The Case for Hanging Stoves
In cold or stormy weather, it is nice to cook inside a tent. In some conditions, cooking inside is the only realistic option.
Though it is possible to set a stove on the ground in a tent vestibule, the likelihood of its tipping — or being knocked — over has to be considered. And if the “ground” is snow, then there is also likely the need to insulate the stove from the ground, to keep it from sinking.
A hanging stove addresses both issues: it is impossible to tip over, and it needs no insulation to keep it from melting into the snow (or through the tent's floor).
There are a few hanging stoves on the market, and there are several accessories available to convert standing stoves to hanging stoves, but none of these solutions is optimal. They are heavy, time-consuming to assemble or just basically klugey.
Though it is possible to set a stove on the ground in a tent vestibule, the likelihood of its tipping — or being knocked — over has to be considered. And if the “ground” is snow, then there is also likely the need to insulate the stove from the ground, to keep it from sinking.
A hanging stove addresses both issues: it is impossible to tip over, and it needs no insulation to keep it from melting into the snow (or through the tent's floor).
There are a few hanging stoves on the market, and there are several accessories available to convert standing stoves to hanging stoves, but none of these solutions is optimal. They are heavy, time-consuming to assemble or just basically klugey.
The Case for Butane Canister Stoves
Butane-canister camping stoves are extremely convenient. They can be compact and lightweight; they light instantly, and their flame is easy to control.
Unlike liquid-fuel stoves, butane-canister stoves require no priming to get going, and they rarely flare up like a liquid-fuel stove that has not yet been fully preheated. (If you are going to cook inside a tent, you definitely want a stove that is not going to shoot a long tongue of fire toward the ceiling.)
Unfortunately, conventional upright butane-canister stoves do not work well at low temperatures.
Unlike liquid-fuel stoves, butane-canister stoves require no priming to get going, and they rarely flare up like a liquid-fuel stove that has not yet been fully preheated. (If you are going to cook inside a tent, you definitely want a stove that is not going to shoot a long tongue of fire toward the ceiling.)
Unfortunately, conventional upright butane-canister stoves do not work well at low temperatures.
Powering the Butane Canister Stove
“Butane” canisters generally contain a liquid mixture of 65–80% n-butane and/or isobutane (methyl propane) and 20–35% propane. For a stove to burn, fuel must first vaporize and mix with air. It is the vaporization of one or more of the fuel components that generates the pressure that drives the fuel out of the canister, through a tiny jet, into a mixing chamber (where the fuel mixes with air) and out the stove's burner.
At sea level, n-butane vaporizes (boils) at -0.5°C (31°F); isobutane vaporizes at -12°C (11°F), and propane vaporizes at -42°C (-44°F).
On the other hand, at lower atmospheric pressures, the boiling points of the fuel components drop, which is why conventional butane canister stoves (e.g. Jetboils and MSR Reactors) are workable on high-altitude expeditions. The following chart, courtesy of zenstoves.net, shows the relationship between altitude and boiling point.
At sea level, n-butane vaporizes (boils) at -0.5°C (31°F); isobutane vaporizes at -12°C (11°F), and propane vaporizes at -42°C (-44°F).
- In temperatures above freezing, a convential upright canister stove will burn any fuel mixture, including 100% n-butane.
- Below -0.5°C (31°F), mainly isobutane and propane will vaporize and burn, while n-butane will largely remain liquid and never leave its canister.
- Below -12°C (11°F), both n-butane and isobutane will be largely left behind while the canister's propane burns away.
On the other hand, at lower atmospheric pressures, the boiling points of the fuel components drop, which is why conventional butane canister stoves (e.g. Jetboils and MSR Reactors) are workable on high-altitude expeditions. The following chart, courtesy of zenstoves.net, shows the relationship between altitude and boiling point.
As mentioned above, it is not uncommon, in cold temperatures, for the propane in a canister to boil off and be burned, leaving liquid butane behind, at which point the stove goes out, despite the obvious presence of an abundance of liquid fuel still in the canister. Various strategies can be used to warm the canister and vaporize the remaining fuel, but none of these strategies is ideal.
Some canister stoves — like most liquid-fuel stoves — are designed to pre-heat fuel on its way to the burner. But if all the fuel in the upright canister remains liquid (because the propane portion of the mixture has boiled away), there will be insufficient pressure to drive the fuel through the stove, and the stove will not burn. This is the fundamental problem with upright-canister butane stoves in cold conditions at low altitudes.