The wind is really screaming now, snowing hard too. Eyelids frozen shut (a new experience for me), and light fading as Kit Lewis joins me at the belay. Today, our 6th day in a row of stormy weather was the most severe. We got the tent up and crawled inside. Kit set up the hanging stove and stated “we’ve got plenty of fuel left, let’s use it”. With the stove running inside our tiny tent it wasn’t long before the snow and ice in our clothing had melted. The temp. was probably about 50 degrees when Kit said “watch this” as he turned up the stove’s flame. It was probably 70 degrees within a few minutes, 80 or more at head level near the tent’s peak. The warmth felt so good.
We relaxed in the warmth for a few minutes, and then got busy with the two hour task of cooking and snow melting. The following morning dawned clear, calm, and cold. With only 300’ of climbing above, we were on the summit of Mt Stuart by early afternoon. A most beautiful day in February 1985.
TENT COOKING with IsoButane/Propane stoves.
Note: Stove and tent manufactures advise against tent cooking.
Why cook inside the tent? 1)It is warmer inside the tent which means the camper is able to rest and recover from a strenuous day and be rested and hydrated for the next. 2)Many stoves perform more efficiently which conserves fuel. High altitude climbers and extreme climbers are both known to do this.
Is it safe? Instances of tent fires are rare, but are particularly possible with liquid fuel (white gas) stoves. Typically from spilling when priming, spilling when filling a fuel tank, or leaving the cap off a fuel bottle.
IsoButane/Propane gas is much like gas stoves for home use. No priming, just open the valve and ignite. Flame on - Flame off. Self-sealing canisters mean no fuel leakage when changing fuel canisters.
CO emissions – some stoves emit less CO than others.
| Stove |
ppm low |
ppm medium |
ppm high |
|
|
|
|
| Brunton Raptor |
88 |
? |
286 |
| Coleman Xtreme |
5 |
? |
5 |
| Coleman Fyrestorm Ti |
5 |
? |
30 |
| Coleman F1 Ultralight |
75 |
? |
154 |
| Jetboil GCS |
5 |
6 |
90 |
| Kovea Expedition |
6 |
? |
12 |
| Kovea Moonwalker |
30 |
? |
50 |
| MSR WindPro |
30 |
? |
85 |
| MSR Pocket Rocket |
240 |
220 |
140 |
| MSR Reactor |
300 |
? |
50 |
| Optimus Crux |
300 |
? |
260 |
| Optimus Stella + |
47 |
? |
136 |
| Primus Gravity MF |
10 |
? |
100 |
| Primus EtaPower EF |
3 |
8 |
13 |
| Primus Micron Ti 2.5 |
40 |
88 |
90 |
| Snow Peak GS(T)100 |
5 |
? |
21 |
| Snow Peak GS200D |
260 |
? |
130 |
| Trekka/Gasmate |
120 |
? |
100 |
| Vargo Jet-Ti |
30 |
12 |
22 |
ppm: parts per million
30 Health and Safety limit for 8 hours - UK
35 Suggested max allowable concín for continuous exposure for 8 hr -
ASHRAE, USA
200 Health and Safety limit for 15 minutes - UK
(source - backpacking light)
Cold temperatures. IsoButane/Propane canister fuel does not perform well in cold temperatures, especially at low elevations. Running an IsoButane/Propane stove inside a small tent can raise the temp. to as high as 80 F. Particularly in the upper half of the tent when the stove hangs. An IsoButane/Propane stove depends on inside the tent cooking for cold weather use. Inside the tent is also out of the wind which also helps a stove’s performance.
Hanging the stove. Hanging the stove inside the tent is desirable for two important reasons. 1)It greatly reduces the likelihood of knocking the stove and cook pot over. 2) It raises the stove to a warmer elevation inside the tent. Jetboil makes a good hanging kit for their stove.
Snow melting. Fill a large stuff sac with chunks of snow to have handy just outside the tent door.
Efficiency. The need to carry less fuel is a great benefit. I find if I run the stove at a fairly low setting I can heat/boil about 1 liter of water per 5-10 grams of IsoButane/Propane. Running the stove at a high setting boils water faster, but also uses more fuel. I believe maybe 30%-50% less fuel with the lower setting.
I have used a variety of canister stoves often times with a hanging system inside a tent regularly since 1982 both summer and winter. Including: 8 day 1985 winter climb of Mt. Stuart in the Cascades in WA State. 10 day winter climb of Mt. Slesse NE Buttress, BC. 13 days out on Mt Foraker, AK (17,000’) in 1988. Finished this climb of the Infinite Spur and descent of the SE Ridge with 5 full days of fuel unused. Carrying extra fuel allowed us to wait out bad weather, and even poor visibility at one point on the descent. Overall efficiency is bottom line why I like this system. Maximum performance. - Jim Nelson