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There are both, and they have their trade offs. Canister stoves use propane or a propane-butane mix. The stoves tend to be less expensive, and the fuel more exp
by mauvehaus 3y ago
There are both, and they have their trade offs. Canister stoves use propane or a propane-butane mix. The stoves tend to be less expensive, and the fuel more expensive. Canister stoves also range in weight from very little to nearly nothing. You'll also find integrated cooking systems with a pot that matches a stove. Those claim higher efficiency at the expense of increased weight.
(Edited to add) Liquid fuel stoves have better cold weather performance, and are popular in mountaineering for that reason. I am not a mountaineer and rarely camp cold enough that I need the cold weather performance. Canisters will do down to 20F/-6C with even minimal care.
Liquid fuel stoves burn a variety of fuels, but white gas is a common one. Pump gas burns a little dirtier than white gas, but the upside of a stove that'll safely burn pump gas is that the fuel is available everywhere. Canisters and white gas often require a camping store, or at least a well-stocked Walmart.
If you're outside of areas with a lot of demand for canister fuel, a stove that burns pump gas is a godsend.
The canister situation has gotten enormously easier with the near-universal adoption of EN 417[1] canisters by manufacturers. Prior to that, there were a lot of incompatible standards.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_417 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_417
- xattt 3y ago> Pump gas burns a little dirtier than white gas, but the upside of a stove that'll safely burn pump gas is that the fuel is available everywhere. How does exposure of food to benzene vapours from gasoline factor into safety? I feel like using gasoline for cooking food would be a fuel of last-resort.
- rootusrootus 3y agoWe never grilled over our white gas stoves, we just used them to heat a pot. The flame is pretty hot, and isn't benzene pretty flammable? There probably isn't a lot left floating around.
- xattt 3y agoI’ve got an MSR Whisperlight stove that does kerosene/diesel and white gas/gasoline using different nozzles. It’s a heck of a lot more lighter that lugging a propane cooktop around. I did a double-take when I read that you can use gasoline.
- mauvehaus 3y agoPoint of order for anyone wanting to buy a stove: I believe the parent poster has the Whisperlite International. The regular Whisperlite is only rated to burn white gas and does not have interchangeable jets for kerosene. The international simmers a little more poorly than the regular in my limited experience. I have a Dragonfly which is a whole 'nother animal entirely. It simmers brilliantly, but it's comparatively bulky and takes a different pump from every other stove MSR makes. And it's loud as hell.
- xattt 3y agoThanks for clarifying! I bought it at a time I was getting into outdoor rec 7-8 years ago, and I am just getting around to understanding the nuances.
- grouchomarx 3y agoplenty of benzene in white gas/naphtha. The stoves burn very hot and should theoretically limit exposure if you're decently ventilated. White gas is $20/gal, gasoline is a bit less
- userbinator 3y agoIf you're getting benzene or any other unburned hydrocarbons coming from your stove, it's not burning correctly --- the mixture is too rich.
- lost_tourist 3y agodoes it smell at all like gasoline as it burns? I really hate that smell, otherwise they sound quite convenient for ease of obtaining fuel
- rootusrootus 3y agoNot in my recollection. A white gas stove burns very hot. Even during warm up when the flame is comparatively cold, I don't remember much odor. Maybe if you spilled it out of the bowl before lighting it. Which I may have done once or twice as a young child learning how to light a stove without setting everything around me on fire... We also used actual white gas, though, not auto pump gasoline.
- mauvehaus 3y agoMy Dragonfly does not, but the odor definitely lingers when it's not running.