"He recorded his final thoughts in a diary, and the last page included a heavy black smudge. Researchers recently conducted extensive analysis of the spot, finding that it contained burnt rubber, oils and feces. These traces hint at Brønlund's desperate and unsuccessful attempts to light a life-saving petroleum burner before he succumbed to cold and hunger, scientists wrote in a new study."
> These traces hint at Brønlund's desperate and unsuccessful attempts to light a life-saving petroleum burner before he succumbed to cold and hunger, scientists wrote in a new study.
To expand on this: the fundamental problem with all stoves is the need to drive the fuel up from the bottle and into the burner vents where it can be burned. The problem in that on its own fuel often does not want to do that, especially when it is cold. How exactly they accomplished this in the past is actually pretty tricky to pull off, so it's not surprising that he expired while trying and failing to light his stove.
Your typical modern pocket stove[0] operates on what we call "Isopro" fuel. It's a mixture of isobutane and propane that's really excited to return to a gaseous form. The stove sits on top of the bottle, depresses the valve built into the cylinder, and regulates the gas leaving on its own. They're convenient and easy to operate, but they were invented well after 1908, so they weren't available to him. Also, while modern fuel mixes are proudly marked as "all weather", they are not. Depending on isopro fuel in freezing temperatures will at best leave you with canisters that perform poorly, at worst they will leave you without any fuel at all. These are not recommended for winter camping.
Liquid fuel stoves[1] need some mechanical pressure to get the fuel to the nozzle (since liquids tend to stay down) and some starting heat to convince them to vaporize to a gas for easier burning. All liquid fuels include both some sort of mechanical pump, usually on the fuel bottle, and a design that allows the fuel line to get hot enough to vaporize it. Modern liquid stoves often run the fuel line through the flame, which can help even run isopro fuel at much lower temperatures. The starting procedures[2][3] for all of these stoves involve burning something, usually some of the fuel for modern stoves, in a small "priming cup" below the main stove. This early burn pre-heats all of the stove, which allows it to begin vaporizing the liquid fuel even in the worst conditions possible.
The issue, I think, is that kerosene is a pretty inconsistent fuel, and not one that plays nice at lower temperatures. Kerosene has a surprisingly high freezing temperature of -47F, and is probably a real bear to light at sub-zero temps. I suspect that's why it's recommended that you use alcohol to start the fire, as alcohol freezes at about -173F. And that's assuming that by "petroleum" they meant kerosene. Gasoline or Diesel might start misbehaving at sub zero temps too, and fail to light with a match alone. Perhaps a mix of "petroleum" along with other unpleasant substances could have been enough to light the stove, but it appears to have been too much for the already exhausted explorer.
1) Burns Alcohol directly, runs in liquid cycle, somewhat inefficient. Think Sterno burner type deal, I know there are others.
2) Burns Naptha, starts in liquid cycle (by lighting the volatile components in the fuel), then starts running in gas cycle once it heats up. (this is a normal Coleman Fuel stove)
3) Burns Kerosene, these stoves must use either naphtha or alcohol to start by burning in a staring cup, this is the kind of stove featured, Kero is not match lightable (not enough light volatile components in the fuel), so you preheat the gas generator to turn the kero into a gas, which can be match lit.
Whoops, I totally forgot about alcohol stoves, good call. I’ve personally never used them, so they just slipped my mind.
2 & 3 are certainly different in their starting properties, but from a stove perspective they seem to be the same, at least today. My MSR Whisperlite Universal can consume isopro, white gas, kerosene, or in a real emergency auto gas. The only difference between the three appears to be the shape of the brass nozzle that sprays the heated & pressurized fuel into the mixing chamber. Although for the reasons you listed, I obviously would prefer Naptha if I was planning ahead, since it’s easier to get going in a dire situation.
Looking into it, I think Kerosene can be lit with a match under normal circumstances, but the time and temperatures it takes make it practically impossible under inclement conditions when it matters.
Kerosene has a flash point of 100F, while Diesel has a flash point between 100F and 160F, depending on the grade. You can light a small puddle of diesel using a match[0], since wood burns at well over 400F, you just need the patience for the match to slowly heat up the diesel to it’s flash point. Given that Kerosene has an equal or lower flash point, it should work too.
The issue of course is ambient temp. Heating up a small puddle of Kerosene from 70F to 100F using a small match might be doable, but getting it up to 100F from -20F might not be. Never mind how much faster everything cools down when it’s that cold outside and blowing.
A quick note on some liquid fuel stoves/lanterns. If it gets sufficiently cold (-40 in my experience, different brands and seal materials may vary), the rubber seals on the pump can freeze to the point where they stop sealing completely and can't hold pressure.
Since it's a non-evaporating fuel (especially at -40), you won't lose fuel, but you have to warm the seals back up before they'll light.
These can use the gas canister upside down, taking in the liquid gas and running it through the flame to evaporate it. These work pretty well in cold (I have used one in –10 C) and have the usual advantages of a gas stove, ie. simple construction and clean operation.
My WhisperLite Universal can do that too, on top of running pure liquid stoves. I personally wouldn’t trust it below ~20F; it can run white gas too, why risk it?
My actual favorite stove, although my heaviest, is my BioLite CampStove 2[0]. It consumes biomass (sticks, pine cones, etc.) and runs a fan that drives extra air into the burning chamber for more heat and less smoke. The part running the fan generates electricity from the heat (using a peltier device, I think) which is enough to run the fan and produce a small amount of spare power. It’s not the lightest stove, but it generates a lot of personal warmth and in areas with a lot of biomass it has effectively unlimited runtime. Illegal to use in areas with forest fire risks though, hence my dual ownership of a WhisperLite.
Reminds me of the design of the Lunar Module's engine. They needed it to be as reliable and simple as possible, so they picked hypergolic propellants which ignited spontaneously when mixed, so there was no need of an ignition circuit that might fail. Just open the valves and it goes.
> Depending on isopro fuel in freezing temperatures will at best leave you with canisters that perform poorly, at worst they will leave you without any fuel at all. These are not recommended for winter camping.
Sad to say some manufacturers, and thus camping magazines and web sites, do recommend canister stoves for winter camping (cough looking at you, snow peak, though you are not alone). I'm surprised they haven't killed anyone -- perhaps they are used by people who stay close to their vehicles. Those canisters are heavy and have to be packed out and discarded.
Liquid stoves have other tradeoffs but are much more reliable at all inhabitable altitudes. They are good at temperatures I can deal with at least as I try never to travel overland below -10 F -- I know some do but I simply don't believe I have the skills.
Another problem with the inexpensive canister stoves is, surprisingly, their tolerances. We had a jetboil fail in the Australian desert -- some grit simply got where it shouldn't. Bit of a crisis. A dragonfly or something like that is more tolerant of expanding, contracting, getting unfortunate bits in it (and being cleanable).
You can, actually (I've used a soto windmaster in deep snow around 6000+m before). It's "just" a question of ensuring the canister itself stays warm enough (e.g. warm it up in your jacket before use, put in a bowl of water, or welding some sort of metal to the stove to conduct the heat back to the canister.. the last which I have NEVER done, since I've read about all sorts of explosion-likely events!)
There are also some stoves that can run Isopro through the same heating cycle that Kerosene and Naptha go through, theoretically allowing you to use Isopro below its vaporization point. My MSR Whisperlite Universal can do that by simply inverting the Isopro canister (it also runs right-side up in warmer weather), but personally I’d opt for white gas if I was going anywhere near Isopro’s failure temperatures, just to be safe.
> Gasoline or Diesel might start misbehaving at sub zero temps too
While building at least some sections of the Alaskan oil pipeline, they left the construction equipment idling overnight to keep it warm enough to prevent the Diesel from gelling in the tanks.
Also, the main difference between #1 and #2 Diesel fuel is the temperature range over which they have near-optimal viscosity.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 44.2 ms ] threadWhat a world, this science thing.
To expand on this: the fundamental problem with all stoves is the need to drive the fuel up from the bottle and into the burner vents where it can be burned. The problem in that on its own fuel often does not want to do that, especially when it is cold. How exactly they accomplished this in the past is actually pretty tricky to pull off, so it's not surprising that he expired while trying and failing to light his stove.
Your typical modern pocket stove[0] operates on what we call "Isopro" fuel. It's a mixture of isobutane and propane that's really excited to return to a gaseous form. The stove sits on top of the bottle, depresses the valve built into the cylinder, and regulates the gas leaving on its own. They're convenient and easy to operate, but they were invented well after 1908, so they weren't available to him. Also, while modern fuel mixes are proudly marked as "all weather", they are not. Depending on isopro fuel in freezing temperatures will at best leave you with canisters that perform poorly, at worst they will leave you without any fuel at all. These are not recommended for winter camping.
Liquid fuel stoves[1] need some mechanical pressure to get the fuel to the nozzle (since liquids tend to stay down) and some starting heat to convince them to vaporize to a gas for easier burning. All liquid fuels include both some sort of mechanical pump, usually on the fuel bottle, and a design that allows the fuel line to get hot enough to vaporize it. Modern liquid stoves often run the fuel line through the flame, which can help even run isopro fuel at much lower temperatures. The starting procedures[2][3] for all of these stoves involve burning something, usually some of the fuel for modern stoves, in a small "priming cup" below the main stove. This early burn pre-heats all of the stove, which allows it to begin vaporizing the liquid fuel even in the worst conditions possible.
The issue, I think, is that kerosene is a pretty inconsistent fuel, and not one that plays nice at lower temperatures. Kerosene has a surprisingly high freezing temperature of -47F, and is probably a real bear to light at sub-zero temps. I suspect that's why it's recommended that you use alcohol to start the fire, as alcohol freezes at about -173F. And that's assuming that by "petroleum" they meant kerosene. Gasoline or Diesel might start misbehaving at sub zero temps too, and fail to light with a match alone. Perhaps a mix of "petroleum" along with other unpleasant substances could have been enough to light the stove, but it appears to have been too much for the already exhausted explorer.
[0] - https://www.msrgear.com/stoves/canister-stoves/pocketrocket-...
[1] - https://www.msrgear.com/stoves/liquid-fuel-stoves/whisperlit...
[2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXXaIU0VNx0
[3] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_zRgcmSWh0
1) Burns Alcohol directly, runs in liquid cycle, somewhat inefficient. Think Sterno burner type deal, I know there are others.
2) Burns Naptha, starts in liquid cycle (by lighting the volatile components in the fuel), then starts running in gas cycle once it heats up. (this is a normal Coleman Fuel stove)
3) Burns Kerosene, these stoves must use either naphtha or alcohol to start by burning in a staring cup, this is the kind of stove featured, Kero is not match lightable (not enough light volatile components in the fuel), so you preheat the gas generator to turn the kero into a gas, which can be match lit.
2 & 3 are certainly different in their starting properties, but from a stove perspective they seem to be the same, at least today. My MSR Whisperlite Universal can consume isopro, white gas, kerosene, or in a real emergency auto gas. The only difference between the three appears to be the shape of the brass nozzle that sprays the heated & pressurized fuel into the mixing chamber. Although for the reasons you listed, I obviously would prefer Naptha if I was planning ahead, since it’s easier to get going in a dire situation.
But you need two fuels to match start a Kero stove (or a butane torch) as Kero is not match lightable (neither is diesel)
Kerosene has a flash point of 100F, while Diesel has a flash point between 100F and 160F, depending on the grade. You can light a small puddle of diesel using a match[0], since wood burns at well over 400F, you just need the patience for the match to slowly heat up the diesel to it’s flash point. Given that Kerosene has an equal or lower flash point, it should work too.
The issue of course is ambient temp. Heating up a small puddle of Kerosene from 70F to 100F using a small match might be doable, but getting it up to 100F from -20F might not be. Never mind how much faster everything cools down when it’s that cold outside and blowing.
0 - https://youtu.be/7soVqyGq4i4
Since it's a non-evaporating fuel (especially at -40), you won't lose fuel, but you have to warm the seals back up before they'll light.
https://www.msrgear.com/ie/stoves/canister-stoves/windpro-ii...
These can use the gas canister upside down, taking in the liquid gas and running it through the flame to evaporate it. These work pretty well in cold (I have used one in –10 C) and have the usual advantages of a gas stove, ie. simple construction and clean operation.
My actual favorite stove, although my heaviest, is my BioLite CampStove 2[0]. It consumes biomass (sticks, pine cones, etc.) and runs a fan that drives extra air into the burning chamber for more heat and less smoke. The part running the fan generates electricity from the heat (using a peltier device, I think) which is enough to run the fan and produce a small amount of spare power. It’s not the lightest stove, but it generates a lot of personal warmth and in areas with a lot of biomass it has effectively unlimited runtime. Illegal to use in areas with forest fire risks though, hence my dual ownership of a WhisperLite.
0 - https://www.bioliteenergy.com/products/campstove-2
Sad to say some manufacturers, and thus camping magazines and web sites, do recommend canister stoves for winter camping (cough looking at you, snow peak, though you are not alone). I'm surprised they haven't killed anyone -- perhaps they are used by people who stay close to their vehicles. Those canisters are heavy and have to be packed out and discarded.
Liquid stoves have other tradeoffs but are much more reliable at all inhabitable altitudes. They are good at temperatures I can deal with at least as I try never to travel overland below -10 F -- I know some do but I simply don't believe I have the skills.
Another problem with the inexpensive canister stoves is, surprisingly, their tolerances. We had a jetboil fail in the Australian desert -- some grit simply got where it shouldn't. Bit of a crisis. A dragonfly or something like that is more tolerant of expanding, contracting, getting unfortunate bits in it (and being cleanable).
While building at least some sections of the Alaskan oil pipeline, they left the construction equipment idling overnight to keep it warm enough to prevent the Diesel from gelling in the tanks.
Also, the main difference between #1 and #2 Diesel fuel is the temperature range over which they have near-optimal viscosity.