8 oz. or 4 oz. fuel?

[Levibarcus]

I’ve been carrying an 8 oz. fuel canister and a cheap Walmart stove. I just got an msr pocket rocket deluxe, and I’m wondering if it will be more efficient? Enough so to carry a small fuel canister rather than the larger one? I got 5 days out of the large canister last year boiling water twice a day. Anyone have experience you might share?

 

[Upchurch_k]

I normally carry the small fuel canister, it may sound tedious/stupid but the best way to figure out exactly how much fuel you'll need is to do a consumption test.

1. Weigh a brand new fuel canister (Use grams)
2. Measure out how much water you need for your uses (Example: 1-1/2 cups for a Mountain House)
3. Bring it to a boil
4. Weigh your fuel canister again.

This'll tell you exactly how much fuel you burn per boil. Then you can just do the math on it, say you used 10 grams of fuel for a boil, so 10 X 2= 20 grams per day.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

the best way to figure out exactly how much fuel you'll need is to do a consumption test.

Agreed. I did this a few years ago with my Brunton Talon stove (similar design as the MSR Pocket Rocket) and found that I needed 0.26 oz (7.4 grams) of fuel to boil 16 oz of water.

 

[Blake343]

Upchurch_k pretty much nailed it. On the other hand, I usually carry more than I expect to use just in case the weather turns cold...and I carry a lot of coffee.

 

[Eagle]

I normally carry the small fuel canister, it may sound tedious/stupid but the best way to figure out exactly how much fuel you'll need is to do a consumption test.

1. Weigh a brand new fuel canister (Use grams)
2. Measure out how much water you need for your uses (Example: 1-1/2 cups for a Mountain House)
3. Bring it to a boil
4. Weigh your fuel canister again.

This'll tell you exactly how much fuel you burn per boil. Then you can just do the math on it, say you used 10 grams of fuel for a boil, so 10 X 2= 20 grams per day.

This is a great baseline, but keep in mind the effects of altitude and temperature. Sea Level at room temperature will use a lot less fuel than 11000' and freezing.

 

[AK Troutbum]

All of these are spot on suggestions. Also take into consideration, wind (if you cook outside), and initial water temp. (mountain springs can be significantly colder than your tap water), or as stated above, water that’s been sitting in your container at near freezing temperatures. A couple years ago I did a side by side comparison, fuel consumption test using the above method and 4 different canister stoves. The Jetboil was by far the most efficient, and the Pocket Rocket came in as the least efficient, using about 9 grams to bring 16 oz. to a rolling boil. I made everything as equal as possible, regarding the conditions for my testing.
I did find that if you keep the flame down on those little canister stoves (PR, BRS, and Soto), although it takes longer to bring the water to a boil, they all used less fuel.


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[Levibarcus]

Good stuff guys, I’ll have to do a consumption test. I know elevation, temperature, etc will vary from TX to CO, but it will give me an estimate at least. I may get a couple of small cans and leave one at base camp. I also hope to be able to build a campfire and heat water that way part of the time. I just know from my experience that often it’s late and I just want to eat a mountain house and crawl in bed, or make a quick cup of coffee in the morning.