Canister vs Liquid Fuel

RedRidge · May 16, 2015

Just listened to the gritty bowmen podcast and a topic they discussed was camp stoves that utilize canister fuel versus ones that use liquid fuel like white gas or camp fuel. I have always been a canister guy, but quite frankly only because I haven't really had anyone that I am involved with use a liquid fuel stove. Just wanted to start this thread to hear everyone's opinion on the matter. Pros, cons, likes, dis-likes, your favorite setup, anything camp stove honestly. And as always pics are nice if you have them.

I will start off:
I myself have been a pocket rocket kind of guy because most of my trips are short and usually small parties that each person has their own cook set. Me and the wife are planning some good trips and I am interested in maybe acquiring a liquid fuel stove.

Backpack Hunter · May 16, 2015

If you plan on cooking liquid fuel stoves are generally better for that. You can't fly with canisters, and some areas they may not be readily available at your destination. Canisters are generally more expensive.
Having said all that I usually use a canister. I get them for cost so price is not a big issue for me, don't generally fly anywhere I don't have access to them, and it's lighter and pretty compact.

I do tend to use the liquid fuel in the winter more frequently.

Take-a-knee · May 16, 2015

I've used an MSR Windpro a bunch but not below about 25F. I gave it to my daughter and bought the newest version that allows you to invert the canister. Supposedly they will work down to 10F or so. Jetboil has a similar stove. I've not had a chance to test it. As far as MSR stoves go, the cannister stove is far superior for actual cooking, as they will simmer with ease. MSR gasoline stoves? Fricken blowtorches, even the so-called Simmerlite. Great for melting snow, but not so great for cooking other than boiling water. The old Optimus box stoves were awesome cookers but WAY more weight than I'd carry. I do have a SVEA 123 that I still use on occasion and will never part with. I've not heard good things about current SVEA's.

Backstrap · May 18, 2015

I've had a MSR Whisperlite going on 20 years without issue. They seem to work better at various temperature and altitude combinations plus I always thought it wasteful to buy and then throw away the empty canisters.

RedRidge · May 19, 2015

Thanks for the responses. Still looking into it as of now.

shlchurch · May 19, 2015

I have a MSR Dragonfly, MSR Pocket Rocket and a Jetboil. They are all great stoves. I like the Dragonfly the most since you can really turn it down and simmer your food with it. It works great in the cold weather and high elevation. You can boil water really fast with it. Hope this helps.

rayporter · May 19, 2015

i have used ;
Coleman 2 burner gasoline
Coleman single burner gasoline
coleman US GI single burner gasoline
coleman multifuel single burner
coleman duel fuel
coleman apex gasoline [ duel fuel]
coleman propane single burner
coleman propane single burner [ a different model]
a 2 burner propane brand unknown
a knock off of a pocket rocket
esbit and trioxane

the ones that get grabbed most of the time are the pocket rocket copy and esbit. esbit is always with me-always- if i an in sight of the house i can make coffee with out going back to the house.

for alaska i take the apex, because you can put fuel in the floats. the apex is a wisperlite copy.

the biggest complaint of canister fuel is the cost. so what? you are spending how much on this trip and you cant justify a compact reliable stove????

another complaintof canisters is cold and poor performance. this is a real problem if it is going to be real cold.

lcxctf2000 · May 19, 2015

I've used my MSR Dragonfly for many, many years and love it. It's been used anywhere from my backyard, canoeing in the Boundary Waters, mountain biking in UT, and will be what I take to CO this fall.

Other stoves I have experience with include the Coleman/Peak1, JetBoil, and MSR whisperlite.

Dragonfly throws a TON of heat when needed, yet can simmer as well.

If you are just going to need to boil water and throw in dehydrated meals the added benefit of simmer probably isn't much value to you. If you are looking to cook and have the ability to manage temp going into your food it's probably the best I've used other than the old heavy Coleman/Peak1's.

RedRidge · May 20, 2015

rayporter said:
the biggest complaint of canister fuel is the cost. so what? you are spending how much on this trip and you cant justify a compact reliable stove????

I already have a pocket rocket that works fine. This thread is just to see everyone's opinion. If I feel I want to buy one then I will. There is no financial justification needed in this. Just looking for "Pros, cons, likes, dis-likes, your favorite setup, anything camp stove honestly," but thanks for your input. Looks like your a big Coleman fan. My first stove was a Coleman. I forget the model though.

Sounds like a lot of people like their Dragonfly. Most of the reviews I have read have had nothing but good things to say. I am a big fan of the idea of being able to use multiple different fuels and refueling just one bottle and not having to carry canisters.

rayporter · May 20, 2015

sorry, did not mean to diss you in particular. just that a lot of guys do whine about the cost of canister fuel. i meant it in a general way.

it is not that i am necessarily a big Coleman fan but that many of the stoves i needed or wanted at the time were only made by coleman. and i did not have access to purchase anything but Coleman.

how many 2 burner gas can you find? how many self contained one burner models can you find locally? back in the 70's you had svea, primus and Colman. msr was exotic.

some of these stoves are still in use. a coupe of the single burner propanes are kept in a box with lanterns to carry to the cabin. i have a board with 2 inch holes in it for a table. a stove is inserted into the hole and a cylinder is screwed onto the bottom of the stove. it cant tip and wont move when we cook. sometimes a hose runs from a 20lb tank up through the hole to the single burner for long term use.

another one burner is kept with the 2 burner propane in a box for use in the trailer. i have an outside table rigged that also has a hole in it for the single burner. it gets more use than the 2 burner just cause it is quicker to set up.

the only one i wish i still had is the 2 burner gas. all the one burner gas are still around but not used.

huntin'monkey · May 20, 2015

Take-a-knee said:
As far as MSR stoves go, the cannister stove is far superior for actual cooking, as they will simmer with ease. MSR gasoline stoves? Fricken blowtorches...

I've used MSR Dragonfly for 15 years with every kind of fuel available, including kerosene, diesel, and regular gasoline, simmers great. It can also be cranked up to full on blowtorch, but can be dialed down to a whisper of a flame. Super dependable, field strip-able. It's a heck of a stove.

I don't like canister stoves because of the waste involved. I've been using the same bottles for my Dragon fly forever, and a gallon container of Coleman white gas lasts for quite a while.

JP100 · May 20, 2015

I have had a MSR whisperlight for a long time now and have tried most fuels(kero,petrol,white gas ect). I love these things.pretty much all canister stoves I have seen are very lightly built and not made for long term use in my opinion. I do have a couple of small cheaper ones which I take on short trips but I hate having half empty canisters.
The MSRs are expensive and not super light but you can use them for years,clean them buy spare parts,use multiple fuels,work in the cold,efficient.
They are very hot stoves but you can turn them down to a simmer with a bit of practice.
I usually have 2 stoves in camp in-case of a break down but have never had a problem with the MSR. heats alot faster than a little canister stove in the cold aswell.

RedRidge · May 20, 2015

How much fuel does everyone use on their trips? Lets say a 5 day trip cooking dinner, and using it to cook fish for lunch on occasion and perhaps coffee/cocoa or something?

Maybe a better question would be, what size fuel bottle is the standard and how long does that usually last? I know it would depend on how much you use it, but lets take a look at ballpark figures. Enjoying the discussion BTW.

Yellowknife · May 20, 2015

I take one 8 oz canister per person-week for a standard stove in the summer/fall. i.e. a one week trip with two guys = two canisters. So far I've found there is a little buffer in that but not a lot. For liquid fuel I work on the assumption that 10 FLUID oz of white gas = roughly about one 8 oz/220 gm canister equivalent (Note that 1 fl oz white gas = 0.7 oz). So a typical 22 oz MSR bottle holds pretty close to the same two person / one week supply as two canisters in theory. That's mostly a theory though, because my liquid fuel stoves seem to get used mostly on trips that are colder, uglier, and/or involve more cooking, so I usually take more fuel than that.

What worked well for me on the last couple trips was to take both a 22 oz and 11 oz bottle with me. The bigger bottle got left in the main camp and the 11 oz was used to spike out.

My currently favored liquid fuel stove is a discontinued MSR Simmerlite picked up on ebay. Close to the same weight as the Omnilite Ti and easily nests into small pots. My old XGK is a better (i.e. more stable and easy to light) snow melter, so I keep it around for the odd winter trip or when I might have to burn some random fuel type. My whisperlite intl just sits in a box.

Yk

Shrek · May 22, 2015

I'm going to buy a Primus omnilite Ti. I think the .35l bottle will do all I need but I thought I'd ask. I boil 32 oz of water in the morning and 16 oz in the evening usually. I think I'm ok for four days but does anyone have any experience ? Pot is a 1.2 l eta pot with the heat exchanger.

robby denning · May 23, 2015

I've used white gas MSR for 25 years. They don't simmer as well as canister fuels. I like the reusable canister option with white gas, they perform below zero temps, and my lanterns are white gas so I don't have to take multiple fuel sources. Cost savings supposedly a bonus and I guess I've saved enough money in that time to pay for another MSR.

tipsntails7 · May 23, 2015

Shrek said:
I'm going to buy a Primus omnilite Ti. I think the .35l bottle will do all I need but I thought I'd ask. I boil 32 oz of water in the morning and 16 oz in the evening usually. I think I'm ok for four days but does anyone have any experience ? Pot is a 1.2 l eta pot with the heat exchanger.

Shrek I don't have a primus so I can't really say and obviously it will change due to wind and other aspects, but when you buy the stove, test it. When you wake up go out in the yard and boil what you need to boil everyday for however many days you think you need, it will give you a ballpark of where your at before actually having to rely on it.

rayporter · May 23, 2015

when boiling water i used to figure 4 0z per day. i think -heck that was so long ago i - what was the question?

this left a good safety margin as i never ran out of fuel.

Take-a-knee · May 23, 2015

robby denning said:
I've used white gas MSR for 25 years.

How many pump rebuilds have you done?

RedRidge · May 24, 2015

I am interested in the omnilite ti and the msr dragonfly as well. I might pick one up and use some of the above reasons to convince my wife to pick up another stove....

Canister vs Liquid Fuel

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