I have been considering awitching to an MSR Windpro for my snow camping trips. I now have a Whisperlite and a Simmerlite. What I am unsure of is the relative fuel usage. The only info I have to go on is the fuel usage numbers posted on the REI and MSR websites. Unfortunately, these numbers differ significantly. According to the info on the REI site, I should expect to use a little more fuel with the Windpro compared to the Whisperlite. According to the MSR site, I should expect to use somewhat less fuel with the windpro. The difference is enough so that, using the MSR numbers. I would expect I could get by with 2 8 oz canisters or one 16 oz canister for a trip that I would currently do with a 1-liter bottle of white gas, while the REI numbers would indicate I need 3 8 oz canisters. With 2 canisters, the windpro setup is lighter than the Simmerlite - with 3, it's heavier than the Whisperlite.
So, does anyone have experience with using both the Windpro and either Simmerlite or Whisperlite on similar trips in the snow and can you compare the fuel usage?

Edited by paul on 01/07/2010 21:00:03 MST.

Two main answers.

I use about half the weight of gas compared to white gas. The difference is more in priming and handling than the fuel efficiency.

The burners on the two stoves are about the same daimeter. Assume the same pot is involved. Then any performance differences will be almost entirely due to how you use the stove, whether you use a lid and a windshield, and whether you drive it flat out or moderately.

REI is probably being a bit conservative because they HAVE to allow for novices and idiots. MSR wants to put on a good face.

Cheers

Thanks, Roger - and maybe you can extrapolate a bit from your experience. I don't cook much - just melt snow and boil water. So, regardless of stove type, my use will be: light it once in the morning and once at night, both times running it steadily to melt snow and then boil water - once I shut it off I don't light it again. I don't know how this compares to your culinary style - would you guess I'd see similar results to yours or different due to style?

Hi Paul

Yeah, we do a bit more cooking than that. There is always a tendency to leave a white gas stove running in between doing things, which costs. Your style would be more efficient.

Even so, white gas is not as fuel efficient as canister. You might be using *about* 50% more white gas by weight - depends on priming too. But that is rough.

Cheers

With all due respect to Roger, which is significant, I disagree heartily about usage differences. I have never left a stove running between "courses" or anything... that would be a bizarre waste of fuel. I bring enough water to a boil for whatever I need, then turn the stove off. It just makes sense. As for priming fuel, I use ~1-2ml, maybe, to prime. Not significant.

That said, I don't know the actual fuel efficiency difference between WG and isobutane/propane. I think Roger has mentioned a 25% efficiency difference before? However, also consider the weight of the fuel containers--spun aluminum for the WG, steel for the blend...

It varies a bit depending on the fuel component mix, but my rule of thumb figures are:

White Gas = 18500 BTU/lb
n-Butane/Propane Mix = 21300 BTU/lb

Or, Canister fuel has around 14% higher energy density than White Gas. This doesn't consider usage/handling/priming differences as Roger mentioned, nor does it consider fuel container weight.

Cheers,

-Mike M

Edited by MikeMartin on 01/08/2010 11:53:42 MST.

Actaully, Roger, the REI/MSR difference seems to be less rational than you suggest. Here are the numbers, all for liters of water boiled per 100g of fuel:
REI - windpro 6.6, whisperlite 7.3
MSR - windpro 6.6, whisperlite 5.1

Thus my confusion.