Pepsi Stove tips?

imported
#1

I’ve just tried out my pop-can stove, on my deck, in about 5 degree (Celcius), windy weather, which will probably mimic starting weather in Georgia (start date: April 2).

On one ounce of fuel, the stove did not boil 2 cups of water. Came close, though. I was using a short windscreen (about 3 inches high), and my pot is a tall skinny one-litre pot, so the flames curl up the sides of the pot.

Any tips on how to make the stove more efficient? I am experimenting (tonight) with making a taller windscreen out of aluminum cake tins, this windscreen will be about 6 inches high or so (enough to come up the sides of the pot).

Any other ideas? Also, can I hope that the stove will work faster, and use less fuel, in warmer weather?

Thanks!

nunyet

#2

there areseveral things you can do to shorten the boil times…

do you use denatured alcohol? do you use a pre-heat dish? is there a lid on the pot? is the outside of the pot blackened?<blackened pots heat water faster, … different metals conduct heat at different rates… short wide pots boil water faster than tall skinny ones…

if ya dont have any luck, drop me an email and ill get one of my pressureized beercan alcohol stoves out to you… i think i still have one or two laying around

FreightTrain

#3

there areseveral things you can do to shorten the boil times…

do you use denatured alcohol? do you use a pre-heat dish? is there a lid on the pot? is the outside of the pot blackened? blackened pots heat water faster, … different metals conduct heat at different rates… short wide pots boil water faster than tall skinny ones…

if ya dont have any luck, drop me an email and ill get one of my pressureized beercan alcohol stoves out to you… i think i still have one or two laying around

FreightTrain

#4

Yep, I was using denatured alcohol, pot was blackened, lid was on the pot…

The tip about short wide pots vs tall skinny ones is good though, I’ll try that and a taller windscreen and see what happens.

Thanks!

nunyet

#5

I have long wondered about the nearly unanimous preference in this forum for alcohol stoves. Has anyone done a total package weight analysis that includes fuel weight?

I have used an MSR Simmerlite for the past two years - usually above 10,000 ft in the Sierra. I can usually boil 3.5 - 3.7 cups of water per ounce of fuel. Using the 2 cups per ounce for alcohol discussed above, it would seem that additional fuel weight with a pepsi can stove more than offsets the additional weight of the Simmerlite.

Am I ignoring something in this analysis?

Booger

#6

here is a breakdown of my stove:

burner,potstand,pre heat tray are about 1.5oz total
windscreen- 1/2oz
fuelbottle - widemouth liter mtndew bottle 1oz
(able to carry more fuel if needed & i use the large cap to measure out the fuel)mostly only carry half a bottle fuel

total 3 oz plus fuel

im evolving to no-cook where i wont need any of the above or a pot!:pimp

FreightTrain

#7

I read a very thorough analysis of alcohol versus white gas versus weight across time online somewhere…maybe Sgt. Rock did it? I think Booger is getting at the amount of stored energy in white gas as opposed to that found in alcohol. I vaguely remember reading that white gas is the more powerful fuel, which saves weight over time, versus the alcohol stove weighing nothing but needing more fuel across the duration of a long-distance hike.
Anyone else see that?
There were pretty graphs and science and stuff…
I prefer carrying a lighter load, absolute, at any given time, rather than knowing that over a months-long period I was able to boil more water by carrying a heavier stove.
But that’s just me.
Forest for the trees kind of thing, I think. Strictly personal preference, too.

Tyger

#8

When I made my stove last year, I experimented by making one stove with big holes (push pin) and one with small holes (needle pin). Only the one with small holes seemed to work.

This may be your problem.

Jeff T

Jeff T

#9

Nunyet, if it’s cold (around or below 20f) you might want to preheat the fuel (i heard this from Grizzly Adam who has used his alcohol stove in temps as low as 5f). Just put it inside your jacket when you hit camp or in your sleeping bag, it shouldn’t take much. My pepsi stove boils water in a couple of minutes and a few cap-fulls take care of a meal.

You may still get some colder weather at the begining of april, be prepared for temps to fall as low as 10*f at higher elevations, many hikers this year were caught out by it (myself included).

Good luck!!!

Cheers

Cheers

#10

Also, don’t foget that in reality you can usually cook in an area protected from wind like a shelter or even just beside a backpack on the ground and a tree or whatever happens to be handy. If you’ve got a halfway decent alcohol stove and windscreen, it’ll be quite a bit lighter than a white gas one. Remember that you’ll rarely be out more than 5 days between town stops, so you’re looking at max 16-20oz of alcohol. Most people would be way lighter than that, and it’s still lighter than a whisperlight setup and a lot less problematic.

Skittles

#11

sgt rock did indeed to the fule efficiency comparison.

http://hikinghq.net/stoves/stove_compare.html

Bloody Cactus

#12

Here is a link to some testing I did before my thru-hike:

http://www.umit.maine.edu/~david_wescott/pepsi/pepsi.html

I did take a pepsi can stove for a back-up but, overall, a pepsi can stove is heavier than a canister. Basically it comes down to fuel. The butane / propane mix that canisters use has about twice (2x) the amount of energy as alcohol. That means 1oz of canister fuel will burn twice as long as 1oz of alcohol. That said, the canister weighs about 7oz for 4oz of canister fuel and about 13oz for 8oz of fuel. Pepsi can stoves weighs 0.25oz and a canister stove weighs around 3oz.

Canister:
Stove 3oz
Fuel 13oz (total)
Total = 16oz

Pepsi Can:
Stove 0.25oz
Fuel 16oz (equivilent energy)
Fuel Container 0.5oz (at least)
Windscreen 0.5oz (pepsi can stoves are useless without a screen)
Total = 17.25oz

We found fuel for canister stoves EVERYWHERE. Hiker boxes, stores, outfitters, etc. No problem finding fuel. Canisters are more expensive of course. So, if $$$ is an issue and you like to build your own stuff, go with a pepsi can. Otherwise, the canisters were much more convenient (we thought anyways) as you can simmer very easily and there is no spilling fuel.

Dave and Miranda

#13

This may be a silly question, but do they recycle those canisters? I assume they do. I’ve always borrowed a stove or bummed off of someone, so have never had to deal with replacing one.

reggaemylitis

#14

I like the canisters as well but do what works for you. I always tend to spill a little alcohol and I don’t like the way it feels on my fingers, plus it can do bad things to gear.

Prospector

#15

I am the proud owner of a Freight Train 5000… lightweight, burns as quick or quicker than a canister, whisper lite or whatever else. I got the original model from Freighty then bored out the hole… with screen faster than everything except a jet boil, without screen - contrary to a post above, still boils fast. I like alcohol stoves more… hiked with a Leprechaun Jet 7 - A, Titanium Snow Peak, Whisperlight, FT5000… FT5000 by and far the best in the all around catagory. When you prime it cold weather becomes a moot point. I like to actually cook in the woods… cheese fondues, stews etc. Ask Santa for a FT5000 now!

ASWAH

in the end it is about your preference. You carry the weight that you want. just enjoy the woods

Aswah

#16

I continue to be interested in the Pepsi Stove vs MSR debate. I understand most of the stuff posted so far, but now have a question about fuel cost.

One of the arguments in favor of an alcohol stove is the low fuel cost. However, I was in REI Manhatten Beach, CA, last Saturday night and observed the following prices:

White Gas $5.26 per gallon
Denatured Alcohol $7.96 PER QUART

Am I missing something?

Booger

#17

That’s what you get for shopping for a hardware store item at a trendy backpacking store. Why would they sell it more cheaply than the fuel that sells more expensive stoves? Darn, those co-oppers sure are smart.

Go to the hardware store, just buy HEET.

Tha Wookie