Backpacking Stove Fuels

Contact:

Backpacking Stove Fuels

There are a lot of different types of backpacking stoves to choose from.  Nothing effects stove design more than the type of fuel it made for.  As these fuels differ in several different aspects, each varies greatly price, availability, toxicity, convenience of use, storage requirements, etc.

Since there are a lot of similarities between fuels within a fuel class, backpackers may be able to use a lot of different fuels that may be available to them, depending on where they are in the world.  For information on international names fuels check out Mike Buckler's and MSR's list of international fuel names.

The following lists many of the common fuels available to international backpackers.  Some are ideal for stove use, while others are far less suited for peak performance and may even be hazardous as noted.  Since all stoves are inherently dangerous to use, even when used as designed, one should consider the possible risks of using a fuel not designed for their stove prior to experimenting.  The following should only serve as a guide - in other words: use at your own risk.

Stove Fuels

---

Petroleum Fuels

Great heat to weight ratio.  Caustic fuel.  Generally burns hot and is unhindered by cold temperatures.  See Petrol Stove Fuels for more information. 

 

FYI - These fuels can't be safely used in an alcohol stove (it's already been tried).

 

---

Liquefied Gas (Butane, Isobutane, Propane)

Liquefied gas boils/vaporizes at above freezing temperatures and makes stove operation simple and generally has the best heat to weight output.  Unfortunately, their boiling point ranges limit backpacking stove use in the subfreezing temperatures.  These tend to be expensive fuels that come packaged in a disposable metal canister.  See Canister Stove Fuels for more fuel information.

 

---

Alcohol

These are very clean burning fuels that don't create a major health concern or hazard if spilled.  They have about half the heat potential per ounce of most petrol fuels and the weight of alcohol fuel will quickly add up if you are cooking many large meals or going on long trips without resupply.  See Alcohol Fuel Options for more information.

 

---

Chemical Solid Fuels (Esbit, Hexamine, Triox)

These are simple and safe fuels to use and have low toxicity compared to petroleum fuels.  They burn slow and don't need a special stove to operate.  Often, these are only available through mail order or specialty shops, so can be hard to find if you plan to "shop as you go" thruhiking.  There are several solid fuels other than hexamine and trioxane that can be used to heat meals, but many carry along extra hazards such as severe toxicity and explosive potential (e.g. plastic explosive).  See Solid Fuels for more information.

 

---

Wood

Wood varies in burnability, toxicity and availability.  It also provides a special ambiance to being in the outdoors.  See Wood Stove Fuels for more information.

 

---

Paraffin and other Candle Waxes and Oils (not to be confused with Kerosene) Not recommended

Some waxes are worse for your lungs than others and they can vary a small amount in regards to burn time and heat output.  This is generally a slow fuel to cook with and can be very sooty.  Paraffin and other waxes and oils have a lot of heat potential per gram, but it is difficult to make a practical lightweight stove system with them.  See the Candle Stove Fuels for more information.

 

---

Sun

The sun has a lot of heat potential, it is a giant nuclear explosion, and some of that heat can be directly used for cooking by concentrating and trapping it.  Solar radiation levels differ depending on where you are and when you are there.

 

---

Water activated fuels

These do work, but can be hard to find.  They are simple and safe to use, if you are using foods packaged for their use.  Compared to all other stove fuels, these are heavy to start with, and produce a lot of waste that needs to be carried out.

 

There are several metals similar to magnesium that release larges amounts of heat when exposed to water.  These metals must be protected from moisture for obvious reasons and shouldn't be handled with bare hands.

 

---

Calcium Carbide

This can be hard to find and you'll have to fabricate your own stove if you want to cook with it.  This fuel must be kept dry to avoid converting it to acetylene gas and/or turning your pack into a fireball.  You'll also need to pack out the byproducts of combustion, which can be quite caustic and heavy.  Waste products (CaO and Ca(OH)₂ ) will total between 87.5 and 115.6% (not including any water weight) of the start weight of your calcium carbide.

 

Make sure that when you purchase your calcium carbide, it is gray in color and hasn't turned into white dust.

 

 

Fuel Comparisons

The following data is intended to provide general figures for various fuels.  Many of these figures are debatable, but the range of differences are insignificant for backpacking stove performance purposes.  For information on international names fuels check out Mike Buckler's and MSR's list of international fuel names.

Petrol Fuel Types

Commercial petrol stoves are designed to work with certain fuels.  If you have a multi fuel stove, you may need to modify airflow and/or adjust/replace jets in order to optimize use of various fuels.  Larger vaporizer (generator) tubes may also be desirable for heavier and less volatile fuels. 

International Names

For information on international names and idiosyncrasies of petrol fuels check out Mike Buckler's and MSR's list of international fuel names.

Petrol Refining

The heart to petroleum refining is the fractional distillation process.  Raw petroleum is heated up, and separated into different distillation ranges via a pipestill.

 

Fraction	Carbon Chains	Boiling Point Range C	Major Uses
Gaseous hydrocarbons	C1 - C4	0-20	Gas fuels for cooking and heating.  Methane is used for producing hydrogen for manufacture of ammonia
Naphtha	C5 - C7

SEARCH:

Related searches:
petrol calcium alcohol weight carbide

gipoco.com is neither affiliated with the authors of this page or responsible
for its contents. This is a safe-cache copy of the original web site.

gipoco.com is neither affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its contents. This is a safe-cache copy of the original web site.