Stoves: wood, alcohol, butane, esbit, gasoline... let 'm burn

Discussion in 'Knives, Gear, Guns And Other Tools' started by KnOeFz, Feb 7, 2018.

  1. KnOeFz

    KnOeFz Member

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    I thought we had a stove thread going... must have been on the old forums.
    Like many of you I love cooking in the outdoors, especially on wood.
    The Core 4 is my trusted friend out there.
    I'm interested to see what your stove setup used in the great outdoors :)

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    Now let's see your favorite stoves :)
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2018
  2. nathan shepherd

    nathan shepherd Member

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  3. Hammer

    Hammer Member

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    Most of my trips are either multi-day bikepacking or backpacking, and generally trying to go pretty minimal and light. With that for context, I've used an Emberlit Ti quite a bit on various trips. Love how packable it is (it fits in a 4"x6" flat envelope), how light it is, and that I don't need to carry fuel bottles.

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    Sometimes on group trips though, I'm still getting the fire going when my friends with Jetboils and such are already having a hot drink and eating dinner. And frankly, after a long day on the trail, sometimes I just want to eat as fast as possible as well and not mess around with stoking a little fire for 20 min. or more (in wet/windy conditions) to get water boiling. Just depends on the nature of the particular trip. So I also have a MSR Pocket Rocket 2 and it's a pretty impressive little stove. Super light and small and it cranks.

    I played around with alcohol stoves as well for several seasons - tried several different designs, different types of windscreen/stands for them. I really wanted to like them, and was trying hard to understand why they are so popular, but they always failed to impress me over the above options.
     
  4. La\\//inci

    La\\//inci Member

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  5. Jeff Randall

    Jeff Randall ESEE Knives / Randall's Adventure & Training Staff Member

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    I've had an MSR multi-fuel stove for several years and never been used. It was given to me by a friend. So, yesterday I decided to change the jets out and run diesel fuel through it for the first time. What a freakin' mess. Oh, it works, but you have to basically catch the whole stove on fire for about 2 minutes (per the instructions) to heat up the fuel coil enough to start atomizing fuel. Once it gets hot it burns like any other stove and is clean, but the soot it leaves on the rest of the stove makes a mess. I'm gonna change the jets back and run it on gasoline.
     
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  6. KnOeFz

    KnOeFz Member

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    I've seen people messing with those stoves completely on fire.
    Looks like a hard to control system.
     
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  7. Jeff Randall

    Jeff Randall ESEE Knives / Randall's Adventure & Training Staff Member

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    Oh they work great, just messy as hell.
     
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  8. Hammer

    Hammer Member

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    I've spent a lot of time with MSR multi-fuel stoves (Whisperlite Internationals, mostly) and they are workhorses. But not surprisingly, ther are definitely happiest when running clean white gas. We used to have to run kerosene through them when I worked in Mexico since white gas was really hard to find, and while it worked, it was messy as hell and meant frequent cleaning to keep them running well. But it was still far and away the best option. And it meant our students became pros at stove disassembly and cleaning, so there were educational benefits as well....;)
     
  9. La\\//inci

    La\\//inci Member

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    I couldn't agree more... they are real workhorses... I still use my MSR from 1990... going strong... I prefer to use White gas. It is very stable, keeps for a long time... and burns fairly clean but can be soot at startup...
     
  10. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    Love my MSR-XGK. I think it was on the old forum that i posted pics of it burning brake fluid, aftershave, alcohol, ATF, and other fluids found around . (Cut with gas or naptha).

    Definitely prefers naptha. Burns insanely hot.
     
  11. La\\//inci

    La\\//inci Member

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    Strong selling point, that they can burn just about anything, if the road is rough and Sh$% hits the fan.

    But the down side to the MSR stoves... they are a challenge to set on a shimmer.... but jet boil 1000 ml of water in a hurry, for pasta, no problem... a diffuser screen can help... get to a shimmer.

    I typically
     
  12. Stewart

    Stewart Member

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    Im trying to decide between the emberlit ul and the core 4, the core 4 looks great but it seems quite a bit more complicated than the emberlit.
     
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  13. KnOeFz

    KnOeFz Member

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    The Core 4 is only more complicated then the Emberlit if you want to use it in a more advanced modus with afterburner plates. For setting it up like an Emberlit the construction is similar... just connect 3 or 4 walls and a base plate.
     
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  14. AddictedToSteel

    AddictedToSteel Member

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    It was your videos that prompted me to buy one and then another came up for a great price and so now I have two of them. Thanks for spending my money for me, Bushy. :) Have to admit that I have not used either one yet.
     
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  15. B-line

    B-line Member

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    I have a MSR Dragonfly from the 90's. It's multifuel but Ive never used anything but white gas in it. It will actually turn down and simmer pretty well compared to the other MSR stoves from what I've seen. I got a Solo Stove for Christmas but haven't been out and about to use it other than just using it at home. So far I'm impressed with it, but it is definitely more labor intensive than a gas stove.
     
  16. Hammer

    Hammer Member

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    An old MSR simmering trick is to take the windscreen, make sure you wrap the two ends tightly together so it is 'locked' in a cylindrical shape. Bend it a little in a couple places on the top edge for ventilation, and then set the windscreen over the stove and your pot/pan on top of the windscreen. This gets it several inches higher than the burner and allows for a slower cook for things that need simmering, baking, etc. I used to make pizza in a fry-bake pan like this all the time.
     
  17. La\\//inci

    La\\//inci Member

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    I'm not sure I have my windscreen, I have never used it.
    I will try your technique in another way...
    I'm wondering if I can fit my MSR into my Bushcraft Essentials folding Stove.... to create the several inches of clearance that you referenced in your post.
    Pizza, wow... woodsman and a chef!
     
  18. Ballenxj

    Ballenxj Member

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  19. NoRest

    NoRest Member

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  20. KnOeFz

    KnOeFz Member

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    I like how you made a swedish torch inside the stove in that first pic :)
     

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