Which Cooker?

Buloke

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Joined
Mar 14, 2009
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4
I'm looking around for a new cooker. In the past I've used a butane-cartridge cooker, or cooked on the fire, but I'm thinking of getting a two-burner cooker to make things easier when I take the family away (think heating bottles / baby food while cooking dinner). I also need something that will function well in cold weather.

I'm interested to hear what others use? Anyone use a duel fuel cooker (eg. Coleman unleaded / butane)?

Dan
 
I've mostly used a two burner Primus or coleman gas cooker. If you're planning on buying one make sure you get the right hoses as some brands are left-handed thread and some are right-handed. No big deal if you're just using the cooker, but if you start using a light pole or other accessories, they must all match.

I've had years of service from my cookers with no major problems.
 
Buloke said:
Anyone use a duel fuel cooker (eg. Coleman unleaded / butane)?

Dan
Click to expand...

Yes, I have a Coleman dual fuel 2 burner (Powerhouse) and love it. Beats gas for sure; heats quicker, burns hotter and is not a problem when it's cold. I run mine on Coleman or similar fuel as I'm told that unleaded can clog it up eventually. But unleaded works well too.

Wish I had swapped from gas years ago! I now have a small cartrige single burner "just in case" but otherwise am now gas-free.
 
Kevin said:
Wish I had swapped from gas years ago! I now have a small cartrige single burner "just in case" but otherwise am now gas-free.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good idea Kevin. I've been looking to try to get away from gas too. I've gone to battery powered lights (fluor and led) and would love to get rid of the gas cylinder. I reckon they are dangerous in the back of the car, and only last ten years without a test. It's also getting harder to find places to fill them.

I like the idea of dual fuel, but they are a bit expensive. Still, by the time you buy a cylinder (or one of those swap-n-go cylinders) and buy the cooker, the dual burner looks a bit more attractive.

Kevin, is there much of a smell from the shellite or unleaded when burning?
 
Can't comment on ULP burning, but the Shellite / Coleman fuel is very clean burning. I like the idea that if by chance I do run out of Shellite I can use ULP because I always have a 10L jerry in the car.

I agree re gas bottles; with the fuel stove it is only pressurized when being used. It won't freeze up in winter; I've used it at -4C (so far!). No hoses to connect etc.
 
Kevin said:
Can't comment on ULP burning, but the Shellite / Coleman fuel is very clean burning. I like the idea that if by chance I do run out of Shellite I can use ULP because I always have a 10L jerry in the car.

I agree re gas bottles; with the fuel stove it is only pressurized when being used. It won't freeze up in winter; I've used it at -4C (so far!). No hoses to connect etc.
Click to expand...

I agree completely on the Coleman Fuel stoves. I've been camping in the northern woods of Pennsylvania, and New York State on some very cold nights, and even in freezing rain, and snow. As long as you can get a match or lighter going, it will light. Those single, and dual burner stoves have never let me down.

An interesting thing I found on the older single burner Coleman stoves. (1930s through 50s) They have a vertical gas generator. They are much harder to preheat. The US GI versions (maybe some of the early civilian ones as well) have a fuel cup at the bottom of the generator. This catches raw fuel that you use to pre-heat the generator. They are supposed to have a piece of cotton wick placed in the bottom. If you buy a used one, it's usually missing. That gets them to light down to -20 F.

A trick I've used on the newer stoves that have the horizontal gas generator is the tie a piece of fuel soaked cotton cord or cloth around the generator, prep the stove for lighting, and then light the cord. It is soon hot enough to light on the first try even on the coldest mornings.

There is also a product called Fire Paste that you can apply to the gas generator. It does the same thing as the fuel soaked cord. Just a little slower, but much safer.
 
Unless your first experience with a COLEMAN stove was when you were on your grandads hip and therefore you've got camping in yer blood, you could end up frustrated with the fickle nature of the 2/3 burner ones and possibly question your purchase. Shellite is the way to go with them because if you're using ULP on one of those days when you 'just can't ' get the bloody thing going right you'll have black soot coating inside of the case (and ULP doesn't improve the taste of the toast) - but practice makes perfect granddad says :ebiggrin:. I'm a fan of LPG but have never liked the way the regular High Pressure camping gas appliances burned so hot - like a blow torch under your pot - good for boiling water but not for re-heating baked beans (which is my son's staple when camping). So I've gone 'retro' and purchased one of those cast iron gas rings - they're low pressure so you can adjust to simmer and not scorch the beans - but like the COLEMAN they need to be out of the wind.

onebob
 
^ I haven't experienced any problems with wind - other than in bed at night of course :lol:
 
this is what i've been using for a while now...

woodstove1.jpg

my.php


its cheap
its easy to use
its fun to use
works best with a bit of breeze
its way lighter than LPG bottle and burner, and much safer to just keep it in the car always,
doesn't use disposable cartridges or bottles.
carbon neutral
I keep a ready supply of twigs and dry leaves collected from my backyard in a bag.
if the material is very dry, and you let the temp in the tin to build up hot, the amount of smoke is rather minimal - but also depends on how much wind you have.

any milo or such like tin will do.
you need to cut holes at the bottom and top. The fuel material sits on a small grate that is sitting on the bottom of the tin.

i've used it heaps of times now just to boil up a bit of water for a soup.
 
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Now that is simple! I used to have a collapsible thing in a similar vein. It was about the size of a paint tin when open and gave the best fire ever. I really miss that thing. Still, there's so few days we're allowed to have fires nowadays. That's partly why I went to gas in the first place.
 
Kevin - the Coleman duel fuel is sounding good. A couple of questions...

Do you notice any difference in performance between fuels?

The manufacturer claims it can boil 1L water in 3.5 minutes, can you confirm this from your experience?

And does the fuel tank mounted to the front detach for storage and packing?

Oh, and how effective is the heat adjustment?
 
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fredsub said:
this is what i've been using for a while now...

woodstove1.jpg

my.php


its cheap
its easy to use
its fun to use
works best with a bit of breeze
its way lighter than LPG bottle and burner, and much safer to just keep it in the car always,
doesn't use disposable cartridges or bottles.
carbon neutral
I keep a ready supply of twigs and dry leaves collected from my backyard in a bag.
if the material is very dry, and you let the temp in the tin to build up hot, the amount of smoke is rather minimal - but also depends on how much wind you have.

any milo or such like tin will do.
you need to cut holes at the bottom and top. The fuel material sits on a small grate that is sitting on the bottom of the tin.

i've used it heaps of times now just to boil up a bit of water for a soup.
Click to expand...

I've seen these before, and they work great. The largest one I've seen was made from a gallon paint can. There is a company that makes a fold up steel version that folds flat, sets up with a rectangle base that angles up to a square hole on top, with a door that opens in one side to add fuel, or to ventilate.

I first learned about them, and made one from instructions in an old boyscout manual I have from the 50s (my uncle's old one, much better than the newer US scout manuals). It has you use used cans for the body. Also, that had you use the base of a can as a cooking surface. If I remember right, it was basically what you made, but upside down with a fire grate in the bottom.
 
So I've just completely revised my cooking system. I've just bought a JetBoil, a tiny little thing with a built in cup. It's really only for boiling water, but there are plenty of meals you can make in it and, boy, does it boil fast!

For bigger meals, I'm using a Cobb Cooker, which I'm cooking a roast in as I write this. It seems so simple, easy and versatile (roast, bake, grill, fry). With a few Cobb accessories I've got a whole kitchen in a bag.

So, I'm finally free of those wretched gas cylinders (apart from the cute little butane canisters), now I just have to lug a container of heat beads instead. At least they don't explode!
 
Buloke said:
Kevin - the Coleman duel fuel is sounding good. A couple of questions...

Do you notice any difference in performance between fuels?

The manufacturer claims it can boil 1L water in 3.5 minutes, can you confirm this from your experience?

And does the fuel tank mounted to the front detach for storage and packing?

Oh, and how effective is the heat adjustment?
Click to expand...

Apologies for the delayed reply -

I've only used Coleman or Shellite fuel.

I'd say the boiling claim is correct - depends on conditions of course!

Yes, the tank is stored inside the stove when not in use.

Heat adjustment is good. The second burner is a slave from the main burner and while it does have it own adjustment, it's feed is affected by any adjustment to the main burner.
 
Cobb cooker, looks ok, how do you work it with different heat, probably takes a bit of practice ? much like camp oven cooking I guess....

I was just looking at their website, and was looking at the page
https://www.cobb.com.au/purchase.asp
and I was looking at...and seeing it says on it "This is a SECURE Order Form"
and....well it didn't seem right, so checked the page source....
pretty sure its NOT a secure order form, sends your credit card detail in plain text http post:biggrin::biggrin:


More on Cookers,
I have also got a trangia set, bought originally for hiking, but i've used it car camping also - lightweight, compact, easy fuel - metho.
I can highly recommend it, and have found that many hikers do have them.
Its also much quicker to set up and boil up water than the "ECO" stove i've posted previously.
Additionally, there appears to be a clone brand of the Trangia I spotted at the Cooma hiking store, much cheaper, but heavier, though that isn't a problem for car camping.

The thing about JetBoil that impresses me is its retail price! its rediculous!
 
Thanks to everyone for the replies - your comments have been very useful.

I've ordered a Coleman Duel Fuel cooker. The feedback on this cooker seems to be mostly positive, and I was lucky enough to order it during a 30% discount sale. Looking forward to going bush and cooking up a storm!

Dan
 
Im an old bushwalker / cycle tourer / xc skier.

My ancient 'Optimus' single burner shellite stove NEVER failed me - including snow camping on the Bogong High Plains - which is about as cold as it gets in Victoria (or Aus generally for that matter!)
Likewise my Trangia. One reason I changed to the Trangia was that metho is less volatile and, in theory at least, won't taint food if spilled in a back pack.

I thoroughly recommend either.
 
Barry said:
Im an old bushwalker / cycle tourer / xc skier.

My ancient 'Optimus' single burner shellite stove NEVER failed me - including snow camping on the Bogong High Plains - which is about as cold as it gets in Victoria (or Aus generally for that matter!)
Likewise my Trangia. One reason I changed to the Trangia was that metho is less volatile and, in theory at least, won't taint food if spilled in a back pack.

I thoroughly recommend either.
Click to expand...

What's your opinion of the difference between cooking with the Optimus and the Trangia? Aside from the fuel issue that is. I mean, is it just as easy to heat everything with the Trangia? I picked one up, but haven't had the chance to use it yet.
 
One of the biggest differences between an alcohol stove and a liquid fuel stove is run time and control. My alcohol stove will only run for about 20min before needing refueling. Generally that's enough for me to heat the water I need but if it's not I can't just refuel the hot stove as the risk of the fuel igniting is too much.

My MSR fuel stove I use a 1l bottle and that will do me for a week.

The other issue I see is the alcohol stoves are hard to light and keep lit in high winds. Up at Kosci earlier in the year with my MSR the wind was so high matches were useless as were lighters. I always carry a firesteel as they work 100% of the time. Even if I had been able to light the alcohol stove in those conditions I'm sure it wouldn't have remained lit for longer. Windiest and coldest conditions I've ever camped in. How's this for a camp spot, going back before end of year. Tent middle of frame if you can't spot it.

camp.jpg


Both types have their place but if I had to choose just one, it'd be the liquid fuel style as it's more flexible in use and fuels it can use.
 
Can't disagree with that Apsilon.

The fact is I mostly use the Trangia. If you carry 2 burners (almost zero weight and volume) it is easy to lift out the finished one with tongs and drop in a filled one. (NEVER re-fill an 'empty' burner that is warm - in case you just can't see the metho flame!)

However, I've had the Optimus since the mid 1970's and there is nothing like the sound of a 'choofa' cooking away in the door of a tent on a snow camp in an otherwise silent universe. :ebiggrin: (With the escape valve pointed OUT, so you can't flame your home and yourself!)
 
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