01-05-2010
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 7,110
Rep Power: 8
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scotty, back in the 70's a company was formed in Seattle called "Mountain Safety Research" better known these days as "MSR". They were founded because mountaineers (including hobbyists in the PC Northwest) were dying in the winter. Dying not from the cold, but from dehydration because their camping stoves (usually an Optimus or Svea burning gasoline, sometimes a butane or mixed butane fuel) couldn't put out enough heat to melt snow in the winter. Which meant no water which meant death.
MSR never considered alcohol. It may be good enough for what you do, but the fuel density, the heat produced per quantity of fuel, for alcohol is simply by far the LOWEST of any common fuel. Butane and propane literally won't turn into gas at low temperatures, try using a butane lighter in 20F weather after it has cold soaked.
It comes back to gasoline or kerosene when you want real heat. "Stove" burners may range from 4000 to 11000 BTU per burner, and you'll never see an alcohol stove near the top of that range. Try to boil a lobster pot on an alcohol stove, set up an MSR camping stove or a Coleman stove right next to it, and let me know how the alcohol stove is doing--while by lobsters have already been boiled and are swimming in the butter.
I also have a "cold" gas stove at home. The gas company thinks from the vintage that it was built for "coal gas" (methane? gas produced from coal) and that's what it always makes a cold yellow flame, not a proper blue one, on modern natural gas. A modern gas stove can boil water in half the time.
Alcohol? Glad you enjoy it, I'd rather use a $20 korean butane burner ($15 if you really shop around) or else eat cold food, if I can't get a decent propane rig.
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