Silent burners: were they responsible for the death of liquid fuel stoves?

Uncomfortable to say, but for many folks (myself included, at least to some extent), buying my first liquid fueled stove was a matter of water flowing downhill. I was hiking and camping close to and above timberline and was tired of collecting wood at lower elevations and hauling it up to fuel a meagre fire or two for a couple of meals, and then eating the rest of my high country meals cold. So I bought a Svea 123. The only "easier" solution available at the time was the Gaz Bleuet, which had its own set of limitations. Had there been an easier-to-use stove that met my requirements, I probably would have purchased it instead.

Having a stove also opened up winter backpacking and mountaineering to me, so it wasn't 100% laziness, and the ritual involved to start the Svea eventually led to an interest in stove history and other stove models.

....Arch

 

Since no one has pointed it out, a real liquid fuel stove is more in the line with a wick stove. All our kero/gasoline/spiritsburning stoves really burns gas! It might not be popular but it is the truth...... Have you all forgotten why we need to preheat, it is to get our fuel into a gaseous phase.

So the step to liquid gas that don´t need preheat is quite a big step in user friendliness, so big that even I use a gassie quite often.

Always a Besserwisser....

 

Yes, @bem1965, hence the popularity of the Coleman, Preway, etc. instant light stoves.

 

Wick stoves burn a gas too. The fuel evaporates off the wick before it's burned. Part of why preheat and cooldown are necessary, and why they stink so bad if you blow them out from WOT. At least the "generator" is continuously being replaced, as you trim the wick.

 

Something that annoys me about gas stoves, by which I mean pressurized consumable gas canister stoves, is the inherent waste. Not a huge problem I guess as there are a lot of people who don't enjoy outside pursuits, but all the materials and energy wasted in producing gas canisters really kinda niggles me! Again, it's all about convenience I understand that, but at what cost?

(Sorry, I wasn't going to prolong this thread but I see a gas canister and I just see red!!!)

 

Long threads, long comments are a bad thing apparently... some think so.

I very much appreciate the topic and the input above (and didn't even question 'proper' stove )..
As to "canisters"
IF trend is to reduce use of fossil fuels.
Environmentally speaking, what is far worse than burning fossil fuel, and total waste, is release of raw fuel vapor.
Using piped natural gas and fuel contained in tanks/canisters has near zero release of fuel vapor.
I can only guess that is a plus supporting the overall trend? The canisters / tanks then need to be recycled / reused.
great post! btw, thx omc

 

Colin, think of them as a tin of beans (or chilli), designed to contain the product you want and readily recycled.

Sadly they do kind of get dumped in inappropriate places.

 

I don't have a problem with fossil fuels used responsibly, or canisters used responsibly. The amount of fossil fuels used by campers is nil. We stovies burn a lot fuel compared to most people, and I personally will burn in my stoves all year less than what I'll burn in my vehicles commuting back and forth to work in a week. That's more camp stove fuel than most people will use in their entire life.

The part that bugs me is the littering. If you packed it in, pack it out. Find something else to pack out too.

 

And recycle if you can. Not a political point to me, just a point of efficiency.

 

I now have to recycle my underwear no matter how many years of useful life I may consider they have.

 

You use a canister for underwear?

 

I have issues.....

 

Dogface, very impactful story about the "jars".

 

After sitting in a quiet woods melting snow for a while the nice roar became an irritant. So I bought a Biernie Dog silent cap for actual use. That means I’ll keep using my stove in cold weather or when weight and convenience are not at a premium.

I love the flame, noise, and whumping when I’m playing with my stoves.

 

What I notice most is the 'so very quiet' after the Svea 123 has shut off. The sound/roar of the 123 creeps up so slowly that I do not notice it, until it is off. One of my favorite stoves. VERY nice with the BD cap, too.

 

I agree with Marc, especially the bit on Pack It In Pack It Out.
I also do not particularly like bottle or canester gas things in general but I use them for convince occasionally. We have a bottle gas stove in our home and hut. Also a bottle gas fridge in thr hut, they are a convince item.

Cheers
Rob