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Backpacking stoves are most easily categorised by the type of fuel they burn. The fuel type will also dictate the conditions they will work in, the areas in the world where they can be used, which due to fuel availability and the actual burning or cooking characteristics of the stove.

The following advice has been split into two main groups and then subdivided into the different general stove type based on the fuel they burn, for differences between models please ask the shop staff or phone the mail order no. 01392 424515. The two main groups are un-pressurised and pressurised stoves.

Un-pressurised Stoves:

These stoves use either liquid or solid fuel in some kind of container burning at atmospheric pressure. Un-pressurised stoves work well under 2000m above sea level but are not suitable for higher altitudes because of the lower atmospheric pressure at these heights. These stoves tend to be very durable and quite safe to use particularly as there is little or no risk of explosions.

Solid fuel burners are as basic as you can get. They will burn hexamine blocks, wood or most flammable solids. Cheap and easy to maintain they offer very little flame adjustment are dirty, slow and can give off poisonous fumes. You also have a uncontrolled naked flame so they can be dangerous and defiantly can not be used indoors or in a tent.

Solid Fuel Burner (unused)

Methylated spirit burners (Trangia) are cleaner than solid fuels and have a slightly more controllable flame. They are however still quite slow to heat and inefficient. The advantages of these stoves are there ease of use, durability and safety. Tip: If you add a drop of water to the meths in the burner the pan bottoms wont black up as much and are easier to clean.

Typical Trangia Set Up
Trangia

Pressurised Stoves:

Pressurised stoves run from either pre-pressurised gas cartridges or liquid fuels that are pressurised using a pump attached to the fuel bottle. Some stoves can use both gas and liquids.

Pre filled gas cartridges are filled with Butane, Iso-Butane, Propane or a mixture of the three. The different mixtures perform better in different conditions, different mixtures are available so that the customer can get the best mixture for their intended use. As a brief overview Propane performs best at lower temperatures so higher percentage mixtures of propane will burn better between 0°C and about –25°C (below –25°C no gas cartridges will work very well if at all). 100% propane cartridges are not available because the canisters are not strong enough to prevent them exploding at relatively low temperatures, e.g. inside a hot car. Butane and Iso-Butane are added to make the canister safer and reduce the cost. Butane is cheapest but will not burn below 0°C so it is not ideal for cold weather. Therefore an Iso-Butane and Propane mixture is best for cold conditions but the most expensive. For more detailed information have a look at the following www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_mixtures.htm#Mixture

Common liquid fuels used in back packing stoves are shown in the table below

Fuel Type

Availability

Pros & Cons

Paraffin & Kerosene

Europe, Asia, Africa and the Himalayas

Cheap and easily available. Works well up to about 6500m

But

Dirty, will gunk up fuel lines quickly, requires priming with a different fuel, like meths

Petrol, Unleaded petrol and Benzine

Everywhere with vehicular access

Widely available, cheaper than white gas and cleaner than paraffin or kerosene. Can use petrol as a priming fuel. Efficient up to 6500m

But

Fuel line can clog quite quickly and will require regular maintenance

White gas or Coleman Fuel

Europe, North and increasingly South America

Very clean and efficient up to 6500m can be used as a priming fuel.

But

Expensive

Gas Stoves:

Gas stoves run on Butane and Propane cartridges as mentioned above. Gas is a very clean fuel and easy to use requiring no priming and very little cleaning. Gas stoves are normally the lightest cooking system even including the gas cartridges.
The stoves come in two different configurations (as shown below). The stove can either screw directly on top of the canister or be attached remotely by a fuel pipe. The screw on type is lighter and more compact but less stable and harder to keep the canister warm. The remote gas cartridge can be kept warm more easily so is a better system for cold weather use, the pan support on this type of gas stove is normally larger and more stable so the remote system is better for bigger pans.

Examples of gas stoves

For extended use gas stoves are not so good as multiple canisters are bulky to carry and hard to dispose of. These gas stoves are good to about -25°C depending on the mixture of gas used. Warming the canister will increase the efficiency of the stove and as a general rule if you can comfortably touch the canister then its ok, if it feels hot then turn the stove off and cool it down.

Liquid Fuel Stoves:

Often known as multi-fuel stoves these stoves will normally burn a variety of the fuels shown in the above table. This allows them to be used all over the world on whatever fuel is available locally which is a massive advantage on expedition style trips. These stoves require a bit more maintenance than gas stoves but it is normally quite easy to perform in the field and they are reliable for extended use. Spare washers etc is available and is recommended for extended trips.

Examples of multi fuel stoves

To run a multi fuel stove it has to be connected to the fuel, pressurised using the pump, primed (to make the jet hot enough to turn the fuel to gas) and then lit. Once lit the stoves will burn powerfully and quite efficiently.
bottles

Multi fuel bottles (left) are designed to be pressurised, never use a water bottle as a fuel bottle!

As a rough rule a small MSR fuel bottle will last one person a weekend, the medium size will last 2 people the weekend and the biggest bottle should probably be used for longer time periods or more people to prevent having to refill it as often.

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