# alcohol stoves



## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

Anyone here ever use one on a back country hunt? I am planning on using one next weekend but I hope that the high elevation and the cold weather does not leave me eating ice cold dehydrated meals.


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## Ton_Def (Dec 23, 2008)

As long as you prime it first (get it hot) it shouldn't be a problem. I've had a small beer can alcohol stove that has been well used, only problems I've had are when I didn't prime it, or not long enough.


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

Thanks for the reply.... How do you prime it? Just light the alcohol and let it burn for a while?


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## hunter_orange13 (Oct 11, 2008)

Are you talking about the Penny Stove type ideas? We used some for scouts and I HATED them.. I just ended up buying a cheaper coleman backpacking stove. it was about 20 bucks at walmart, and the fuel is a few bucks. The jetboils are really sweet. 

The Coleman stove also fits in a pack better then my penny stove did. Some peoples worked really good, but I never had good luck with them.


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## Ton_Def (Dec 23, 2008)

Nambaster said:


> Thanks for the reply.... How do you prime it? Just light the alcohol and let it burn for a while?


Yep. Add a little alcohol and let it burn. That's the principle. As the alcohol vaporizes it needs to escape so it basically "pressurizes" itself, forcing it out of the holes. The hotter the can, the better...


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## The Naturalist (Oct 13, 2007)

I personally don't like to mess with alcohol stoves. I prefer the little butane/propane stoves. There are several to choose from and about any price range. Some you might want to take a look at are MSR stoves, Snow Peak stoves, Optimus stoves.
There is even a little pellet type stove that is very inexpensive that works surprisingly pretty good from Esbit. 
Whichever way you decide to go....experiment with it at home first to make sure you know how to operate it efficiently.


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## ntrl_brn_rebel (Sep 7, 2007)

Nambaster-

I second the naturalist......stay away from alcohol....

I would like to add to his list though, Primus makes a hell of a stove as well.


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## Ton_Def (Dec 23, 2008)

I would have suggested a butane/propane backpack type stove, but he asked about using an alcohol burner. 
I gave up on them long ago. Brunton Raptor is all I use. Sportsman's has them with a piezo igniter for less than $30. Tough, and wide supports. I've used it with a full size fry pan to cook eggs and pancakes when the propane ran out on the Camp Chef!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I'm with Naturalist on this too.

I'm just not a fan of alcohol stove; have owned a couple.

I use butane/propane up to 12,000' in all kinds of cold weather with no problem


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

I am in for a cold wet and miserable weekend. I appreciate all of the advise. I will be switching to a propane/butane stove as soon as I get a chance to head out to sportsmans.. As my memory serves I remember a friend buying a jet boil for around $135 and I thought that he was crazy... I would rather just start a small fire. 

As ton_def mentioned I guess there are a lot of other affordable options... The $15 bucks that I used to buy my alcohol stove would have paid for half of an awesome propane/butane stove... Oh well I guess.... Live and learn.


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## Ton_Def (Dec 23, 2008)

Nambaster said:


> Oh well I guess.... Live and learn.


Nah. Ask and ye shall receive!  I have an old Primus that you could borrow. It's a singular unit (the canister stays attached) so it's not as compact, but it still melts the Teflon off a fry pan!

[attachment=1:djv4lzgv]2011-10-19 21.08.36.jpg[/attachment:djv4lzgv]

Next to my Raptor(on left). It's not really much bigger.

[attachment=0:djv4lzgv]2011-10-19 21.10.01.jpg[/attachment:djv4lzgv]


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

sal;dkflaskfj


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

Hey ton_def I greatly appreciate the offer to borrow your stove, unfortunately I am leaving in exactly 6 hours to start my accent with a 55 lb pack. :lol: This trip is going to kill me but hopefully it will also kill a decent buck.


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## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

I own a handful of MSR white gas stoves and have used them in hostile climes from north to south. They have never failed me. I've used them at at elevations over 20,000' and in temps approaching -40. They're a great stove and you can trust that they'll fire up when you need them.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Airborne said:


> I can't believe how many people here are down on the good old alcohol stove--I love mine. Used it for a 7 day backcounty hunt in the Uintas this year on the bowhunt. It worked great and saved me a some ounces of weight. I went with a stove called the whitebox alcohol stove. Buy them here, only 23 bucks:
> 
> http://www.whiteboxstoves.com/
> 
> ...


Cool, never heard of them. For that price, I may get one and try it out.


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## USMARINEhuntinfool (Sep 15, 2007)

I'm surprised you guys haven't made yer own alcohol stoves. 2 popcans and a thumb screw is all ya need. Real cheap. Youtube the instructions, there's a few on there. Easy, cheap, light, and their fun for young scouts to make and use on their camps.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Nambaster, I messed around with alcohol up in Alaska. I told you the story. Got in a bit of trouble too....wait, wrong kinda alcohol.
I've been a big fan of MSR Whiserlight stoves for many years. Two years ago I was on a solo backpack hunt on the Idaho/Wyomingh boarder and my stove plugged up. It's done it before but this time I couldn't get it cleaned out. I was freezing too! My friend let me take his JetBoil to try out and I was really impressed! I can't believe how fast it boils water. I just bought two cases of fuel for it. I'm loving that stove.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

I have been using alochol stoves exclusively for ~7 years, I like these the best www.traildesigns.com They are very stable, fuel efficient, and the best in the wind. Some models burn wood and esbit also. Canister stoves start to fail below 0*(depends on the blend) unless they are canister inverted liquid feed types. Alcohol is good below 0*, and I've seen it used up to 14,000'. I've used it up 12,500', with no trouble. For weight savings over alcohol stoves, use wood fires. For weight and time savings, dont bring a stove and eat cold.


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