I took my new Primus 96 (stamped "AA", so 1936) on a day hike up Convict Canyon in the Sierra Nevada this past weekend. Elevation is about 8000ft / 2440m. To give some scale, the lowest part of the ridge in the background is about 10,000'. Fall is definitely in the air; cloudy and cool with a slight breeze. We hiked up to one of the cottonwood groves visible in the distance in the first photo, which seemed like a good place for a hot brew. Notice my tiny meths bottle. . . Trying to keep the priming flame from blowing away from the burner. Is it hot enough yet? Not quite, but it soon settles down to a nice purr. Pump it up to a roar, and get some water in the pot. Bubbles on the bottom almost immediately. At this point, I discovered that somebody had forgotten the tea. Luckily, a lodgepole pine was nearby, so we were able to brew everyones' favorite, pine needle tea. Once I get a bit more accustomed to this stove, and especially to the shelter it requires during priming, I'll be ready to take it on a more ambitious trip. Thanks to Dave Mordaunt for taking the photos, and very special thanks to Ian for sending me this great stove. ....Arch
Ooooohh! Very nice ! Now, pardon my ignorance, but. I understand that the water will boil sooner at the higher elevation, but, does this mean that the water temperature is any lower than at sea level? Do you end up with tepid tea ? I don't do much (any) of this high mountain hiking stuff, meself, just get to 'enjoy the flame' on the balcony of a 2nd floor town apartment, most of the time. Spudz (a townie with dreams)
Yup See here - Wikiwotsit From the graph, it can (if you can remember the units) be seen that above 20,000 Feet (6Km) water will boil below 80?C - you want decent tea - bring a pressure cooker. Sorry about the morass of units. Heights in Feet, Pressure in Torr (which is the old mm/Hg), temperatures in Centigrade - and I have to assume familiarity with the 550mBar synoptics....... The answer is, of course, "An OXO Cube".
Not only does the water boil at a lower temperature, hence tepid tea, but because of the adiabatic lapse rate as you go higher it gets colder as well ! Double whammy
Yes - it's as Doug says... Essentially, the lower the atmospheric pressure, the lower the boiling point. So as you go higher up a mountain and the air pressure decreases, then the temperature at which water boils decreases - hence you get a less satisfactory 'brew' Happily, the converse is also true. The higher the pressure, the higher the boiling point - hence the pressure cooker! I seem to recall from A-level Physics, that a device called a HYPSOMETER* was used in the early days to determine altitude. This measured the boiling point of water accurately and that value was then read off a graph to give elevation above sea level... * Is the word 'inclosed' Yankspeak for 'enclosed' - or was that merely a typo? And WTF's 'ebullition'?
ebullition: 1. a seething or overflowing, as of passion or feeling; outburst. 2. the state of being ebullient. 3. the act or process of boiling up. 4. a rushing forth of water, lava, etc., in a state of agitation. [Origin: 1525?35; < L ēbullītiōn- (s. of ēbullītiō), equiv. to ēbullīt(us) (ptp. of ēbullīre to boil up ēbullī- (see ebullient) + -tus ptp. suffix) + -iōn- -ion] Dictionary Bouillon?
This is most definitely a topic to be discussed over a cuppa; with water 'ebullated' at room temperature, or at least over a bottle of Barolo Language, sure without it you'd have nothing to say ... kinda, sorta maybe (ish). Spudz
Google is my Shepherd, I shall not want... Ebullition: The agitating, bubbling action of a liquid that is undergoing rapid, active boiling. 'Inclosed' is a synonym of 'enclosed' Here endeth the lesson...
ebullition = boiling In proper English I think we would say vesiculation ( vesicle is a bubble ),which refers to the production of bubbles in a liquid as it is boiling. . . . . . in other words beyond the gentle rolling boil, more . . . . . . oh for heavens sake turn it down . . .quick !
Well, no, actually Spudz - it would evaporate at room temperature. It would ebullate only when its saturated vapour pressure reached atmospheric pressure. That's the point, see - the link between air pressure and boiling point... B*llocks - I'm off to do something useful, instead...
Put the kettle on, I fancy a cuppa. but properly boiled mind, none of that 'high falootin' ' ebullated sh*te . Cheers Spudz
Nice stove and pics. Don't know about that high attitude boiling stuff but I supose the stove manufactures boil there water up there too!!! Wondered why boil times are always slower than some. It must be because I'm 10m above sea level or should I say 14-10m above depending on the tide. Sometimes 2 feet above!! Must be why I always have a nice hot brew. Hey spuds take it down to the basement level get a better brew then all the way up on the second floor. Don't want one of them half brewed cups. My sister in law can do that coss' she lives on the second floor too and her cuppas are always a bit tepid!!!
