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I think you mean "light" the fuel. "Lighten" means to reduce it's weight. It seems you want to ignite it. The basic problem is that the vapor pressure of ethanol goes down significantly with cold. Keep in mind that liquid doesn't actually burn, it's the gas the liquid gives off combining with atmospheric oxygen that actually burns. If you have a fuel ...

When I get to the "simmer" part of cooking on the Whisperlite, I take the pot off the stove, put the lid on, and wrap it in a towel including underneath and on top. Whatever I am cooking will stay simmery for at least 20-30 minutes that way. It's great for making a sauce with dehydrated ingredients. While the sauce is sitting aside staying hot, I can cook ...

There is also the question of heat exchange. How much of the generated heat will end up in the water/food, and how much will go into the surrounding air. I use a Jetboil for this reason. It has a heat exchanger at the bottom of the "pot" to absorb as much of the heat as possible. It also has neoprene insulation to maintain the heat. This is so effective that ...

If car camping, you should go for the two-burner stove: It will be far more stable than the backpacking stove. This is IMO the most important feature. It will probably have a larger burner (thus more heat output) than the backpacking stove. The two-burner stove will not take up much more space than the single-burner stove, and for car camping you will ...

The hydrocarbons are going to dominate in this category. Gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, and diesel are all nearly the same in terms of energy content by mass and volume, and are significantly higher than everything except propane: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density#Common_energy_densities Those fuels contain an enormous amount of energy, that's ...

Make sure your fuel container is not in direct contact with the ground. It'll suck the heat right out of your fuel, reducing vapors. Warm your fuel first (armpits work, closed container obviously) If you are using actual alcohol, you're going to have trouble below freezing. As Olin mentioned, the vapors are what burn, and alcohol just doesn't produce ...

10 inches of snow will give you 1 inch of water. Lets say you need to fill your container half way full to get a cup of water, well that means you're going to have to fill it full 5 times to get that cup, melting it each time. I usually budget about 4-5 times the fuel in the winter than I use in the summer. You can speed things up by pouring a bit of ...

I've heard from numerable places that when climbing Denali, plan on a cup (About .25 L) of white gas per person per day. I would say that this should be a good rule of thumb for your trip as well. You might be able to get away with a bit less, but this is at least a good rule of thumb. You probably won't need this much, but it's a good rule of thumb still. ...

The short answer: don't. Edit: Instead of simmering on the stove, remove the pot from the flame and keep it insulated to retain heat. See @KateGregory's excellent answer for more details. The long answer: you can reduce the pressure in the fuel bottle, and this will reduce the flow rate of the fuel. This is done by pumping fewer times! The exact number ...

Remove the igniter from the stove. Take a fine file or sandpaper and make sure there is only clean metal on the electrode tip. Often times these get corroded and dirty. Use a Scotch-Brite pad or steel wool to clean the burner itself so that it also exposes clean metal. DO NOT use sandpaper on the burner. Get some electrical contact cleaner and spray it ...

Each fuel has a flash point. Below that point, the fumes are not dense enough to sustain a flame. You can find a table here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_point And a nice video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83UfBD92DfI&feature=fvwrel Ethanol : 16.6 °C (61.9 °F) Gasoline : −43 °C (−45 °F) Diesel : >62 °C (144 °F) Below that temperature, the ...

Not all fuels mix well. However, in the case of white gas and unleaded gasoline, one is basically a (much) cleaner version of the other, so you're not mixing so much as diluting the white gas with its inferior (for cooking) sibling. Still, you would get better performance out of the remaining white gas if you don't mix it with the unleaded. There's really ...

As a keen car camping family with 3 kids, I can definitely recommend your second option - it has sufficient power and capacity to make meals for 5 without taking up too much space. It is light, easy to clean, and the small gas canisters for it are available in a huge number of places. It is also light enough that if you are having to lift your gear a few ...

The short answer is, it all depends. Using a double-walled system will add weight to your stove, but it will improve your stove in a few ways. You should get a higher level of heat and your fuel will burn more completely. Personally, I would think the increase in bulk would be worth the increase in performance. Another alternative though would be to build a ...

I found this PDF from UNESCO It would seem ethanol (denatured alcohol) is top of the list, but petrol is pretty good and probably more cost-effective. The both have similar densities (about 0.7 kg/l). No data on white gas, but given the chemical content of it, I shouldn't think it's too far off petrol. However, as Zoul points out in the comment below - ...

There are no reliability problems specifically with dual fuel stoves. Reliability really has more to do with the design and the manufacturer than the fuel(s). So the best stove for you really depends on what you are doing. If you are making lots of short hikes with occasional multi-night treks, then a reliable dual fuel stove could be a great solution. If ...