 
you end up carrying a lot more fuel than you should for a week on the trail.  
Always use a good windscreen, of course, with any alcostove.