UKC

AM in the market (Meerkat) for a new stove, and am looking for a single burner one. I have no idea of the pros/cons of gas vs liquid fuel. Any thoughts.

Cheers

In reply to kipper12:
I'm no expert, so will expect ukcers to correct me if I'm wrong, but I would say gas stuff was lighter to carry about than liquid however I perfer my trangia type stove, guess it depends what you are using it for and were.

In reply to kipper12:

gas, quick, clean, easy to light... but not so good at altitude / low temps, fuel bulky for large amounts and more expensive to run

parafin / similar, pretty much the opposite

obviously there's more to it, like gas stoves normally being much cheaer to buy.

i have a pocket rock for quick and clean cooking and an omnifuel to burn pretty much anything

In reply to kipper12:

You can buy petrol practically everywhere. A lot cheaper than gas bottles and for the same weight of fuel and bottle will last longer (I guess, not measured). And will still work when it's cold.

Gas ones are cheaper upfront and quicker to light. That's about it.

In reply to kipper12: Totally depends on where you are thinking of taking it. For uk I would stick to trusty old gas! if going anywhere that is high or particularly cold then go for a omni fuel (gas and liquid). Again, this depends on your budget as a good Omni fuel stove costs in the region/in excess of £100 Vs £25 for a gas stove!

In reply to kipper12:

Gas stove: cheaper to buy initially, clean and easy to light in good conditions, the simple ones are very light.

Petrol/multifuel: more expensive initially, but fuel is much, much cheaper my omnifuel will do 2/3 medium sized gas canisters (~£8-9) worth of cooking on less than half a litre of petrol (~50p). Obviously, it doesn't take long for this to add up and save you money - mine has paid for the initial outlay already. They cook much better at altitude/in the cold - I find almost no difference running mine at -5C or 25C. They might usually be a touch heavier than gas ones (the stove, that is), but overall the difference might be smaller than you think. If I was going out for 3 or 4 days, and I still had a gas canister from my last trip, then I'd take that and one (or maybe more) extra gas canisters with me. With the petrol stove, it doesn't matter how much fuel there is left in the bottle from last time, I just top it up, and take that - no need for extra canisters or bottles. They do require a a little bit more practise, require a bit of cleaning, and can be less pleasant in enclosed spaces.

If you've got the money of course, you could get an omnifuel, and then you can use both

Tim

In reply to kipper12: I think it depends what you want to use if for?

If you are backpacking around Europe - go for gas.
If you are backpacking around the world - go for multi-fuel.
If you are car camping - go for one of those cheap stove type things that you can buy for £10.
If you like to cook nice food - go for gas. Multi-fuel seem to have two settings - off and incinerate.

At the end of the day most stoves do what they say on the tin, cost and convenience being the most variable factors. Try and buy one that satisfies 90% of your needs.

In reply to EeeByGum:

I have a gas stove, and using it in the winter isn't really an option. I'm getting an omnifuel this month, it seems to cover all the bases and be great quality.

In reply to EeeByGum:


this is actaully a ver good point, do you know what would be usefull?

some sort of support that allows the pot to sit an inch above current pot supports, (pot support extenders) so it's not like trying to cook food at the back of concorde on full burners... must look into this more...

In reply to EeeByGum:


I can only speak for the omnifuel, but that dooes have a reasonably adjustable burner. It has an "on/off" valve on the fuel bottle, and a "simmer switch" on the stove itself. It's not perfect, but it does work pretty well - it's certainly not the same as the stove in my kitchen at home, but then you wouldn't expect it to be. With a bit of care you can cook stuff on it pretty sensibly.

Tim

In reply to kipper12:

Get something like this for car camping, automatic ignition, stable and just like having your home kitchen ring with you.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-portable-gas-camping-stove-p142491

For travel abroad or backpacking get a light folding gas one, you can't take fuel on planes and they are sniffy about liquid fuel stoves when empty and may confiscate it. Plenty of threads with people saying theirs is best, you check them out then make up your own mind.

In reply to kipper12:

Gas is nice and easy mostly my first choice is propane butane mix fine for most uk use but takes ages if its really cold, cheapish.

Butane gas cheap as chips not good in the cold, easier to get cylinders in some countries.

Petrol etc is better in the cold and in places you can't get gas cannisters, stove more expensive and needs fiddling with more often and more bits to go wrong. http://www.lakeland.co.uk/heat-diffuser/F/product/6280_10426 I'm told will help the problem with burning stuff, haven't tried it. Hot so quick to boil.

Meths takes ages but not much to go wrong, available a lot of places, I personally hate the smell. Trangia is a nice pack of stove and pans, you could get a trangia with gas adapter and have both.

It all depends what you want to use it for, when and where....

In reply to kipper12: liquid fuel for overall use, but gas for short trips/summer. beware screwfit vs camping gaz pierceable catridges (QUITE CHEAP, COMMON IN EUROPE), although i do believe there's a conversion kit.
gas only is lighter for a couple of days, then you start to have issues of fuel efficiency, when liquid fuel wins out.

trangias are not the most efficient, or light, or small....but they're great! you can't hear them , you can't kick them over..just put your kettle on while you're putting your tent up & the water's boiling when you're half way through you can get gas conversions which are fab, BTW!

In reply to sutty:

hmm - Blue Straggler had an unfortunate incident with a stove identical to that where it seemed to blow up. Not ideal.

In reply to kipper12:
http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/
http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/site/main_articles/cartridge_versus_liquid_...
Hull's second best climber as many wise words....

In reply to Tall Clare: really? what happened (have one, now worried, a bit)

In reply to thin bob:

if I remember rightly, he'd lit it to put some water on to boil, and it exploded. Luckily he'd not lit it right next to the tents.

In reply to kipper12:
Don't want to be pedantic, but I will. You will find that gas(LPG) is just as liquid as liquid fuels.

In reply to EeeByGum:


I have an MSR Dragonfly and find this to be very capable of cooking 'gently', as well as being cheap to run, reasonably low in bulk and easy to maintain. Not sure how well it'll deal with high altitude/extreme cold mind.

If I really want low heat (cooking egyptian style scrambled eggs etc.) I put a pan of boiling water between the stove and pan with eggs in (normally cooking rice or pasta) and find this works a treat.

In reply to johnwright:

<pendant>
not at stp it aint
</pendant>

In reply to lithos:


<pendant>
It's not at STP as carried in the canister.

'Liquid fuel stoves' actually burn vapour at the burner head, so it's just a matter of where the vaporisation occurs, and at what temperature...
</pendant>



OP needs to think about:
- where in the world stove will be used, considering fuel availability
- what cooking he intends to do, considering controllability
- how long between fuel re-supplies, considering how much fuel must be carried
- how important weight & bulk are, considering means of carrying

In reply to captain paranoia:

<double pendant>

there is nothing wrong or ambiguous
about my statement m'lord

</double>