Pressure Stoves

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iandusud
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Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 1:35pm

Pressure Stoves

Post by iandusud »

My wife and I have just had a wonderful two weeks camping, touring on the tandem. The only disappointment for us was the standard of food available when eating out. Our plan was to eat out each evening at a local pub but on the whole we found the choice of food to be limited to the usual suspects (burger, fish and chips, pie and chips, lasagne etc) which would have been acceptable had the quality been up to scratch, but on the whole it wasn't. This got us thinking about cooking more meals next time which in turn got me thinking to our choice of stove. Currently we are using a lightweight folding gas stove which is great for brewing tea and making porridge but I fear that if we were to be doing much cooking on it we'd be forever looking for gas cannisters. This in turn got me thinking about a pressure stave. I still have a half pint Primus which I used many years ago when motorcycling and I remember it lasting for a two week tour, cooking every night, as well as tea making, without needing refilling! So I would welcome opinions on the more modern lightweight options, particularly with regard to what fuel is readily available and how long a fill up can be expected to last.

Cheers, Ian
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by Jdsk »

Sounds great, apart from the food. Was this in England?

Are you interested in alcohol-fuelled cooking solutions as well as gas?

Jonathan
st599_uk
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Joined: 4 Nov 2018, 8:59pm

Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by st599_uk »

I've got a small meths stove/wind break from Speedster backpacking stoves which is great for boiling water/making porridge/getting Billy hot to go in hotbox pouch etc.

For other foods I've got a small folding BBQ/Fire pit. Can burn charcoal or twigs and allows a range of cooking styles. It's sturdy enough to stick a Billy can on (same one I sue with the Speedster), grill, use a small frying pan etc.

Also - the homemade pouch for the Billy can is a godsend. Curries and stews work great in it. Bit like a slow cooker, but power free.
A novice learning...
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
iandusud
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Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 1:35pm

Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by iandusud »

Jdsk wrote: 18 Aug 2021, 2:40pm Sounds great, apart from the food. Was this in England?

Are you interested in alcohol-fuelled cooking solutions as well as gas?

Jonathan
Yes this was England. Teesdale, North Pennines, Lakes, Arneside and Silverdale, Ribblesdale and the Yorkshire Dales.

The idea of going for a pressure stove is to allow for prolonged controlled temperature cooking, so I don't really think an alcohol stove is great option. I'm trying to get away from gas.

Ian
iandusud
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Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by iandusud »

st599_uk wrote: 18 Aug 2021, 2:48pm I've got a small meths stove/wind break from Speedster backpacking stoves which is great for boiling water/making porridge/getting Billy hot to go in hotbox pouch etc.

For other foods I've got a small folding BBQ/Fire pit. Can burn charcoal or twigs and allows a range of cooking styles. It's sturdy enough to stick a Billy can on (same one I sue with the Speedster), grill, use a small frying pan etc.

Also - the homemade pouch for the Billy can is a godsend. Curries and stews work great in it. Bit like a slow cooker, but power free.
Tell me more about the Billy and your homemade pouch please.

Ian
st599_uk
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Joined: 4 Nov 2018, 8:59pm

Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by st599_uk »

Billy Can's are aluminium cooking pots (sometimes with a second frying pan nested inside) beloved of the Scouts. They're basically indestructible.

One way of cooking with them was t get the contents boiling, then stick them inside hay. Modern pouches are a hay substitute. The pouches are made from a sort of tin foil bubble wrap - the sort meat is delivered by post in or that car windshield covers are made of. You get the pot boiling, then put it in to the pouch - it slow cooks over the next 60 mins or so.

If you have space, making it double walled is even better.

https://www.theoutdoorsstation.co.uk/20 ... ng-system/
A novice learning...
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
iandusud
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Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 1:35pm

Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by iandusud »

Thank you for that link. Very useful info and site.

Ian
PDQ Mobile
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Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by PDQ Mobile »

OP.
There are several multi fuel type stoves.
They will burn paraffin and gas. And usually petrol, Coleman fuel and diesel.
They work on the various liquid fuel
types as pressure stoves, using a separate fuel bottle which can be pump up pressurized.
The simple pump is integral to the bottle top fitting.
A screw on type gas canister fits and uses the same connector head.

I have used one now for many years.
Gas for a quick roadside brew and paraffin for gourmet evening meals!

I do not like petrol as a camping fuel.
- many like it ok. And its availability and ease of lighting are a plus.
Diesel is only as a last resort!

But gas and paraffin sit pretty happy together.
Those willing to use slight of hand can light the thing on gas and do a quick (and it needs to be quite quick) swop from gas ( for a quick initial brew) to paraffin bottle by dint of getting the feed line full of liquid gas (turn the cylinder upside down for several seconds when stove is hot) and turning off the supply tap.
The gas continues to pressurize the jet for perhaps 30 seconds as the trapped liquid gas evaporates, which can be enough to fit the pumped up paraffin bottle and carefully open the control tap. And saves preheating with meths, of course!
Always performed away from the tent on case of initial flaring.
With a little practice works very well.

They are not cheap.
But my Optimus one has been very good and trouble free for twenty odd years.

Stand is stable. Folds very small.
Is quite controllable from simmer/fry.

Downsides:-
Is rather noisy, even when running low.
Other makes or newer models might be quieter and even more flexible.
The Optimus Polaris Optifuel, for example, looks like a fantastic spec.



On the subject of "billies", I would only use stainless steel.
iandusud
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Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 1:35pm

Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by iandusud »

PDQ Mobile wrote: 19 Aug 2021, 10:20am OP.
There are several multi fuel type stoves.
They will burn paraffin and gas. And usually petrol, Coleman fuel and diesel.
They work on the various liquid fuel
types as pressure stoves, using a separate fuel bottle which can be pump up pressurized.
The simple pump is integral to the bottle top fitting.
A screw on type gas canister fits and uses the same connector head.

I have used one now for many years.
Gas for a quick roadside brew and paraffin for gourmet evening meals!

I do not like petrol as a camping fuel.
- many like it ok. And its availability and ease of lighting are a plus.
Diesel is only as a last resort!

But gas and paraffin sit pretty happy together.
Those willing to use slight of hand can light the thing on gas and do a quick (and it needs to be quite quick) swop from gas ( for a quick initial brew) to paraffin bottle by dint of getting the feed line full of liquid gas (turn the cylinder upside down for several seconds when stove is hot) and turning off the supply tap.
The gas continues to pressurize the jet for perhaps 30 seconds as the trapped liquid gas evaporates, which can be enough to fit the pumped up paraffin bottle and carefully open the control tap. And saves preheating with meths, of course!
Always performed away from the tent on case of initial flaring.
With a little practice works very well.

They are not cheap.
But my Optimus one has been very good and trouble free for twenty odd years.

Stand is stable. Folds very small.
Is quite controllable from simmer/fry.

Downsides:-
Is rather noisy, even when running low.
Other makes or newer models might be quieter and even more flexible.
The Optimus Polaris Optifuel, for example, looks like a fantastic spec.



On the subject of "billies", I would only use stainless steel.
Thank you for your helpful reply. Your experience lines up with my thinking, i.e. that using a pressure stove is a better option for cooking proper meals. I'm also interested that you use meths to prime, which has pre-empted a question I was going to ask. I've noticed that Primus and Optimus show priming using whatever fuel is in the bottle, whereas I always used meths with my old Primus as it is hotter and cleaner. I strikes me as not much bother or extra weight to carry a small quantity of meths. Having done a bit of research the Optimus Polaris does look like the one to go for. If I'm not mistaken it seems to have an advantage over the Primus Omnifuel inasmuch as it would appear that you can depressurise the bottle whereas with the Primus it would appear that you have to turn the bottle over and leave to the stove to continue burning until the bottle is depressurised, which I think I would find annoying. As for the noise, I just love the roar of a pressure stove - I think it just evokes wonderful memories for me. Having said that I've seen some Youtube demos of the Optimus using a silent cap which greatly reduces noise but more interestingly appears to allow a much more controlled simmer. I would be interested in your experience of fuel usage. As I said in my original post my old 1/2 pint Primus seemed to sip fuel.

Cheers, Ian

Ian
Mike Sales
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Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by Mike Sales »

I recently read Roland Huntford's biography of the polar explorer Nansen
Nansen paid a lot of attention to his equipment, and the Primus stove had just come on the market. It was said to give five or six times more heat for a given quantity of fuel, and be lighter too. He invented a cooker to go with it.
The title of that chapter is "Burns without a wick."
He also adopted the new dehydrated foods and, on Shackleton's advice bought an aluminium aneroid barometer.
He improved ski bindings and sledges too.
This was towards the end of the Nineteenth Century.
Huntford suggests that the maker's claim of "explosion impossible" was to allay any fears that the roaring of their stove might give.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
iandusud
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Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 1:35pm

Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by iandusud »

Mike Sales wrote: 19 Aug 2021, 12:15pm I recently read Roland Huntford's biography of the polar explorer Nansen
Nansen paid a lot of attention to his equipment, and the Primus stove had just come on the market. It was said to give five or six times more heat for a given quantity of fuel, and be lighter too. He invented a cooker to go with it.
The title of that chapter is "Burns without a wick."
He also adopted the new dehydrated foods and, on Shackleton's advice bought an aluminium aneroid barometer.
He improved ski bindings and sledges too.
This was towards the end of the Nineteenth Century.
Huntford suggests that the maker's claim of "explosion impossible" was to allay any fears that the roaring of their stove might give.
Very interesting. When I was about 15 I once tagged along on a DoE Award Scheme weekend hiking and camping on the South Downs in Feb. All the other lads were using equipment supplied by the DoE Scheme but I had my own including my Primus Stove. On the first evening everyone else got out their provided Calor Gas stoves and they all miserably failed to heat anything up as the gas would work at the low temperature and what little heat it produced was lost as quickly as it heated up whatever was in the pan. I, along with my friend who was sharing my tent had the Primus roaring away and therefore hot food and drinks. On the second night, up on the Downs, it snowed overnight and we were able to melt snow for our drinks. We were the only ones to eat or drink anything hot over the weekend. :D
Mike Sales
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Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by Mike Sales »

iandusud wrote: 19 Aug 2021, 12:56pm [On the second night, up on the Downs, it snowed overnight and we were able to melt snow for our drinks. We were the only ones to eat or drink anything hot over the weekend. :D
The Nansen oven was insulated with a central flue for the primus hot gases. On top went a snow filled saucepan.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
PDQ Mobile
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Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by PDQ Mobile »

OP.
Yes I carry a small high quality plastic meths bottle. Holds about 1/3 or 1/2 of a teacup full. But lasts a long time- if you don't spill it!

I often preheat using the swop method I tried to describe above.
Getting a fast brew on the go while setting up camp. No meths required.

Paraffin does contain more heat energy for its than pretty much any fuel.
It used to be really cheap too!!

Not using too many throw away containers is another big personal consideration.
Modern camping gas mostly now contains enough Propane for quite low temps though- cold enough to make camping a bit of a test anyway!
Paraffin will take you in the footsteps of "nails grade one" Nansen.

I think I am jealous of your Polaris already!!
Happy trails.
Psamathe
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Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by Psamathe »

PDQ Mobile wrote: 19 Aug 2021, 10:20am ....
I do not like petrol as a camping fuel.
- many like it ok. And its availability and ease of lighting are a plus.
....
One aspect that interests me is the availability of petrol (when on tour). I see it's sold from loads of petrol stations but most of those have a min 1L delivery and their filling spout to far too large and flow far too aggressive for using with e.g. 600ml Sigg style fuel bottle. Are there practical ways to use petrol stations or alternative sources.

(Plus, I'd only want to carry a single fuel bottle which means refilling before the bottle has run-out)

Ian
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pjclinch
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Re: Pressure Stoves

Post by pjclinch »

My pressure stove is a Primus MFS that does gas (though not as well as a pure gas stove), paraffin and petrol. When I've used it it's been with paraffin as it's not so dangerous as petrol and a pal has oil-fired central heating so it's easy to get from them.

Having said that I very rarely use it, only bringing it out when either I'll be relatively off-grid for a fair time (I originally got it for a week long paddling expedition round Shetland) or when we have some multiple-burner extravaganza going on. On the whole I much prefer gas, and the stove came with a booklet on real-world use written by a mountaineer who said that any time he can use gas, he uses gas.

Yes, you need to get cans, but a 400g can lasts quite a while and is clean, simple to use, controllable, there is no priming needed and a decent stove to run it from costs less and weighs less than a pressure stove. There are broadly two flavours of gas stove, very light ones that sit on top of the can and ones which sit on the ground with a hose connection to the can. The former is good for a quick brew or gramme-counting overnights, but the latter is better for a serious cooking job. Heat output is excellent, they can easily be shielded from the wind (so more efficient) and to eke the last of the gas from a can you can shake and invert the can without having to take the pot off (But only think about doing this if the stove has a pre-heat coil taking the feed-pipe through the flame, and even then exercise considerable care)

Pressure stoves were very much the Option For Proper Mountaineers when I was getting in to outdoorsy stuff, but to be frank I find them a bit of a pain compared to Trangias or gas stoves. A Primus Gravity is our standard Weapon of Choice on the bikes or by foot. Out of the boats we'll take the Trangia, more often using the gas adapter than spirit.

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
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