Can you write to me a list of the different fuels, from the cleanest to the dirtiest please ?
Julien,
Your request sent me digging through my links on the topic. The most useful ones to answer your question are here:
http://zenstoves.net/Fuels.htmhttps://thesummitregister.com/liquid-fuel-stoves-101-choosing-the-right-fuel-for-your-liquid-fuel-stove/http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/expert-advice/guide-to-fuel-and-gas"Dirty" can refer to the deposits left on your pot as well as environmental implications. For example, empty cartridges must be packed out and (generally, there are exceptions) cannot be refilled else they result in trash left in pristine areas and still represent lost resources.
As a tangential but potentially useful aside...
• For ultralight cooking, I use Esbit chemical tablets in either a folding titanium pot stand/tablet holder:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002AQET2C/ref=asc_df_B002AQET2C5354189/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B002AQET2C&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167119746601&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9642454398623081769&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033029&hvtargid=pla-306560132871 )
...or in a little cookset dedicated to tablet use:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UERXOQ/ref=asc_df_B001UERXOQ5354189/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B001UERXOQ&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167119746601&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10596403413877306084&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033029&hvtargid=pla-79168394486...I also have the Bluet version, which I prefer because it incorporates a small shutter to regulate the airflow and can extend the life of the tablet fuel.
These tablet stoves all burn silently.
• For lightweight but short-term cooking needs (<1 week), I use one of a number or spirit/alcohol stoves I own, with matching pot holders and cookware. These also burn silently. I like my Mini-Trangia burner/cookset:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LN7HUC/ref=asc_df_B000LN7HUC5354189/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B000LN7HUC&linkCode=df0&hvadid=238327576703&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=273948494915117293&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033029&hvtargid=pla-392794280090 One I have can be converted between spirit burner and tablet fuels:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UEL76Q/ref=asc_df_B001UEL76Q5354189/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B001UEL76Q&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167119746601&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15859745897234702761&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033029&hvtargid=pla-84153121286I have a whole variety of stands to use with Trangia and Trangia-like spirit burners. Some incorporate windscreens. One is a cross-piece that drops onto the top and is both lightweight and remarkably stable while I use rocks to provide wind protection. Some of my spirit burners I made from drinks cans and they work well but cannot self-store fuel.
A useful link comparing tablets to alcohol spirits:
https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/70526/• For a hotter burn and greatest convenience (and because alcohol stoves are banned by the Forest Service in fire season in some of the areas I travel in summer), I used one of several cartridge stoves I own. I use iso-butane cartridges for a little better cold-weather performance on the mountain passes I must cross between the Valley where I love and the deserts on the other side. These burn not silently but very quietly. I have several cartridge stoves but the ones I return to most often are the cheap "orange box" (
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4637.msg22737#msg22737 ) stoves from eBay that include a piezoelectric sparker. They have proven reliable and good value for me but I wish they had three pot supports instead of four (for better leveling). I use a snap-on support to give the cartridge a wider, more stable base.
• I have largely abandoned my stoves that use white gas only and are equipped with burner plates (i.e. my Optimus 8R, which also has a very small tank, no pump, and requires priming though it does have a self-cleaning orifice needle). These are very noisy, a bit like a blowtorch, and are very poor to use if you are in a stealth camp.
• For longer trips (>1 week), I take my multi-fuel stove with a full tank and -- on longer trips -- a spare 1l fuel bottle as well. I have a couple of Coleman Peak 1/eXponent [sic] Multi-fuel stoves. Here is a listing on Amazon, though the often sell for <USD$50 on eBay:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009VC7QK/ref=asc_df_B0009VC7QK5354190/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B0009VC7QK&linkCode=df0&hvadid=194838933099&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7958120814722940247&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033029&hvtargid=pla-313972873574 For me in my use, they have proven reliable and trouble-free and have a large fuel tank in the bottom of the one-piece design (no separate fuel bottle), a good built-in windscreen and three stable feet, one of which is adjustable to level,a reliable built-in pump, and a burner that can be set to simmer. With a change of generator tube, the stove can burn white gas/naptha, kerosene/jet fuel, or unleaded petrol (which I generally use in the Great Basin as refills with Coleman fuel/white gas/naptha can be very scarce and hard to find...only one small can in all of Cedarville California at the hardware store, none on Adel or Burns Oregon or Denio Nevada when I went through last and stopped at Bobby Putney's store there). The stove packs in two square aluminum boxes that can double as pots, but I use them for storage as they have rounded corners that won't damage my bags or contents. This stove is the heaviest empty or fueled but becomes the lightest-weight option on longer trips due to several factors: 1) Fuel capacity (large tanks so I don't generally have to carry a spare fuel bottle), 2) excellent fuel economy, and 3) greater heat density/hotter BTU output: It burns so hot it heats food quickly and can be turned off sooner than the other stoves, so less fuel is used. It is pretty quiet and uses a burner similar to the "quiet" one shown in the YouTube video linked earlier in this thread. On "simmer" it is as quiet as my cartridge stoves.
Keep in mind, my use is primarily in remote areas of the American West where I am rarely near sources of replacement fuel and so must pack my own. In Europe, it was very different and I adjusted accordingly, depending primarily on a cartridge stove and secondarily on a spirit stove (Mini-Trangia kit). I also had to make sure the stoves I brought would pass airline standards. I passed tables in Paris and Los Angeles holding many confiscated stoves and I did not want mine to be one of them.
So, to summarize: My lightest stoves are great for shorter trips but become heavier (due to extra carried fuel and lower heat output) the longer I carry/use them. My heaviest stoves become the lightest when used over longer periods. In-between, size, weight, and convenience make the selection. For day trips and overnighters, I take whatever I wish but generally gravitate to tablets, spirits (alcohol) or cartridge fuels. The less efficient stoves are the quietest, the more efficient ones are a bit noisier but nothing like the old plate burners I used in the past.
I have at times seriously considered a small forge-stove such as the Sierra/Zip stove:
http://www.zzstove.com/sierra.htmlThese burn wood, pine cones, and twigs found along the way and burn hot due to a small electric fan powered by a AA cell battery I could recharge with my dynohub, making me truly independent from commercial fuels. I have so far been put off by the packed size, weight, price, and most of all, the smell and soot associated with their use. In waterproof bags, it would not take long for the smell of wood smoke to permeate everything. For these reasons I've held off so far, but I can feel the desire for one taking hold again as I contemplate the next touring season. I may make one of my own using a couple of nested cans and a PC cooling fan.
I have found n+1 works as well for stoves as for bikes.
Best,
Dan.
