Re: [pct-l] BTU's

[ROYROBIN@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/16/1999 5:16:59 PM PST, Slyinmd writes:

<< 
 But doesn't an alcohol stove use more fuel, then it's white gas cousin?  How 
much alcohol would you take on a seven day stretch?  And how often did you 
use it, breakfast, dinner?
  >>

One pint of fuel lasts 8 days, if I boil 2 pints of water per day.  That's a 
whole Ramen plus a main course for dinner each day.  I almost never heat 
water for breakfast.  Two tablespoons of alcohol will boil a pint of water 
using the tuna can stove, so four tbsp (1/4 cup) is used each day.  Pack 
weight the first day out,  4 oz for stove and light plastic fuel bottle 
(disposable water bottle) plus 16 oz of fuel, total 20 oz.  On the last day 
before resupply, weight is down to 4 or 5 oz. 

For comparison (according to the Campmor catalog), a Whisperlite Shaker stove 
weighs 14 oz plus 2.7 oz for an 11 fluid oz fuel bottle.  Add 5 oz of fuel 
(enough, according to the ad to boil 9 quarts of water), for a total of 21.7 
oz the first day out.  On the last day before resupply, weight is still over 
a pound.  

Is the Whisperlite user going to start an eight day hike with 5 oz of fuel?  
More likely, he will fill the 11 oz fuel bottle, giving him the capability to 
boil about 20 quarts of water.  With that extra weight, he can have a hot 
cocoa with breakfast and hot water to clean up after dinner.  

No right or wrong, here, and your results WILL vary.  But for a thruhiker who 
is  looking to keep pack weight down, hiking a typical 8 days between 
resupplies and doing minimal cooking, the alcohol stove has the edge.  
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