At how low a temp can I use a pepsi can stove?

“I guess the substance of my question is in the thread title.

So anyone have an answer for me?”

“When it starts creeping into the 30's or low 40's I abandon the Alcohol stoves. It helps to feep the fuel in your jacket warm when you use it in cold temps.”

“Guess I'll be using my Esbit this weekend...”

“I already packed my alcohol stove, I may get out the propane cannister or my esbit instead. The cannister does simmer better and I plan on doing some cooking.”

“I haven't packed a thing, but I am dehydrating some red beans and rice to take on this trip. Esbit has always worked for me. I used my alcohol stove on one trip, and it worked okay. I checked the forecast temps and it looks like Saturday night it may get below freezing.”

“So a low this weekend of 30 will probably not work, huh? Maybe I'll try keeping the fuel close to me like DDX suggested. (Thanks!)

BTW DDX, nice shoes today!”

“you should be able to use it colder. Trangia makes a cold weather kit. They've been using it a v cold temps for many years.”

“I do have a primer/preheat dish made from a tuna can for my new model. (The Cobra) Maybe I need to try it out in the freezer and see if it still works....








..... KABOOM!!!!!”

“I have sucsessfully used mine in the upper 20's. It just takes longer to light and cooks slower. Just take Heet (yellow not red) instead of Alcohol and you should be fine. It has a lower flash point I believe and will fire up easier at lower temperatures but if I recall it burns at a lower temperature. I could be mistaken.”

“anyone ever use a mixture of Heet and alcohol?”

“I know I've used mine below 30. But I think I did have to refill it with fuel before it boiled. (I have the ultra super tiny, light SStomper model.. lol)

then again, my windscreen sucks. STOVEY??!?!?”

“what about a jetboil? how low of a temp can u use that in? i assume the same as any kind of isoprop stove? about 20* or so?”

“I've used my in temps as low as single digits. It takes a while for the stove to heat up, but once it's warm, it works fine. And, hey, dinner got cooked. You can also try to incubate the soda-can stove and alcohol fuel in your pockets to help speed up the "warming up" process.

Using a wind screen around the stove itself, it took me twice as long as normal to boil a pint of water at about 10*F. Naturally, I had to put in enough fuel so it would burn that long. Of course, by the time I finally got a boil, all my "white-gas" buddies were done eating and cleaned-up already.

Moral of the story: Pepsi can stoves will work in cold weather, but white gas is much more practical. MSR Whisperlites aren't too expensive and work beautifully for boiling water in the winter.
last edited: 12/06/04 11:46:01 PM”

“white gas stoves are "messy"... i have yet to buy one because the people i see who have them seem to have trouble (i'm hinting at a specific persons, can u guess who u are? hehe). all i have are superfly and jetboil. but i'll prob invest in a white gas stove when i have extra money... which seems to be never anymore.
last edited: 12/06/04 11:48:24 PM”

“Isn't heet based on methanol, a type of alcohol?

The butane-powered JetBoil stove appears to suffer similar problems to alcohol. Very poor heat output at cold temperatures. Also, in a JetBoil stove, it's difficult to trap the heat in attempt to warm it up, as it really doesn't have a wind screen.”

“Oh, stop it...

White gas stoves are soo not messy. It just takes a little practice at home before you go out, and you'll be a pro in no time at all.

Besides, a little priming never hurt anyone...”

“Don't get your panties in a bunch, lizsbaby!
When I get back from sea trials (taking a 315' boat for a test drive), I'll fix that problem.

Ruby - They work fine at low temps, but insulate the bottom with a piece of foil covered cardboard and use a match or stick dipped in alcohol to light it.”

“PS, prime this, baby!”

“I have made alcohol stoves, I have bought alcohol stoves and I have tried to use alcohol stoves. They suck.”

“ditto what SS said - use a match to light the alcohol and "touch" the flame to the surface of the alcohol to get it going.”

“I use a soup can with large "U" cut-outs from 2 "sides". That doubles as my pot stand and preheater. Using that and some more foil on the ground to reflect more heat, and a close-fitting foil windscreen to reflect even more heat and cut out cold drafts, I have had no problems in very cold weather (well below freezing). Its all about conserving the heat that is produced.

Heet is methanol (wood alcohol, not drinkable). Denatured alcohol is 95% ethanol (drinkable), 5% methanol to make it poisonous so you don't pay alcohol taxes. Ethanol and methanol has similar burning properties so there is no reason to switch to Heet in the winter - just make sure you are using denatured alcohol all the time. NEVER use rubbing alcohol. It has a high percentage of water which kills the heat output. You can buy denatured alcohol from Home Depot for about $10 per gallon (paint supplies).”

“I have used my pepsi can stove in temps near 10 degrees. no problem.
I love it and would use it in even colder temps.

If you have a good wind screen I do not see what the proplem would be.”

“hehehee... I think I got Stovey's panties in a bunch. LOL!

What are you guys trying to say about lighting the alcohol stove? All I do is put a match right on the alcohol surface and, zing, it lights. It sounds like you are saying something more complicated??.....”

“scorchy, this may intrest you:

http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/33277,-1.php

check the posts from last week”

“yup im with you liz
it really is not that hard to light a match
unless your freezing, then your pretty much screwed.”

“When the temps are too cold to directly light the fuel in the burner, I pick the burner up and hold a lit flame from my lighter to the burner bottom and count to 15. This warms up the fuel enough that it lights everytime.”

“Buddur go BOOOOM
LOL”

“Put a hot hands hand warmer inside the stove when stored, then place it under the stove to cook....and keep one next to the fuel bottle as well...no problems where you keep fuel and stove then...stuuf sack them in the pack...”

“lizs - I use a pressurized version, fully enclosed with gas jets all around the top. That type is hard to light w/o a preheat of some kind. Gotta get the fuel inside boiling before any fuel vapors will appear outside to light. If you are using a non-pressurized "open center" design then you can light the fuel directly. I'm guessing you have that type?”

“I've used alky stoves in near freezing temps with no problems. Of course, I do keep the fuel bottle tucked in my jacket for a little while first.”

““scorchy, this may intrest you:

http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/33277,-1.php

check the posts from last week”

hey, thanks! some good tips on that one, especially with setting the cannister/stove in a pot of an inch of water. i didn't know that. now i do, thanks to nige.”

“"PS, prime this, baby!"
-ScorchFire

Wahoo! I'll be right over...
























...to prime your stove, of course! (what were you thinking?)”

“Thank you, all. I feel so pepsi-can-stove educated now.

How nice to see all of us participating and playing nice on a real live non-chatter thread. ;P”

“my stove will be out and ready.....”

“yes


but will it be sooty?”

“buy a real stove...

not to be an ass, but that pepsi can stove isn't worth the weight below freezing”

“I prefer hot temps.”

“I used my Pepsi can stove on the Loyalsock Trail last year at 17 degrees and while it worked OK, I was wishing I brought my Coleman Peak 1 instead. I took a long time to boil water and it consumed a lot of fuel in the process. When it's cold out I want hot water and food as fast as I can get it. The Pepsi can stoves work great for warmer conditions, but for me a white gas stove makes more sense below freezing.”

“I've used my pepsi stove on the Superior trail in the low teens. I think it did take longer, but I'm usually oblivious at the end of a hiking day and didn't particularly notic. I may end up trying others, but for the present it's what I use. With respect to my upcoming AT venture, weight is almost everything”