[pct-l] stove pros and cons

[wpsnotebook at charter.net (Richard Woods)]

A few more things to consider I think:
control:
heat control can be a big decision factor.
Can stoves, Wood, and Esbit are either hot or not, although you can 
control a wood stove by how much fuel you feed it. If your goal is to 
boil water, one of these will do. If you want to cook gourmet foods, 
heat control is a must.  Check your back country stove permit. The year 
down around San Jacinto way I understand the only kind of stove allowed 
was one with a control valve.

fire danger:
I know from trying it at home in the middle of my large concrete patio 
that an Alcohol stove can be really hard to put out once its heated up. 
I've tried smothering one with a lid, but it wasn't successful, as the 
alcohol just pressurized under the cover and the vented vapor kept 
right on burning. You can drown one, if you're careful not to splash 
raw alcohol around the stove. The alcohol can be diluted to the point 
where it won't burn. Once your stove gets soaked it will probably be a 
day on the trail before the wicking dries out enough to use again.
Put out a wood fire by drowning or smothering with sand. Coals can 
persist however. Make sure the ashes are cold.
Never used an Esbit stove.
Do Not attempt to drown white gas, as not only could vapors still be 
potentially explosive, the raw fuel floats on water. Smothering is 
about the only way to put out a white gas fire. That's why firefighters 
fight a Class B (flammable liquids) or Class K (liquid cooking 
products) fire by smothering it with foam. In the bush, sand is about 
our only option - another reason to cook only in sandy areas away from 
anything that will burn.

fuel toxicity:
wood - obviously innocuous
Ethanol (grain alcohol) low toxicity.
Methanol (liquid Heet, denatured alcohol) is poisonous, vapors are 
poisonous, prolonged contact with skin can be toxic.
White gas, unleaded gas are of course quite poisonous, vapors are 
poisonous, contact with skin can be toxic.
Canister fuels are poisonous, vapors are poisonous. Liquid can also 
pose a frostbite hazard.
Esbit - I'll leave comments for this to others.

On Saturday, September 24, 2005, at 10:08  AM, 
pct-l-request@mailman.backcountry.net wrote:

> Alcohol
> pros: easy-to-build, inexpensive, light weight, availibility
> cons: less heat output than other fuel types
>
> Canister
> pros: easy to operate, quick to setup
> cons: canister loses pressure with altitude, explosive situation if
> windscreen placed too close to canister, canister needs to be kept warm
> during cold weather
>
> Esbit
> pros: can?t spill, or leak in your pack
> cons: leaves soot on pot
>
> White gas
> pros: high heat output; preferred method for melting snow
> cons: noisy, heavy, cost, susceptible to clogging
>
> Wood (Zip, Trailstoves)
> pros: don?t need to carry fuel, reducing pack weight
> cons: leaves soot on pot