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Ok I recognize that these fuels & blends have quite different properties (vapourization temp), so the type of camping you do might dictate what you choose (quick cheat sheet above 0C for butane, -11C for isobutane, - 15 to - 22 for isobutane/propane mixtures & - 42C for propane), but as far as cost goes does this also influence your choice?
For the first twenty years of my backcountry camping life I pretty well used a classic single burner Coleman stove, the type that uses the 1lb propane cylinders. But weight eventually got me to look at alternatives...
-Twig stove: Not really crazy about the soot on the pot & if twigs are wet, it's a pain, plus fire bans... Similar for open fires
-alcohol stove: definitely cheap, especially if you make your own stove. Good for solo use, but frankly not enough heat output for group cooking.
-can't comment on liquid fuel stoves as the stoves always seemed pricey, plus complicated (priming process) & stove maintenance
So I find myself back to canister stoves, but are there any other budget friendly (ok I'll say it cheapos) out there that use the butane canisters with their camp stoves? I always camp at temperatures above freezing so use the butane canister with a lindal adapter. I can't be the only one, right!??
The 227g isobutane canisters are typically around $8, with the 227g butane canisters $4. If you go to an Asian grocery store they are like $8 for a pack of 4, so $2 per canister. Yes I know you also need to buy the adapter, but it pays for itself after your first use. Thereafter it is $2 vs $8. Big difference!
With inflation being what it is, you might as well save some money.
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To me a "classic single burner Coleman stove" is still a naptha stove. Almost zero maintenance and still going strong 35 years after buying one as surplus after a Scout Jamboree. Still your best choice for cold weather. Propane might not quit completely at -20C but you won't get anywhere near as much heat at that temperature whereas a naptha stove will keep on chugging.
I'm pretty sure it comes out the cheapest in the long run too.
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A 4 liter jug of Methyl Hydrate is $15.00 at CT and lasts me about a year. I use a Trangia 27 for family or cold weather camping, and a Triangle + cooking on the fire when travelling solo or extra light. It takes a little longer to get a good boil or fry going, but I prefer that over the roar of a Dragonfly.
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The one place I think canister stoves have a real advantage is if you are flying somewhere. The rules around flying with liquid gas stoves are pretty strict. No restrictions on taking the stove part of a canister stove on commercial flights since there is no question of it having fuel. Of course you still have to make a stop to pick up fuel after your flight.
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TripperMike wrote:
A 4 liter jug of Methyl Hydrate is $15.00 at CT and lasts me about a year. I use a Trangia 27 for family or cold weather camping, and a Triangle + cooking on the fire when travelling solo or extra light. It takes a little longer to get a good boil or fry going, but I prefer that over the roar of a Dragonfly.
The beauty of all the different types of stoves is people prioritize different things, no question alcohol stoves will be quieter but I find low heat output of an alcohol stove for group use a deal breaker for me, particularly if doing a fish fry & actual cooking. When I work through my current 3.78L jug of methyl hydrate on solo trips, I doubt I will buy any more alcohol stove fuel.
I prefer faster boil time/cooking of canister stove, also with using $2 butane canisters it is even much cheaper than using Methyl Hydrate. For my trangia or home made stove I usually use 30ml of Hydrate for 500ml boil. Conversely, efficient canister stove setups will use as little as 5g for 500ml boil. My usual setup is Bulin heat exchanger pot paired with Bulin Bl100 stove, this setup is also essentially windproof & have measured 5g per efficient boil (moderate heat flame, if I go for full open boil it is less efficient as I guess the heat just blows off before proper heat exchange to pot/water can happen, however even at not using max flame this is still faster than an alcohol stove boil), but lets say 6g for real world buffer. So cost per 500ml boil....
3.78L Methyl Hydrate / 30ml = 126 boils
$15 / 126 = 12c/boil
227ml butane/6g = 37 boils
$2 / 37 = 5.4c/boil
I'm just using concept of boil for comparison, but I'm sure extending it to fish fry, actual cooking etc, butane stove fuel use will still be cheaper and faster and OK noisier... ;-)
Of course I can't really comment on setups I don't have, but presume a true multifuel stove will be the absolute cheapest operating cost... eg. gasoline @ $1.60/L & high energy content I expect will be hands down cheapest operating cost
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To me a "classic single burner Coleman stove" is still a naptha stove. Almost zero maintenance and still going strong 35 years after buying one as surplus after a Scout Jamboree. Still your best choice for cold weather. Propane might not quit completely at -20C but you won't get anywhere near as much heat at that temperature whereas a naptha stove will keep on chugging.
I'm pretty sure it comes out the cheapest in the long run too.
Agreed, if someone goes down the path of a true liquid fuel stove (not including an alcohol stove here), I expect due to cheap fuel & high energy density of the fuel, these will be cheapest to operate.
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The one place I think canister stoves have a real advantage is if you are flying somewhere. The rules around flying with liquid gas stoves are pretty strict. No restrictions on taking the stove part of a canister stove on commercial flights since there is no question of it having fuel. Of course you still have to make a stop to pick up fuel after your flight.
I probably should not be saying this, I know it embarrasses my daughter, but I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, plus, reduce, reuse, and recycle. Anyhow, as you stated you can't fly canisters on planes, we do have tourists coming to Canada to enjoy our great outdoors & they can't take home their partially used canisters, so they leave them for disposal/recycling... well lets just say I have been known to find new mostly full canisters of fuel ;-)
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I bought an MSR whisperlite more than 25 years ago and the only maintenance I've done is to "shake" it clean once in a while. I agree that priming it is a minor pain, especially if you want a quick coffee, but it takes less than 2 minutes and is not complicated.
I think my biggest dislikes about canisters is that I would never want to pack a partially full canister at the start of a trip. Also, I think it's easier to fine tune amount of liquid fuel I pack.
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Get yourself a gas refill adapter and never take half filled canisters out again. They work great. You can also save some money by buying large canisters to refill with.
If your not in a rush, you can get it for much less here.
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Propane and butane are not the same gas. Refilling a butane canister with propane would be bad idea.
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