[cdt-l] An alcohol stove for two

[Karen Somers]

After getting more great information from Alistair and
Ginny, I have been thinking about stove options FOR
TWO all day.  Here is some weight data I thought I'd
share for any interested (this is helping me decide
the best option).  I am using the amount of fuel
needed for the longest stretches, which Alistair
reported to be 12 days.  

Specific gravity for calculating fuel weights:
HEET s.g. is 0.787
white gas s.g. is 0.69
car gas s.g. is 0.739
denatured alcohol s.g. is 0.809

Esbits weigh 0.5 oz each

ESBIT OPTION
We each must carry a small cookpot and cook our
dinners separately.  (It's not feasible to cook a
two-person dinner with one Esbit tab, or even two
tabs, because the pot has too large a surface area).

2, 0.9 L titanium pots:  2 x 4.9 oz = 9.8 oz
12 days of Esbits for two (24 tabs):  0.5 oz x 24 = 12
oz
Two Esbit stoves:  2 x 0.5 oz = 1.0 oz
Extra wind screen:  0.3 oz

Total:  23.1 oz (1.4 lbs)


ALCOHOL STOVE OPTION
This assumes one well-functioning stove that can
really cook for two like the one Alistair described.

1, 2-L titanium pot:  8 oz
6, 12-oz bottles HEET:  56.6 oz fuel + 9 oz of bottle
wt:  65.6
(assumes 1.5 oz weight of bottle; you could reduce
this by 2 oz using Gatorade bottles)
Stove:  1 oz (assumed)

Total:  74.6 oz (4.7 lbs)


WHITE GAS OPTION
Using the MSR Whisperlite Intl' 

1, 2-L titanium pot:  8 oz
22 oz fuel bottle full:  15.1 oz gas + 15 oz bottle =
30.1
stove: 10.8 oz

Total:  48.9 oz (3.1 lbs)


It looks like Esbit wins hands down in the weight
contest.  I don't mean to get into a pros and cons
debate about these different types of cooking systems,
because each certainly has them, but I was quite
shocked that 12 days of Esbit use is 1.5 lbs lighter
than white gas and 3.3 lbs lighter than HEET.  We can
carry 30 days of fuel at a time for still less than 12
days of white gas or alcohol. 

Despite the expense, I think we'll opt for Esbits.

Nocona


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