Just realized my camp stove fuel math was way off

I used to pack one small isobutane canister for a 3 day trip and always ran out by day two. Someone at a campsite near Big Sur told me to test burn my stove for 10 minutes at home and measure how much fuel that used. Did that last month and found out my burner at full blast eats about 12 grams per 10 minutes, so I was underestimating my needs by almost half. Now I pack based on actual grams per meal and I actually have leftover fuel. Anyone else do a burn test before heading out, or do you just guess like I used to?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryw676d ago

That burn test trick is actually genius, I never thought to do that. I just eyeball it based on how much is left after each trip, which is basically guessing but with extra steps. Once I figured out my stove burns through fuel way faster on cold mornings, I started adding an extra 20% to whatever I think I need, and that finally stopped the running out mid-coffee problem.

the_sam6d ago

The cold morning thing gets people every time, but the extra 20% is still a guess. You're just guessing with a safety margin. Weigh your full canister before you leave, weigh it when you get back. The difference is exactly what you used. Do that a few times and you'll have real numbers for cold vs warm trips. Then you'll know if 20% is even enough or way too much.