[pct-l] Fuel Amounts for Pepsi can stove

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

This question is just begging to be asked:

  Why is boiling 2 cups of water in the shortest period of time
  'the standard' for measuring the efficiency of a stove?

I can think of several more relevant questions to ask. Not that cooking time
isn't important within reason, but is 'cooking time' really an issue with
ANY widely used stove? No.
_____

Two cups?  Because that's what most trail meals call for on the package.

Fastest boil?  You're right.  Not important, within reason.  However, a 
faster boil means less fuel burned.  Your pot radiates heat in proportion to the 
fourth power of the temperature difference between its contents and its 
surroundings (Stefan's Law).  So, the longer it sits there trying to get hot, the more 
calories you need to put in to replace those that escape.  That's radiation.  
Then there's convective heat loss, which is why a windscreen is so important. 
 Any breeze carries heat away from the pot by convection.  A good windscreen 
not only blocks the wind, it also directs more heat from the stove into the 
pot.  

So, probably more than most of us care to know about that.  Use an effective 
windscreen with an efficient stove, any stove that you're happy with for the 
kind of cooking you do, and you'll use less fuel.