Isobutane canister. How many uses

[Luked]

Just curious question for you guys with more experience.
I have a MSR Pocket Rocket stove I will be using this year and just to save some weight I got the smaller Iso canisters to use.
For our hunt we are base camping at the trailhead and spiking in for 2-3 days. So my plan was to take one small canister with me, leave the other at the base camp. And when we come back to base grab the new one then head back out.
Question for you all is how many times on a normal just boil water burn will the small canisters last?
I know a lot of variables probably but just curious if anyone has checked or kept track of this.
Only thing I plan to use the stove for is to rehydrate freeze dried meals.

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[Danny Hoey]

Different stove, but a small canister is more than enough for me on a 2-3 day trip.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

If you really want to know, do a test: weigh a fuel canister on a kitchen scale, boil some water, then weigh the fuel canister again to see how much you burned. I tested my Brunton Talon stove (similar design as MSR Pocket Rocket) a while back and found that I needed 0.26 oz of fuel to boil one pint of water (indoors at ≈3000' ASL).

 

[Poser]

Small canister is always sufficient for 3 days for me boiling water for breakfast + coffee (sometimes 2-3) and dinner + tea sometimes, too.

Longer than 3 days, I’ll take a larger canister.

 

[ozyclint]

With a jet boil SOL Ti I get about 10 days out of a 110gm canister. 1x freeze dry meal at night an a couple of tea/coffees per day.

Pocket rocket likely less efficient though.

Your problem will be carrying more weight in gas than you have to, not running out.

A half full can will be about right for 2-3 days. Won't run out of gas but not carrying gas and weight you don't need either.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Boiling 600ml of water is about 8grams of fuel on my Soto Windmaster with Small Evernew Pasta pot for a 6min boil time. You need to really turn down the flame. If I went at full blast with the fuel it uses 12grams of fuel and boils in 3mins. Wind cuts efficiency down.

Use a wider pot for the same amount of water you can increase boil time and stay at the same efficiency playing with the flame. The wider pot gives more surface area and allows for a larger flame.

A small 4oz stove has 110grams of fuel so I’ll get about 13 boils of 600ml of water.

Test the stove at home and play with the output. You’ll find a setting you like to optimize fuel and boil times. I know my Soto is a fuel turn from max to get it where it meets efficient and boiling.

If I don’t mind the weight penalty, or know I’ll be melting snow, I just bring my reactor. It uses 8grams and boils in sub 2 minutes.

 

[PA Hunter]

Just curious question for you guys with more experience.
I have a MSR Pocket Rocket stove I will be using this year and just to save some weight I got the smaller Iso canisters to use.
For our hunt we are base camping at the trailhead and spiking in for 2-3 days. So my plan was to take one small canister with me, leave the other at the base camp. And when we come back to base grab the new one then head back out.
Question for you all is how many times on a normal just boil water burn will the small canisters last?
I know a lot of variables probably but just curious if anyone has checked or kept track of this.
Only thing I plan to use the stove for is to rehydrate freeze dried meals.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Msr has a table on their website with burn times. They actually last pretty long I used a windburner for 10 days on one canister not the smallest but next size up cannsister. I think day 9 I switched it out reheating 3 freeze dried meals a day plus coffee tea whenever I wanted.

 

[mtwarden]

because there are a lot of variables (that you can't control much) I always err on the conservative side- 4 days on a 4 ounce canister - boil in the morning and one in the evening (Pocket Rocket Deluxe)

usually there is fuel remaining, but I'd much prefer having a little fuel remaining than run out; a hot water bottle on an unexpected cold night does wonders for not freezing your a$$ off and nice to have fuel to do that

 

[strongarm]

@Luked
Tons of variables to be able to give you a solid estimate. Temperature, elevation, and wind dramatically affects burn times. Couple with that your use (boiling for dehydrated meals vs. cooking vs. boiling drinking water).

What I do when I plan to use my Pocket Rocket vs. my liquid fuel Dragonfly, is plan canisters based on projected use, meaning just cooking vs. boiling drinking water if I plan to filter (which I do primarily to save fuel). Then, I always take along a small 4oz canister as my backup / insurance. They are tiny and weigh very little. That way I can ration if needed. I did have to resort to this backup canister once during an extra windy couple days which took more of my “planned” fuel, as wind dramatically reduces performance in my experience. While you’re not supposed to use a wind shield with Pocket Rockets, I did make one to place on the windward side. I don’t keep it tight to the pot, but it does help. Just beware the risks…!

 

[Jordan Budd]

The MSR website has some really good charts to look at. Last I knew they said the pocket rocket gets like 30 minutes on a 4oz canister.

Do a burn with 2 cups of water simulating enough for a freeze dried meal and see where you're at time wise to get to a boil. Do that math and then I would subtract a boil or two to compensate for wind or any mishaps that would make that boil time longer. I think you'd be good with your plan currently. When I start stretching beyond 3 days I personally throw in another canister. I've ran out of fuel before and it's not super fun

 

[Blockcaver]

Over 100's of days with the Pocket Rocket I will always use an average of slightly under 1 oz of fuel per day for my use. That is to make about 24 oz of boiling water for breakfast for tea/powdered orange drink, one Mt House for supper with mashed potatoes added plus another 16 oz of boiling tea or hot gatorade. I heat cold creek water at timberline or above in most cases...6000' ave in BC and 11,000' in CO. That is two MSR titanium kettles full (28 oz ea) boiled daily with an occasional noon hot tea added in if around camp.

And i pre-weigh canisters when they are full and write that on the canister bottom....some have it noted in the specs today, then you have a baseline on remaining fuel in a partial canister to match the trip duration. I typically have 4 oz, 8 oz and 16 oz canisters in stock.

 

[rclouse79]

To be honest I don’t think I have ever worn one out. I always buy a new one. I am backpacking this weekend and am bringing two partials I hope to kill before tapping a new one.

 

[mtwarden]

To be honest I don’t think I have ever worn one out. I always buy a new one. I am backpacking this weekend and am bringing two partials I hope to kill before tapping a new one.

that was (is) me too, at one point a had more than a dozen partially filled canisters- then I purchased this

https://www.rokslide.com/forums/thr...ally-filled-iso-butane-fuel-canisters.180267/

 

[rclouse79]

that was (is) me too, at one point a had more than a dozen partially filled canisters- then I purchased this

https://www.rokslide.com/forums/thr...ally-filled-iso-butane-fuel-canisters.180267/

That is freaking awesome! Thanks for sharing.

 

[mlgc20]

A lot of variables, like water temp, ambient temp, wind, elevation, etc. During warmer months I will usually get 12-14 boils with my Pocket Rocket Deluxe. Colder months will yield around 10 boils.

For example, in two weeks my daughter and I are doing a 6 day/5 night backpacking trip in Wyoming. We will only be boiling water at night for our freeze dried meals. So, 2 dinners per night for 5 nights equals 10 boils. We will be taking one small canister of fuel. Did the same trip last year and one small canister covered us.