I'm using either a GSI Soloist pot, which is what I bring when my wife and I are out together, and when I'm solo I use a Wally world IMUSA 2 1/2 cup aluminum cup.

I only boil water, and when the water is about to boil, or just starting, I turn the stove off, mix my meal, drop it into a cozy, button it up, and wait for 10-20min, depending on the meal, and then presto, eat up. I've experienced great results, with food still hot enough that I have to blow it on it to cool before eating.

When I use my Litemax, I don't crank it wide open; I only put the flame out to engulf the bottom of the pot only. I always use a windscreen, and am really precise on where I cook at. If temps are cool, its normal for me to take the cannister to bed with me to make the cannister more efficient come morning.

Bob, I know you mean well, but I just wouldn't be able to bring myself to do that. Thanks.

Various articles have pointed out just how different results you can get by using a wider pot as well as a wind screen and a medium setting.
Each of the above can save 10-30% fuel ...
Experimenting with that a few years ago I had very similar results with a Kovea Ti and my wrap around soda can windscreen (could be tdone with Ti foil for something more durable) to the ones I had from a JetBoil (also used at about half power...)

The JetBoil saves you fiddling with that. (mine would only work on low power, it snuffs itself out at higher settings)
I now use the Caldera Cone but gas if I need to melt snow.
The trick with melting snow is to have some water to start. (can be used to warm up the canister if you have a spare container to sit it in)
(not needed at my -5/-8c temps)


Franco

No stove will ever be 100% safe. You could engineer a stove to be closer to 100% safe than others, but it would weigh more than the alternatives so would be eschewed by the UL community.

Your kitchen oven could burn down your house, a camp fire could burn down the forest, a white gas stove can erupt in a fireball, and a gust of wind could blow over an alcohol stove and dump burning fuel all over your flammable UL clothing.

No answer here, just a comment that any time you combine fuel+fire, there is a risk.

That's exactly the kind of idea I've been looking for!
Time for me to start experimenting :)

Just out of curiosity, does anyone sell ti or aluminum versions of those things?

Yes. Trail Designs sells aluminum windscreens which are quite cheap and which can be hung below a pot with metal clips or wire . You must not hang TOO low or
you begin to heat the canister too much.Look at the vari-vent too.
http://www.traildesigns.com/accessories/classic-windscreen

Edited by Meander on 02/25/2012 18:11:57 MST.

Christopher
keeping in mind the above comments from Rob ...
You need to make sure that the heat does not reach the canister (not easily done because as stated you can only use the flame at half power or less..)
Mine was cut in a way so that when not in use would just slide up the pot.
The spring in the can walls kept it attached. A piece of ss wire and a spring may work for you.
(possibly it was inspired by the MSR heat exchanger. I can't remember now)
Ti Goat sell Ti..
http://www.titaniumgoat.com/windscreens.html
but you should try first with the soda cans to see if it works for you
Franco

I'd agree. But that's doesn't meaning not owning a Jetboil, it means not relying on it as your sole source of cooking where its failure could cause dehydration or weakness from hunger. You got a few options, you can carry an Esbit backup system and keep the Jetboil Sol Ti's pot which is unlikely to have melted so much its made a hole.

I'd class all canister fuel systems as being inherently being less reliable there's so many things which can go wrong in a fundamentally high-tech system, leaky canisters, valve problems, etc. I'd not want to get into the Sol Ti vs Sol Alu vs other fundamentally similar systems as I think each canister system will have some nightmare story out there if you look.

I was thinking my Jetboil Sol Ti for simply boiling water quick where I can live without if it were to fail. Examples are car-camping, to pay for itself to make tea/coffee instead of buying when on a car road trip, to use when camping with others and you got other stoves with you and use the Sol for the fast-boil aspects of collective cooking, etc.

I am going to buy a cone, but my chosen pots, I have decided to use the Duossal pots from my Trangia 27 because they are better for simmering and cleaning, I am not with them now so when I get them will be communicating with Rand to get a Sidewinder system. Weight-wise its lighter than Jetboil Sol Ti system for short trips but even at 5 days a Jetboil Sol Ti system is about 500g (not including the pot support), vs a cone system with a 130g Duossal pot is about 500g also both including fuel, but I can make it 2-pot system for 134g more. The Sol just begins to edge slightly ahead if you get close to emptying the canister but then you hit the problem that if you were to go trekking far from resupply and be guessing your fuel usage to be near to empty canister, would you trust a mechanical system to last the whole trip and rely on guesswork to have fuel? I suggest not. With both Alcohol and Esbit you can see your fuel stocks and ration or not through the trip. e.g. I know I use an average 50ml/day.

Boil times about 4-8mins are typical depending on pot geometry with a cone system. You can use different fuels say bring alcohol and some Esbit tabs in case the fuel bottle leaked, or bring 2 bottles and separate them in the pack. There's practically nothing that can let you down that way, I think? Possibly if you had 1 lighting system but you'd bring 2 systems right (say a lighter and another lighting option like matches or a flint+steel).

You could also consider getting the Tri-Ti type where you can use wood on the journey either to allow you to use carry less alcohol/Esbit or to increase your contingency.

Could someone explain to me the comment about the Jetboil Sol Ti exploding. I hadn't heard that before.

@John, Could someone explain to me the comment about the Jetboil Sol Ti exploding. I hadn't heard that before.

The problem with the Gigapower stoves is that the flame direction is sideways instead of straight up. The Gnat is a bit better, but my amazon one I have goes exactly vertical, allowing me to not worry so much about heat escaping from the sides.

Bob from the outdoorsstation has a great idea inspired by the caldera cones:

How To Make A Clip On Cone Windshield: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6C19jakM9Q&feature=player_embedded

I use a caldera cone as a windscreen for my pocket rocket. I DO NOT fully enclose the cone but leave a gap--enough for me to constantly check the temperature of the canister with my finger. Also I leave a gap between the pot and the screen. So this is probably not as efficient as the beer-can screen. I boil only for one person at medium/low heat on an REI titanium pot. This type of set up is apparently not recommended by the manufacturer, but I've put in 35 plus boils so far with no ill effects. In fact it's worked really well. The canister has yet to get even warm. I tiptoed into this at the start of this season expecting to abort the experiment because of the canister overheating, but no. However I wouldn't try this with prolonged boils.

David Ure: How many cases of melted pots with the JetBoil? 1? 2?

John, I have the new Jetboil with the raised ring and brass piece for threading the canister into. So far no explosions, just some corrosion on the flux ring. I picked it up at REI about three months ago.

Thanks for letting me know Raindog!!!

Christopher pondered, "If the Snowpeak Litemax is really efficient, then perhaps it's my Evernew .75 liter pasta pot? It is a bit narrow, so perhaps the heat is escaping up the sides? Any suggestions for a replacement? Would it make a big difference to get a wider one?"

The BPL review of the LiteMax noted the wide flame pattern:

"The flame spread from the burner head is very wide, wider than the GST-100, which means that running at full power with a small pot is very wasteful on gas. You will need a wide pot to take advantage of this stove. No beer cans should apply."

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/stoves_tents_co_supp_5.html

Other reviews I read noted more sensitivity to wind than other stoves, adding to the fuel consumption. It is light, but has compromises. I didn't like the pot stability myself. Perhaps a Gigapower would work better with your pot?

If the flame pattern on your stove is too narrow for your wide pot, then you can use a flame spreader to spread it out. By the same token, if the flame pattern is too wide for your narrow pot, then you can use a flame concentrator to confine it.

The flame spreader is a simple circle of metal, perhaps titanium or steel, perhaps with some holes punched in it, and it sits between the flame and the pot. The flame concentrator is a simple metal band, perhaps titanium, maybe 1/4" wide and maybe three inches in diameter. It has to sit on top of the pot supports.

I've used each of these to modify a stove flame to work better on a particular cook pot.

--B.G.--