How does a caldera type stove with solid fuel compare to the meths stove?

Worth reading the article behind 99percentchimp’s link above – implication there is they are very comparable. Not used it myself, but if you fancy doing some tests, it’d be good to hear your findings 😀

OK, right I see now 😳

How about reducing the size and/or number of notches in the bottom of the sleeve to increase the pressure a bit. You could make the jet holes smaller? Do you apply any sealant to the top of the sleeve, where it engages in the inside edge of the top piece?

Damn it, I’ve got two perfectly good stoves in my collection which I have trouble deciding which to use anyway. Now you’re making want to go to the garage and make one of my own!

I’ll go and do something more productive now

Have another cup of tea? 😉

Looking at the WRT blog and your most recent stove, I note they don’t have an internal sleeve like the Whitebox and some other home made stoves I’ve seen. I wonder if this is necessary to allow you to put the stove direct on top of the burner?

As I see it, once the stove and all the fuel is up to temparature sufficient to ignite meths (80 degrees Celsius), with a twin walled stove the centre is storing heat and pressure is created by virtue of it being sealed at the top by the pan. The increased pressure forces the fuel into the outer chamber by two small holes at the base of the inner chamber. From there, the only exit is out through the jets, so you have meths gas at >80 degrees C meeting air and bingo, combustion. Once it’s going, the heat generated by the whole system is sufficient to keep it going until it runs out of fuel.

As Titanium is a poor conductor, this possibly explains why the decagon needs the little pips on the top to raise the pan up, and the Whitebox being a thicker alloy material (better heat conductor) doesn’t. The thin nature of the pop can stove may also be a limiting factor in the stove staying alight with the pan placed on top.

Not sure that’s going to work, cardboard at a minimum but I would recommend aluminium though.

You lot are soo funny 🙄 😉

I reckon after using one if you can make the two piece one it would be better for the bike as it would pack better

Patience, this will all be addressed when I do the aluminium one.

Stoves – what flatfish said is right I reckon. I think the ratio of height to internal diameter, and possibly material is key to the Whitebox performing properly. If you built a pop can stove of comparable height and diameter, you might fnd it doesn’t go out when you put the stove on top.

Good point. I can set the burner offset to zero to keep the pan on top of the stove, but it would be reliant on having a fairly flat surface to put it all on. Whilst the Whitebox is in the shot, that version works over the top of my Vargo Triad.

All the way back on Page 10:

Tiger6791 – Member
“One issue I had this morning was trying to get the stove lit in a strong wind – got there in the end but it was quite tricky to get it primed”
Caldera cone

I’ve now made a paper version of a Caldera Cone:

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Caldera Clone – paper trial[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

Need to find some 0.15mm aluminium foil and I’m ready to make me a new windshield 🙂

I’ve used “Expedition Foods” dehydrated meals before now, but they’re quite expensive (about £6 each). Probably best calorie to weight ratio going though. Chicken Tikka or Korma is recommended, as is porridge and custard and berries. Didn’t rate the Rice Pudding though.

Other easy stuff – Blue Dragon noodles are often nicer than Batchelors Supernoodles.
Smash – cheap, easy, lots of calories, bit bland unless you add something else.
Fine egg noodles – again, easy to cook as only require dumping in boiled water for a few mins, so efficient on fuel, but need something else to add flavour.

Last weekend’s egg noodle/ Ainsley Harriot’s Mullagatawny soup was fantastic. Because I was only going out for one night and most of the rest of my kit was light, I did treat myself to Sharwoods Saag Aloo, which was pre-cooked and only required warming – also nice.

Other stuff I take includes nuts (hazel or walnuts have the best calorie content), raisins, jelly babies, chocolate coated coffee beans, normal dark chocolate, malt loaf, cereal bars and so on.

smaller, lighter, more expensive stuff

For those reading the earlier instalments of the wet Feb bivi trip near Brecon, I would like to point out I was using a second hand Hunka (£20) and a home-made tarp (£15). Thank you.

Markenduro – read the stove test on the WRT blog. I also did a stove test recently here[/url]

Or, if you want more cheapness and simplicity, I find the Foretrex 101/201 hard to beat as a back up device to paper maps.

If you end up with something with built in batteries, provided it will charge of a USB, you can always go down this route: http://ianbarrington.com/2010/03/21/portable-power/

Bigface – I find GPS of greater use for post-ride analysis and for logging where you’ve been. Much like Stu, I take one mainly for those where-the-heck-am-I moments when the trail isn’t on the map or I’ve wondered off line on some minor sheep path in thick fog (neither of which are especially scarce in Wales). For the WRT last year, I used route cards printed off a desktop mapping program (tracklogs, memory map etc) and then laminated and clipped onto a map board, like this:

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P1020638[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

The GPS was useful afterwards to tell me how long I’d spent riding, distance, speed, amount of climbing etc.

If buying a GPS, beware the training models, such as the Garmin Edge, which don’t make it easy for you to navigate or extract your current location easily.

No, much older than that. Looks like about 1573 to me 😉

So is the real lesson here more about tarp set up and placement???

Yes. I think you could have used a tarp effectively in those conditions, we just didn’t have the right tarps.

Or check the weather forecast and use an appropriate level of kit?

We survived 😉
Besides, I quite enjoyed looking out into the gloom and watching the rain come down rather just listening to it beat against the side of a tent 🙂

i also wished Ians tarp would fall down so he could join me in my misery.

I did offer you some space under my tarp, which you declined. Like I said before, you learn more in suffering. You’ll be better prepared next time 😉

LOL, he made it out alive, albeit somewhat sleep deprived..

flatfish enjoying a ‘wild one’

Not sure what that was, but not what you think or looks like. When we packed there was no sign we’d been there. Even recovered all the tent pegs 🙂

Caldera clones: found this, which looks good – http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/forummessages/mps/UTN/22357/URN/5/dt/4/srchdte/0/cp/1/v/8/sp/

Caldera cones – I’ve seen those but never used one. Not sure whether it would have allowed me to get the stove primed more easily, but it would have been more efficient at boiling the water at least. I think I have some material that would allow me to make my own to test the theory at low cost.

What else would you change from your kit list?

I wouldn’t change many of the items significantly. Most relate to refinements of the tarp set up to improve performance in windy conditions and to better exclude wind driven rain.

One issue I had this morning was trying to get the stove lit in a strong wind – got there in the end but it was quite tricky to get it primed which at the time was a concern though not life threatening. The Whitebox might have been better than the Triad, so might use that one next time.

Right, washing done and kit now drying out. I don’t think anything escaped getting wet to some extent.

Overall, a good weekend. Not the best nights sleep I’ve ever had, but it did give me lots of time to contemplate improvements to my kit which wouldn’t have presented themselves if the weather had been fine. In many ways, this bivi was harder on kit and self than the Winter one was in December.

All the pics are linked here[/url], but here’s a summary:

You don’t get the sense of strong headwind in this picture, but the going was hard:
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Up and into the wind[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

My tarp set up worked well considering the conditions:
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My tarp setup[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

Flatfish’s tarp just before he twiddled it round to keep the wind out:
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Flatfish’s initial tarp set up[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

Dinner time – Saag aloo and mullagatawny noodles went down a real treat.
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Dinner time[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

Morning brew and Flatfish’s wind-reconfigured tarp…:
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Morning brew[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

Leaving no trace:
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Breaking camp in the rain[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

So, anyway. The trails were soft and the going very hard. The frozen ground I experienced on this route two weeks ago had gone – trails were very soft indeed. There was a headwind. At 5pm we were still about an hour away from the camp, but we pressed on anyway, negotiating the army checkpoint on the way. We did one of the descents in the dark, but the last one down to the camp was too tricky to ride. The rain didn’t start until about 9pm, though it was still windy when we set up the tarps. The wind and rain was persistant throughout most of the night, which took a greater toll on flatfish’s tarp than mine, though mine needed some adjustment part way through the night. We broke camp pretty early and enjoyed the tail wind home. Kit was tested to it’s limit, which was good to see how far you can take stuff and what you need to do to improve it for next time.

Tiger – CO2 canister and some rubber hose?

Back safe. Will report back later with tales of extreme endeavour, high winds, army check points, descending darkness and lashing rain.

On the menu tonight we have saga aloo followed by mulligatawny soup and egg noodles.
Followed by some fine dark chocolate and a wee dram of Ardbeg 🙂

Yes, it’s in the orange stuff sack in the picture

Sticking a proper link up meant coming down stairs to use a proper computer instead of my phone…

Anyway, while I’m down here, I’ll get the alcohol I’d forgotten to pack 😳

But still, in the pic left to right:

12litre dry bag with fleece top, spare socks and smalls and hat and sleeping bag
Pan, windshield and hunka
Mug, stove, pot warmer and fuel
Sleeping mat (Neoair)
Tarp, pegs and guys all in
Lhoon
Tools and spares

Tube strapped to the bike with one of them awesome straps.
I do need to add pump now you mention it.
Party food will have to wait until the morning – supermarket was shut when I went down earlier.

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Minimalist bivi gear[/url] by ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

Just getting my gear ready for the bivi tomorrow night with flatfish. Kit looking a bit minimalist… Only food to add to that lot 🙂

http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/15512491@N08/5436781277/

My mate had a Mark 1 Balloon Bed on Polaris many years ago. I recall it was all dark and quiet on the campsite when he rolled over. To the amusement of other the people in tents in the immediate vacinity, there was a load bang and in Eric Cartman style voice: “Son of a bitch”. Priceless. In the morning he had only 2 out of 7 balloons inflated.

The Mark 2 is much better choice, especially for the larger gentleman 😉

Well put.

It made me weep

Can you sum it up or provide an excerpt or something, to save me a trip to WH Smith’s in the morning?

I’ve just gone from a HTC with a keyboard to an iPhone. The latter is so slick at everything, haven’t missed the keyboad bit yet and it does much much more besides.

Pete, yes that’s the sort of thing I’m trying to do. Does your wife have a separate account for that page or does she do it off the back of a normal account?

When it’s set up, you’ll get to hear about it – don’t worry 😉

Super, that what I needed to know. Cheers.

Good ol’ STW – solution in less than three minutes 😉

300

To preserve all the WRT stuff in one place, it might be an idea to post any further WRT stuff on it’s own thread: http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-2011-welsh-ride-thing-is-go

http://welshridething.blogspot.com/

“The WRT is a 3 day and perhaps more importantly 2 night ride through and around mid Wales. You’ll be expected to be self sufficient, carrying everything you need and sleeping out in or under whatever you think best. It’s not elitist, entry is open to anyone who wants to try it. All the money raised by the WRT goes to the Wales Air Ambulance charity … an organisation I hope you’ll never need”

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-2011-welsh-ride-thing-is-go

Ftr- vr28 have an orangey tinge black irid has a grey tinge.

I think I’ve just been sold much the same. Went for half jackets in VR28 black iridium, polarized. They look very dark (much darker than my m-frame VR28’s), and lack the orangey tinge referred to. Also no mention of VR28 on the box label.

@ monkeychild – Phone them up for £20 off? Was it that easy?

Done, though your questions aren’t geared* towards singlespeeders 😉

Good luck though.

* see what I did there?

Gear ratio looks a touch ‘manly’

And with an absence of rear brake, it looks fixed too 😯

i used a kimm/omm sac with
1 x snugpack softee kip bag
1 x 3/4 therma rest
1 x macpac ultralight tent

My mid-90’s polaris kit bag looked very much like this. Still have the Snugpack Softee actually.

In the most typically typical way, they’ve now sold out. …