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Electric Coil vs. Alcohol/Meth Stove

Espero

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
April 2014
I've worked with FEMA teams in the Pacific in support of natural disasters where the water quality was questionable, and used an electric coil to heat and sanitize water. I'm also quite familiar with alcohol stoves and have used them on ultralite backpacking trips. I like them both and have nothing but praise for both options. Like many on this site, morning coffee or evening soup is a luxury, nay necessity, that I'm not willing to forego. Therefore, I'm weighing the pros and cons of each option for my VDLP trip in April. The pros for the electric coil are convenience, fast water boiling times, and not much fuss. The cons are weight (approx. 7 oz. / 200 g as obtained from various websites), no on trail use, and possible failure due to burning out the element. The alcohol stove pros are weight (0.65 oz. / 18.4 g., Starlyte Alcohol Stove with windscreen, although when you throw in the weight of fuel, the coil and stove are probably equal in this area), reliability, use on trail, dual use of alcohol for health and sanitation (O.K. I know some of you have thought about drinking at this point; not an option). The cons are finding readily available fuel, open flame, slow heating time compared to coil, cost for fuel, possibly not being able to carry an empty stove (of course the fuel is not allowed) in packed luggage. I've also thought about Esbit, but the availabilty of fuel is questionable. My questions to the forum are: what do you use, if you use anything, and why? Can one use open flame stoves in the refugios? BTW, the alcohol stove is spill proof. Thanks in advance for your input.
 
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I'm a big Esbit fan, and use it in the backcountry. Super lightweight, no spills. I just did a quick search, and couldn't find it available in Spanish stores. But, unlike fuel canisters, it can be mailed. I've ordered it from Amazon, for example, but had it shipped to my trailhead when I've flown. So perhaps some kind of "mail drop" could work for that.

I would personally never use an open flame camp stove inside my house, so I expect the same would go in refugios.
 
I have used an electric coil at the camino. There's a lot about that in the electric coil tread.
That's for indoors use.
At home, in Sweden I use sometimes a Primus gas burner and sometimes a Trangia alcohol stove. But that's only for outdoors cooking.
Haven't tried that on the the camino, yet.
I think one first have to decide if one wants to cook indoors or outdoors.
And that small alcohol burner you mention doesn't look good, I have to say.
Takes very long to cook the water, no?
 
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When I walked the Camino de Levante this summer, I walked with two guys who brought along a "Jet Boil" and several small canisters of gas. It is extremely efficient and boils water quickly with very little use of gas. They did this for one purpose only -- to be able to sip a hot, perfect cup of espresso at a carefully chosen primo spot after 3-4 hours of walking, usually along a river, on a mountain top, in front of a beautiful church or field of flowers, etc etc. It was heavy, but it was a source of tremendous pleasure for them. The only problem was finding replacement canisters, but they found some in Toledo at Decathlon. Towards the end of the Camino, they couldn´t find the replacement canisters, so they stopped using the Jet Boil in the morning at the albergue and used my plug-in coil, so they would have enough gas left to make that second cup out along the way.
 
I have been using a CAMPINGAZ stove. A tad heavy , but it provides the convieniece of brewing or cooking anywhere. The model is a modern snap on , snap off stove and I have always managed to buy a canister (self sealing) at larger towns along the way.

Ahh , the stove also has a self start button.
 
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Canister for me ,everytime........carrying alc/meths is a no no for me..........I saw a tent go up a couple of years ago in Tassie,thank God the person had just got out of his tent,lost just about all his gear.....after some discussion, it seems like his phone was ringing just before his tent went up.........the opinion of every one was the phone spark(or whatever ) ignited the meth fume........I also had much the same experience with meths when I was a pup,in the Scouts, & had nightmares for years after........as far as one versus the other , I feel the gas cannister is a safer option,but carrying any flammables you have to treat them with the utmost respect.............once again it is your Camino,use what you are comfortable with..........:)......Vicrev
 
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The Esbit (Trangia is nearly identical) alcohol stoves have been around since at least the early 1930's and are a proven technology, widely used by European walkers. The fuel spirits they burn (denatured ethyl alcohol for best heat output) are readily available at outdoor equipment, hardware (Ironmonger), and even some grocery stores in Europe. A cup of water (240 ml) comes to a boil in about eight minutes at sea level. Since such intense combustion produces carbon monoxide, they should only be used in very well-ventilated situations, which would normally exclude indoor use.

Small stoves carry inherent hazards. The fuel is, well, flammable. That's why tent cooking is a real risk. One version of fuel used by the Esbit-type stove is methyl alcohol; more readily available than denatured ethyl alcohol, but less heat output and quite toxic on skin contact or inhalation. An alternative is the sister product from Esbit: a small folding stove (size of a deck of cards) that burns solid fuel tablets.

An electric coil in combination with a lightweight steel vacuum flask might meet your needs as well.
 
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Because of its suitability for Australian bush conditions, my Trangia has gone everywhere with me. However, I've decided on an electric coil for future caminos; and, since I am a cold weather walker, I'll be bringing a vacuum bottle instead of a drink bottle. (I'll also cut my selection of teas to about ten. Sacrifices!)
 
I love my Trangias, I've got both the regular one and the oval Swedish army version. Yep they do take a while to boil anything, mine take a hell of a lot longer than 2 min to boil enough water for a brew but on the plus side you can just get on with other jobs while it's running. They are mega stable, I think you'd need to physically flip a Trangia over to cause a problem with it. They are also brilliant at altitude or in the cold as they don't suffer like gas cans do from freezing or low pressures. I'm not so sure about using them indoors though, they work a heck of a lot better when there is a bit of a draught or wind apart from anything else on top of the naked flame issues. Not to mention the risk of fuel leakage in your bag (yep, been there). Alcohol stoves aren't always obvious that they are running if there other people around, the flames aren't always apparent unlike gas so something else to consider. As is waiting for everything to cool before you pack it up. Another weight issue to consider is what you are going to light it with as you'll need matches or a lighter.

One thing I wondered about (and I think I may have read about somewhere) is Spanish laws on using stoves outside and the risk of bush fires. I know some places aren't keen on flame stoves being used in dry conditions.

Using a stove in a tent... It's always going to be a gamble and I was always taught to keep a knife handy so you can improvise a back door if needed. Personally, I'd rather not find out. Most tent materials these days (in the UK at least) are self-extinguishing but doesn't help with fumes and spillages and there's always a carbon monoxide casualty in a tent every year here.

If it was me then I'd probably go for the electric element if using albergues.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I would be very reluctant to use a camp stove of any kind in an Albergue. These stoves are not intended for indoor use due to potential for asphyxiation or fire. Alcohol stoves have the added risk of not being able to see the flame; a real hazard should there be a fuel spill. I would suggest that any open flame stove should be used outside only.

Refugios on backcountry routes typically have sheet metal on countertops so that a stove can be used without burning the counter surface. I have used a heat reflector under the stove to prevent damage to tables.

Fuel availability is often a problem. Example is my MSR dragonfly which uses white gas. The fuel gets sold as white gas, naptha, coleman fuel, gasolina blanca, or shellite. In places like Argentina, the closest is solvente industrial and the product is inconsistent because it gets used for a variety of purpose such as dry cleaning and paint solvent. The problem is similar for adherants to the church of trangia. There are several products that are sold as 'alcohol' intended for uses such as rubbing alcohol or for cleaning paint brushes. So you need to find the name your favorite fuel has in the country of travel.

I have had trouble with transporting stoves. The solution is to air the stove and clean the fuel bottle with soap and water so there is no trace of an odour. Then the airport people haven't a leg to stand on when they try to steal it from you.

I recently purchased an MSR Windpro. It uses propane canisters. Very light weight, clean burning, and easy to control. The canister is somewhat expensive and is not sold everywhere. I think this stove is the best compromise.
 
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Hi whari.....I am more than happy with my propane setup,can be a bit of a pain sometimes regarding canister availability..............Iv'e been looking at the dragonfly,were/are you happy with it ??.....Vicrev
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Hi whari.....I am more than happy with my propane setup,can be a bit of a pain sometimes regarding canister availability..............Iv'e been looking at the dragonfly,were/are you happy with it ??.....Vicrev

I like the dragonfly. Its reliable with minimal maintenance. It simmers well. Its easy to set up and get started. The very real downside is the noise. Its not possible to hold a normal conversation in its vicinity. Obtaining fuel for it can be an issue; for instance I don't think that you can get white gas in Spain. I have several stoves; on local hikes the dragonfly is my first choice.

Serious overkill on the camino; the dragonfly is intended for backcountry where it is needed for cooking full meals.
 
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Perhaps the ultimate in lightweight, simple, and inexpensive is the "penny stove" in its various iterations. There are different configurations, but they all typically are constructed out of an aluminum soda can and use alcohol.

http://www.jureystudio.com/pennystove/penny2.html

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage-can_stove

Given the risks, I would not recommend anyone use a stove made of an aluminium soda can (or beer can) unless you really know what you are doing.

What risks? There was a fellow on the circuit around Torres del Paine who had some difficulty with his stove (2005). He was responsible for setting more than 20000 hectares on fire. This was with a commercially available stove.

Imagine how you might explain to the authorities about how your experiment with beer cans and duct tape set half of Spain alight.
 
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I agree with you about the soda can stoves whari. some of them can be quite lethal........I met someone who made one up & attached some sort of pump arrangement to it,started it up & it was like a flame thrower,everyone ran in all directions,including me !....:eek:......he was soon banned from our group..;)...........Vicrev
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I'm also an Esbit tablet fan. I don't use the Esbit stove, though; instead I use the tablets with a homemade ultralight stove. You can buy the tablets online at Amazon.es. I ship them ahead of me on the Camino in a bounce box so I only carry what I need for a week or two at a time.

FWIW, I've seen plenty of peregrinos using stoves both inside the albergues and outside.
 
Does anyone know what is the brand name of the fuel/alcohol in Spain what I have to buy to burn in my Trangia? Where I can buy it?
 
http://fuel.papo-art.com/

Spain is:
Alcohol Metilico
or
Alcohol de quemar (Metilico)

That would be for what we call denatured alcohol in the US. Some places call it meths. There's a chart with the names of various fuels in different countries at that link.
 
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Thank you renegadepilgrim.
 

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