Camping Stoves: Camp stoves vary in size from big three-burner propane stoves, useful for car camping, down to pocket-sized backpacking stoves that weigh three ounces or less. For backpacking stoves, the best recommended stoves are those that use lightweight isobutane fuel-canisters or alcohol stoves which are lighter and use the safest and least toxic fuel. A review at RockAndIce.com used rigorous tests to compare 23 backpacking stoves, including eight that use white gas and other liquid fuels. Camping stoves are not only tools for car or motorcycle camping, canoe trips and backpacking, but they can be important for home disaster preparation, too. Experts on emergency preparation suggest getting a camp stove and fuel supply that you can take with you if you need to evacuate, or for use in a storm shelter at home if need be. If you use an electric range for everyday cooking, it's good to have an emergency stove on hand for power outages. Camping stove reviews make clear that pressurized propane or butane stoves are the easiest and most convenient to use -- they’re as simple to use as a gas grill. Camp stoves that use white gas or other petroleum-based liquid fuels are trickier to learn to use safely, and the flame adjustment under the second burner can be difficult to adjust. User reviews agree by consistently rating liquid-fuel two-burner camping stoves lower than propane camp stoves. This maybe due partly to user assessments of the declining quality for the old standbys. For example, the Coleman white-gas camping stoves, that are now made in China, have received many complaints for fit and finish due to the stoves now use thinner gauge steel,. Additionally, two user reviews at Amazon.com report that the top-of-the-line Coleman Powerhouse Deluxe Liquid Fuel Stove (*est. $95) caught fire. But two-burner liquid-fuel camping stoves made in the USA have also had safety problems. In 2002, several models made by Century Tool were recalled for a problem with the burner assemblies. If you need a liquid-fuel stove for its excellent performance in cold weather, or because white gas is inexpensive, reviews give several single-burner camping stoves much better report cards for quality and performance. Types of camp stoves Whether you want a camping stove for disaster preparation, campground camping or backpacking, choosing the best fuel for your needs is the first step, because camp stoves are designed to burn specific fuels. These include propane, white gas or other petroleum-based liquid fuels, alcohol, wood, and butane, isobutane, or blended gases. Each fuel has significant advantages and disadvantages for different situations. Propane Best overall, propane is easy to use and easy to find. For situations where weight doesn't matter that much -- such as car camping or the campsite -- propane is a great choice. Propane is clean-burning and efficient. It comes in small disposable canisters or in larger refillable canisters. Propane stoves usually have two or more burners and are suitable for a griddle or for group camping. White gas This type of liquid fuel comes in a quart or gallon containers, from which you pour as much fuel as you need into your stove's refillable canister. The upside is that you only carry as much fuel as you need, so you can keep pack weight low. For long campsite stays with a big group, it's easier to carry cans of white gas than several 20-pound propane tanks. White gas works well in cold weather and high elevations, and white gas is inexpensive to buy. The downside is that it's tricky to use, and more prone to flare-ups. The stove needs priming before you light it, and you have to mess with refilling your canisters. Some stoves that burn white gas can also burn unleaded gasoline or kerosene. If you are camping near water, reviews suggest avoiding petroleum-based fuels like white gas, kerosene, or unleaded gasoline. Experts say that spilling just one capful of unleaded gas can pollute 1,000 gallons of water. Canister gas Canister gas, which contains butane, isobutane or a blend, comes in disposable (and recyclable) aluminum canisters, so they are very convenient to use. Canister gas doesn't work that well in cold weather or higher elevations, so these stoves are best for weekend backpacking, bike trips and warm-weather camping. The canisters are more expensive than buying white gas in bulk, but most backpackers say canister gas is a lot more convenient and easy to use. Alcohol Alcohol is easy to find and inexpensive, and it's a good choice for a disaster-preparation kit, since it stores well and has other uses. The catch is that it only burns half as hot as other fuels, which means it takes a longer time to boil water. Many camping stoves now come with Piezo ignition, also called push-button ignition, matchless ignition, or electronic ignition. This convenience makes the stove easier to light in windy conditions, but the igniter can eventually wear out. Some of the igniters work more reliably than others, so carry plenty of dry matches or a lighter as a backup. Standards used for comparing camping stoves include BTUs (at full throttle), boiling time (usually the minutes required to boil 1 quart of water in 70-degree weather at sea level), and burn time (the length of time the stove will burn on one fuel fill). Reviews say that while these are nicely measurable statistics, they're not all that useful in choosing a camp stove. Factors like convenience, reliability and availability of fuel – and weight, for backpacking -- are more important. User reviews do tend to emphasize BTU output for campground stoves, though, since they're often cooking larger quantities for several people. And many backpackers like to heat water quickly, both to get a quick start in the mornings and to prepare supper after a hard day's hike. Stoves for campground use If you travel by car to campsites, then either a propane or white-gas stove will give you the most cooking options, especially for a group. The standard camping-stove design shuts like a briefcase, then unfolds to reveal two or three burners, with the lid forming a windscreen at the back, and side windscreens unfolding and locking into place. Reviews say windscreens are crucial, because wind makes a stove hard to light, then wastes heat and fuel. If you need more space for a large skillet or griddle, you can fold one side shield out of the way. Most camp stoves are table-top units that you put on a picnic table, but some have folding legs.
Even though 10,000 BTU burners have been the standard size for years, user reviews posted at Amazon.com and Epinions.com say they can be frustratingly slow. They prefer camping stoves with at least one burner that's 12,000 BTU or more. This also makes it easier to use optional camp stove accessories, which now include griddles, grills, ovens and coffee makers. As noted above, if you're camping near any body of water, using liquid-fuel camping stoves risks spills that contaminate it. Liquid-fuel stoves are relatively dangerous too, because of the risk of fuel spills and flare-ups. Adjusting the flame on the second burner is tricky, too. User-reviews rate white-gas stoves a little lower than propane camp stoves, and experts say there are only a few reasons you might go with white gas instead of propane. White gas is cheaper, and for a long trip, it's easier to carry a large quality of white gas than propane tanks. White gas also performs much better in cold weather, especially below freezing. If you plan to camp near the ocean, reviews say stainless steel, brass and aluminum are better materials for a camping stove than plain steel. The paint on stoves isn't that durable, so plain steel often rusts near salt water. Backpacking stoves for warm weather trips Backpacking stoves emphasize reliability, light weight, and compact size. Of course any backpacking stove can also be used as a regular campground stove, but most backpacking stoves are better for just one or two people, with single burners that don't put out as much heat as the camping stoves discussed above. The favorite fuel for backpacking stoves, in professional reviews and user reviews alike, is canister gas, sometimes called cartridge gas. The basic fuel is butane or LPG gas, which can be contained in lightweight aluminum canisters. (Propane requires steel cylinders, so it's too heavy for backpacking.) An average canister in the smallest 110 to 113g size weighs 7 or 8 ounces, but it's more efficient to size the canisters according to the length of your trip, since one big canister weighs less than two small ones. Sizes range up to 500 grams. Stoves using these canisters come in two versions. The lightest, most compact style mounts the burner directly atop the canister. This type is good for small cooking pots, but it tends to be unstable with larger pots, and using a windscreen is dangerous because the canister can overheat and explode. The other type of stove -- often called a remote-cable stove -- links the canister to the burner with a flexible hose, so the burner sits on more stable legs and can be surrounded with wind protection. Reviews say this makes a huge difference in fuel efficiency in windy conditions, since otherwise fuel consumption can double or even triple. Though butane canisters work down to 32 degrees F, they perform best only down to about 50 degrees. Isobutane and blended propane/butane canisters are recommended down to 40 degrees. Below that, you're probably better off with a white-gas stove, which works better in cold conditions. One good workaround, however, is to use a remote-cabled canister stove that lets you turn the canister upside down. (Only canister stoves that use a generator to vaporize the fuel can do this safely.) This keeps the propane from burning off first. Backpacking stoves for cold weather Although a remote-cabled canister stove that can use the canister upside down, like the MSR Windpro , can make a canister stove work even in subfreezing temperatures, most reviews recommend a liquid-fuel or white gas stove for camping in really cold weather or for melting snow. Multi-fuel stoves that can burn kerosene, unleaded gas, diesel fuel, etc. are also recommended for overseas travel, although this depends on your destination. In some parts of the world, it's just as easy to find gas canisters. Like canister stoves, liquid-fuel stoves come in two basic types – models with the burner mounted on top of the fuel tank or those with the burner connected to a fuel bottle via a cable. Top-mounted burners aren't considered as safe, because fuel could spill down and ignite the tank, though some users still love the hundred-year-old design. The main drawback is the relative weight that maybe heavy for backpacking. Alcohol backpacking stoves Alcohol stoves and their plastic fuel bottles can be incredibly light, making them increasingly popular among backpackers. They also cost a bit less than canister gas and are relatively safe. There's no risk of explosion, and spills evaporate quickly without leaving horrible smells. Grain alcohol and denatured alcohol are among the least toxic of camp-stove fuels. The main issue for backpackers is the weight of the alcohol itself, if you have to carry a large quantity for a long trip. Since alcohol has roughly half the heating power of canister gas and liquid fuels like white gas, the fuel weight can be twice as heavy. So calculating which stove and fuel combination will be lightest overall, for a certain length of trip, can be tricky to do. If a trip is long enough to use up a whole gas canister, that's a good choice, but for most trips, calculations at ZenStoves.com show that alcohol is a lighter choice. Of course there are other factors. Canister gas stoves are more convenient -- slightly quicker to get going -- and it's much easier to adjust the flame down to a simmer. Alcohol stoves are better suited to boiling water, which can limit menu choices. For real cooking, a canister stove can't be beat. But alcohol stoves are so quiet you don't hear them at all, they renewable fuel that's less toxic than others, and you don't have all those gas containers to recycle -- or to feel guilty about not recycling. Important Factors - Camping Stoves Expert reviews suggest considering these factors in choosing a camping stove: • Consider fuel and weight. For backpacking trips, especially long ones, this may be the decisive factor, but for car camping or disaster preparation, it may not matter at all. Remember to calculate the weight of the fuel you'll need to carry before you get resupplied, not just the starting weight. • How crucial is safety? Alcohol stoves are the safest choice, producing the least fumes, and since alcohol evaporates quickly, it's least flammable. For emergency or campground use, propane stoves using disposable canisters are also relatively safe. Of course ventilation is essential for any camping stove, and experts recommend not using any stove inside a tent -- but if you must, a fuel-tab, alcohol stove is safest. In a large family tent with lots of headroom, a propane stove is fine. • Canister and propane stoves are the most convenient. The best camp stoves that use pressurized gases set up quickly, light easily and make it simple to adjust the heat. For two-burner campground stoves, propane is the most convenient fuel, while butane, isobutane, and propane/butane canister fuel is better for backpacking. • Canister stoves that use threaded attachments are safest and most versatile. Standard threads, called Lindal threads, enable most canister stoves to use different brands of canister gas. The canisters are self-sealing, so after each use you can remove the burner. But a few stoves puncture the seal to attach the canister; then the burner must be left on the canister till the fuel is used up. This makes it harder to pack the stove, and since the attached burner includes the fuel knob, it increases the risk of the fuel accidentally getting turned on inside a pack. • Be sure you can buy the canisters you need. The Gaz/Bleuet puncture-type canisters are more popular in Europe. Some Coleman stoves are designed to use PowerMax canisters, though an adapter (*est. $25) is available to enable them to use more common gas canisters. • A Piezo ignition adds convenience. This electronic, push-button ignition makes it easier to light a gas stove, especially when it's windy. But be sure to carry dry matches or a lighter as well, since the Piezo igniters are notoriously unreliable -- and even a reliable one can suddenly break. • Be sure you can adjust the flame while wearing gloves. Even in spring and fall you may want to wear gloves part of each day. In winter this factor becomes really important. • Do you plan to travel outside the United States? In some parts of the world, it's easy to buy canister gas, while in other places kerosene is a better choice. In still other areas, dung is the only fuel readily available. • Practice before relying on a stove. Even for a simple propane or canister gas stove, it's important to practice setup, lighting, cooking, and shutdown at home before going camping or relying on a stove for disaster preparation. It's even more important for alcohol and liquid-fuel stoves that are trickier to learn to use. • Carry a repair kit. Check to make sure the stove works properly and that all parts are in good condition, of course, before setting off on a trip. If you're storing a stove to use only in emergencies, be sure to check it regularly. If you travel with a liquid-fuel stove, experts recommend studying the basic maintenance instructions at home, then carrying your stove's repair kit with you. Be aware that you may not be able to bring your stove with you if you are traveling by plane. Current Homeland Security regulations forbid taking any type of camping stove with you once it's been used, since traces of flammable fuel may remain. You may not even be able to take a brand new stove or bottle for liquid fuel that's never had fuel in it. To avoid risk of having a stove confiscated at the airport, experts say you should consider buying your camping stove and fuel after you reach your destination, then giving it away at the end of your trip. In some parts of the world, burning wood or dung for fuel is standard, and you can probably check such a stove as luggage -- but inquire ahead of time to be sure. Article courtesy of ConsumerSearch
Payment Processing