Camp stove, where to use?

[mitiempo]

Tell me about it. I kayaked Baja twice and couldn't find naptha (white gas) so used the local auto gasoline. The filthiest stuff I have ever cooked with and the stove didn't like it at all. Had to keep taking it apart to clean it. Propane is available everywhere but not always in small canisters. Kerosene is probably the most available fuel for this purpose.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by CoastalEddie

Oh, I don't doubt that it would work. But, a flammable liquid in a glass container on a little boat? I'll pass.

For years I used a Optimus Svea climber's stove (a self pressurized, white gas stove; essentially a controlled explosion, in a really cool-looking brass container). The funnest part was priming the beast, lighting it, and waiting for the flames to die down enough to get the key in the valve before the flames went out completely (or, the relief valve popped off), w/o losing my eyebrows.



But ONLY for camping. NEVER on a boat.

Ah yes I remember the little Optimus, almost blew up my vestibule with one and they always tipped over just about the time you almost done cooking... The MSR stoves were a slight improvement, especially with the expandable snow base, but still required the "priming" and the large flame phase oh and they simmer great.... Sadly the butane stoves didn't work well in sub zero or at altitude but I used one for summer stuff because they could simmer well...

Personally I would opt for a butane or propane camp stove vs. a white gas unit..

[GeorgeB]

Coastal, I don’t think I had the pleasure of having a flaming jet of fuel come spurting out of the o’l Seva. I did have a bunch of gas “burp” out of it once causing an emulation of both stove and dinner. I was using it in an aftermarket windscreen and 1 quart pot assembly so it could have been the poppet valve – it just went from cooking mode to flambé in a heartbeat. What was also fun was watching the whole burner and neck assembly glowing red hot after running it a half hour on full. I’ve actually used the stove inside a tent during a blizzard. (How I survived my foolish younger, mountaineering days, I’ll never know. Good times.)

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by wind_magic

This is the one I will probably get ...



That's an Optimus Nova multi-fuel, runs about 120$us. I use kerosene for a lot of different things, so I want to get a stove that burns kerosene too instead of just white gas. I like the MSR Dragonfly but it has a plastic pump and I'm afraid I'll break it.

I have a 20 year old MSR with plastic pump that has hundreds & hundreds of meals cooked and the plastic pump is still going strong and that thing has been beat on. Unlike my brother-in-law I never remove it from the fuel bottle and then carry it in the water bottle pouch on my pack which catches trees & stuff... I have lubed the leather a few times but it still pumps great. That new Optimus looks sweet and my buddy Cass had one of the new MSR's on our last trip that now simmers well even on white gas. Was a sweet little stove that made my old Whisperlite look prety antiquated but since about 1990 or so I have done nothing but shake it and lube the pump leather. Great stove just not one I'd use on a boat..

Oh and if you get a camp stove you can use it to do other things too..

[mitiempo]

Here's a gimbaled kerosene stove that James Baldwin (Atom) purchases overseas and modifies and sells when there is demand. See the link for a full explanation. Atom Voyages | Atom Stove - kerosene pressure stove for sailboats - Marine stove, replacement spares, preheat wick - James Baldwin

[bljones]

The atom stoves are nice stoves, very nice stoves in fact, very salty, very seaworthy, very bluewater capable... and very expensive. Don't get me wrong, if i was going to buy a stove to reheat dinty moore beef stew in heaving seas halfway between Bermuda and the Azores, THIS is the stove I would want... but if i was a 15 year old kid in Mississss.. er, Misiss, er, Missisip, er... in the south, I could get along just fine with a cheaper, non-gimbaled option that burns something other than kerosene. Besides, if I was that kid, i would think that my dad would kick my ass and then laugh at me if I told him i paid three and a half franklins for a single burner stove.


(Pssst, let's be aware of, and encourage the fact that the kid is looking to buy a STOVE. In Misipp, er, Missp, uh, down south, I am surprised the kid isn't trying to find a way to fit a deep fryer on his boat.)

[mitiempo]

I guess a few of us have strayed a bit. Chowder would taste just as good on a cheaper stove.

[xsboats]

I used a Svea 123 in my SeaSwing stove for years. I went through the priming and lighting stages with it inside of a large cooking pot , so I could cover it in the event of a flare-up. I primed it with a little alcohol from a small squeeze bottle and never had any problems on the boat. [only one ever on an overnight bivoac on El Capitan]

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

Oh and if you get a camp stove you can use it to do other things too..

Maine Sail,

Ahhh, that photo of the tent in the snow brings back memories. Cold ones.

And given Leland's budget, I agree with the suggestion to get a stove that can be used elsewhere (besides aboard the boat).


Leland,

We do a fair bit of hiking/camping. We use a little Primus stove/burner that screws onto tiny disposable propane canisters. It's small enough to nest inside a little titanium cook kit (including the propane canister), and light/compact enough that we bring it along with us even on day hikes in colder weather. We've used it on the boat from time to time too.

Back when I bought our Primus (a dozen years ago or so), it was one of the most compact cook kits available. Since then more options have come out. For simplicity, one I really like is the Jetboil system, that is very similar to our arrangement but in a more integrated system. Price may be a bit more than you were planning, but remember this includes a "cook kit" too. Take a look here:

JetBoil Integrated Cook System

It even has a HAnging Kit option, which would work as well or better than gimballing (at least, at anchor).

[WanderingStar]

I used a two burner Coleman propane stove for years on a 20' sloop. Rust was never a problem because I brought it ashore when I wasn't cruising. The beauty of cruising a small sailboat over camping is that you don't have to carry all your stuff. The boat does that. I used a Coleman 40qt cooler too. No need to suffer dried stuff, eat real eggs for breakfast, have milk in your coffee. This is supposed to be fun.