Camp Stove Recommendations (1 Viewer)

[thegadgetguy]

Hi all,

I’d like to get a larger propane camp stove. I have been using an older Coleman white gas stove that was my dad’s back in the day, but it’s a bit of a hassle. Does anyone have a recommendation for a stove that fits a 12” pan and a smaller pot comfortably? I’ve looked at the Partner Steel stoves but just can’t justify the cost.

How do the propane stoves work at higher altitudes? I’ve heard they can struggle.

TIA!

 

[Quantumkiwi]

Propane stoves work fine up to about 10k, and often do work fine above that. I wouldn't worry about altitude. Up at about 10k, you're still at 70% sea level pressure, thats not too big of a change.

Honestly, propane really struggles in the cold though. Propane freezes solid at -44 degrees, once you start to drop below 10-20 deg, I've noticed spotty performance from my camping stoves (but also usually also above 10k.) At worst, you're gonna have to warm the bottle before you can get anything to cook/boil. With my small backpacking bottles, that isnt hard to do by swapping them out under my sweater, but for larger bottles, you're gonna have to get creative.

If I'm camping in the winter, its liquid fuel all day.

No recommendations, I've just used a cheapo handdown Coleman stove, and its fine, if a little bent up and ugly.

 

[Poupon]

I realize this may not be an option, but I really like my induction cook top. They are cheep, there is no wind problems and it puts a crust on a ribeye that is quite yummy. But now you are talking a LiFo4PO battery bank, 2K watt inverter and all the rest of it. So clearly, the Partner, although relatively spendy, is much less than the Induction route.

@pappy has a lot of experience with stoves and would be a very good person to talk to before you make the investment. Size/ease of storage, what are you cooking and for who (warming left overs or cooking for a family of 4), and other things are also worthy to consideration. I use to carry a two burner but found I really only needed a single burner for what I was doing.

I have heard from many that the Partner is often where the gas stove hard core folks end up. Alternatively, you may want to just keep it simple and get a duel fuel burner from Amazon like this one. Pretty basic, low cost, can use different blends of gas and probably would get the job done 95% of the time.

Good luck!

 

[89BIGBLUE]

Hi all,

I’d like to get a larger propane camp stove. I have been using an older Coleman white gas stove that was my dad’s back in the day, but it’s a bit of a hassle. Does anyone have a recommendation for a stove that fits a 12” pan and a smaller pot comfortably? I’ve looked at the Partner Steel stoves but just can’t justify the cost.

How do the propane stoves work at higher altitudes? I’ve heard they can struggle.

TIA!

You can also get a propane generator for your Coleman you have.
then you could use the white gas, or the propane cylinders from Coleman.

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[alia176]

David,

Just come to my shed, I'll hook you up young Padawan. I have three coleman propane & white gas two burners and one white gas one burner stoves.

 

[89BIGBLUE]

Hi all,

I’d like to get a larger propane camp stove. I have been using an older Coleman white gas stove that was my dad’s back in the day, but it’s a bit of a hassle. Does anyone have a recommendation for a stove that fits a 12” pan and a smaller pot comfortably? I’ve looked at the Partner Steel stoves but just can’t justify the cost.

How do the propane stoves work at higher altitudes? I’ve heard they can struggle.

TIA!

What Coleman stove do you have?
The Coleman 425s are smaller, like coffee and pancakes, group of 2-ish.
The 413 is big enough for family of 4, and room for a 12” pan.
(I have one of these for you if interested)
If you still need more cook top, you can go up to a Coleman 3 burner stove, the 426 models. Same size burners as a 413, just 3 instead of 2. My favorite.
Any one of these will run off the propane conversion generator, as well as good old White Gas.

 

[alia176]

I have a 413, 425 and 426 (I think) if anyone needs a white gas stove. I even have a Coleman stove stand!

 

[Quantumkiwi]

If anyone has a white gas stove in good nick, I'd love to take it off your hands.
I do need somethign that doesn't wobble all the time and I can actually use in the winter.

 

[89BIGBLUE]

I have a 413, 425 and 426 (I think) if anyone needs a white gas stove. I even have a Coleman stove stand!

The stands are nice, and depending on the model, will fit inside the 426 stove.

 

[pappy]

I heard some noise lately that white gas stoves might no longer be allowed during fire restrictions. Unlike propane they don't shut off instantly. As I said, this is noise. I have not seen anything in writing.

I love my one burner Partner. Like Larry I haven't had much use for a 2 burner.

Also, a 12" pan is probably going to be a tight fit on most stoves. In general they are mostly 12 x 18, which gives 12x9 per burner.

 

[FJCTom]

As I was looking for something that packs up within my cargo bins, I wound up with a Jetboil HalfGen: https://jetboil.johnsonoutdoors.com/stoves-systems/halfgen There is also a 2-burner version available that folds up like a clam. Kind of spiffy but a bit expensive and others do the job as good but need more storage space. Everything else I read said Coleman was as good as it gets and it works just fine.

 

[alia176]

If anyone has a white gas stove in good nick, I'd love to take it off your hands.
I do need somethign that doesn't wobble all the time and I can actually use in the winter.

Oh, I bet I can hep you out!!! I'm looking to downsize my stove inventory.

 

[LX450JC]

I love my black stone 17 inch griddle. I don't need to take any pans to cook on and I can cook a three-course meal easily on the single cooktop. If I need to boil water to make soup or coffee that's what my MSR windburner is for.

 

[Mauser]

I built this.

 

[Montijo505]

Hey @alia176 text me what you want for your two burner. I misplaced your number somehow.

 

[alia176]

Here's what I got and they all work. I'll light them up this evening, if I can remember. 425, 413G, GI issued 1943 US American and a 576 Peak 1.

Don't know the street value of these things!

 

[Montijo505]

Here's what I got and they all work. I'll light them up this evening, if I can remember. 425, 413G, GI issued 1943 US American and a 576 Peak 1.

Don't know the street value of these things!

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What are the measurements on the 425?

 

[alia176]

More pics

 

[thegadgetguy]

Thanks for all the input folks. This is very helpful. I am now even more confused than before, but I have learned about a lot of new options. I thought I would just buy something, but I think I'm going to think about this more.

@Quantumkiwi Interesting temp info, thank you. My goal is generally just not to be out if it's that cold, but somehow it seems to happen more than I'd like!

@Poupon your induction setup sounds very cool, I wish I had that much power available!

@LX450JC I am intrigued by the griddle. I think I still want to be able to use pans though. I'll have to think about this.

@89BIGBLUE I had no idea these existed - have you used them? Do they work well?

@Mauser very cool! Does that single burner put out a good amount of heat for the disc? Can you cook steaks/burgers on these things or do they only get hot in the center?
Also I saw you the other day in your 100 in Tijeras.


The stove I have now is a 425E. It's a little on the small side when I'm cooking, but my main complaint is really just that messing with the white gas is annoying, and setting it up/tearing it down has more steps than I would like (it's also hard to clean). I'd like to get something set up with one of those 5 lb or 10 lb tanks where I just have to twist a knob and press a Piezo igniter. Ideally the whole rig is mounted to one of my swingouts so there is literally no setup - still trying to figure out the best way to do that.

Picture from a sub 20 degree night in Grand Staircase Escalante last thanksgiving. Perhaps not making a great case that I want propane with this picture though

 

[alia176]

David,
one possible option for you is using a rect griddle that goes over both burners. This can pretty much cook everything except coffee/tea. I use a jetboil for making coffee water, warm up water for a washcloth, etc. otherwise, using a camp stove to boil/heat water is too inefficient IMHO and uses too much fuel.

Like all things in this hobby, space is limited and you gotta keep an eye on your total weight increase as that directly correlates to power/fuel economy. If you ever get a dog some day, your cargo area will become even smaller, like mine!

I use a 10# alum propane tank that is mounted inside the cargo area, on the pass side with a six foot hose for the stove. I used the term Jetboil generically because everyone knows what that is. But, for water heating, I use a camp chef multifuel Stryker and it can use Butane or propane bottles. Since I'm all propane, and refill my 1# bottles from the 20# bottle, I opted for this single burner for heating water. It's a large unit so making coffee for two people is easy. Same goes for making few noodle bowls.