[pct-l] Fuel Usage - Vargo Triad

[Chris Pratt]

DZ,

I use an pepsi can penny alcohol stove (use yellow heat) and carry 3 or 
4 esbit tablets for emergencies (even when I go stoveless). Genarally 
speaking 1 ounce of alcohol will boil 2 cups of water. For certain 
things (oatmeal for instance) you don't actually have to boil water, 
also I use a cozy that fits around my titanium pot and eat out of a 
plastic cup with a lid with a can cozy around it to keep hot drinks or 
oatmeal hot on cold mornings.  So I budget 1 ounce a day for cooking per 
person per meal.  It varies, so in the mountains on cold mornings it 
takes more to get your water hot. Also I eat my dinner earlier in the 
day (while the sun is up) to keep from sitting around on cold rocks 
cooking dinner.

P.S. having a windscreen like a is very important when using a alcohol 
stove.  One of the designs that hold your pot also works great...

so, YHHV, HYOH, Blah, blah blah....

Chris
On 1/14/2013 8:46 AM, Daniel Zellman wrote:
> Greetings, all,
>
> Based in part on recommendations from folks on this list, as well as some
> other research, my partner and I are planing on using the Vargo Triad XE
> Titanium Alcohol/Tablet
> Stove<http://www.vargooutdoors.com/Titanium-Triad-XE-Alcohol-Fuel-Tab-Stove>
> on
> our 2013 thru-hike. Fuel tablets are pretty pricey -- $6.95 for a 12-pack
> of Esbit, and it looks like we'd need approx 2-3 tablets per day to heat
> sufficient water for two meals (e.g., oatmeal bkfst and pasta dinner),
> coffee, and cocoa, which works out to almost $15/week for fuel.
>
> So ... our thought was to carry some tablets as a backup, but to rely
> primarily on liquid fuel (HEAT, kerosene, alcohol, etc.) since it's a lot
> more economical and is also more widely available at trail towns and
> such. According to the specs on the Vargo website, the Triad's capacity is
> approx 1.25 oz of alcohol, providing approx 15 min burn time (depending of
> course on altitude and other conditions), so it sounds like we'd be looking
> using 2-3 oz per day of liquid fuel, or roughly a pint of liquid fuel per
> week.
>
> However, neither of us has any experience with alcohol stoves, we were
> wondering if anyone who DOES have experience using the Vargo (or a similar)
> stove might have any insight on this. Do the above estimates / calculations
> ring true? Does alcohol burn hot enough to boil enough water for a
> two-person meal in 15 min? Etc., etc....
>
> Also, any thoughts on good carrying containers/methods would be appreciated
> as well.
>
> Many thanks!
>
> -dz
>