Burning to Buy a Stove? Then Read this: Stove Buying Guide

Gone are the days when you have to bring a very bulky and very dangerous stove when you go camping. The stoves of today are small, lightweight and very efficient, not to mention very safe. One of today's portable stoves would probably be your best buddy when you go out camping.

Here are a few factors that you might want to look at when choosing your very own stove.

Price

Generally stove prices can range from $20 - $200, depending on the brand and fuel; however, you can probably find a good quality type at around $50 - $90, or maybe even cheaper if you're a good bargain finder.

Efficiency

Efficiency is often measure in BTU or British thermal units; however, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who actually understands the terminology. Generally 25,000 - 30,000 BTU is a good range. Another measure of efficiency however, is boiling time. This is the measure of how long your stove can run on high with a full tank of gas. But watch out for this figure, your stove might boast a 1 hour running time, but on 32 ounces of fuel. 10 minutes of burning time with one ounce of fuel is a fair measure.

Performance

Performance is measured by the time it takes for the stove to boil a quart of water under ideal conditions (ideal fuel, new stove) both at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and at sea level. A good range would be 3-5 minutes. A good performance stove will ensure faster cooking especially if you're on the go.

Fuel

Most stoves come in either solid, liquid or gaseous fuels, here is a profile of each.

Alcohol

Pro: Clean burning, stable and safe.
Con: Alcohol burns at a cool flame so it doesn't pack much heat when burned, you'd be hard pressed to find stoves that burn with alcohol. In addition, alcohol burns with invisible flame, so there is a danger of a fire spreading.

Blended Fuel

It is a mix of butane propane and/or isobutane. You can buy it in disposable canisters and tanks.
Pro: If it is blended with isobutene, the fire is more efficient even if the pressure in the canister gets lower. Blended fuel is more dependable than simply butane or isobutene and safer than simple propane.
Con: It loses efficiency if used in temperatures below 30 degrees Fahrenheit and higher altitudes.

Butane
Butane is sold in disposable canisters and is pressurized when bought; this type of fuel is typically popular in Europe.
Pro: It is very efficient and provides a high temperature
Con: It cannot be used in cold surroundings, mainly temperatures below 5o degrees Fahrenheit and it doesn't burn as hot as blended fuel

Gasoline

Gasoline is the liquid fuel that powers most cars, however stoves like this should only be used as a last resort and you should make sure that the fuel has an octane content that is below 86 and is unleaded.
Pro: Burns fast and very hot
Con: This fuel is very poisonous, even the fumes can be a bit nauseating, not to mention the soot being toxic. The soot may get into the food you are cooking so it's best to keep the food covered at all times. It is also hard to keep gasoline going in extreme cold. There is also a need for an extra pump to increase the pressure because of its liquid form.

Isobutane

Isobutene ha a chemical structure close to butane, it is used for plane fuel. Isobutene comes in disposable canisters.
Pro: It burns more efficiently than butane and can be used in temperatures down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Kerosene
Kerosene is probably the oldest type of fuel and is also used in jet fuel because of the heat it generates.
Pros: It is available anywhere and burns very hot in any condition.
Con: Like gasoline, the soot from kerosene is also very poisonous. It also burns with a lot of soot. Generally kerosene burners get clogged quickly because of the excess soot. And like gasoline, needs an extra pump because of its liquid form.

Propane
Propane is a highly combustible, clear gas that is used in most household stoves and barbecue grills. Propane comes in disposable canisters.
Pro: Propane burns with a very hot and steady flame. There is practically no soot with a propane flame. In addition to that it has good cold weather performance.
Con: Not very good for very trepid and high altitude locations.

White Fuel

Pro: This fuel is very inexpensive and can be bought by the gallon at almost any supermart. It burns in almost any weather condition and unlike others can withstand low temperatures and high altitudes.
Con: The fuel is a liquid and will therefore need a pump to keep the pressure steady.

Wood

Pro: Wood is as old fashioned as you can get, but if you have an excellent source like for example the twigs on the forest floor, a wood stove would be a good idea.
Con: A wood stove would be hard to use during rainy season because wet wood is hard to heat up.

How to Stoke Your Wood Stove for Max Efficiency

If you're interested in owning a wood stove, you probably done some research. Maybe you've heard the buzz about the efficiency of modern stoves and their small environmental footprint. Or you may already be a stove owner, in which case you've started basking in that radiant heat. Either way, you're wondering how to ensure that your stove turns out to be one of those peak performers--and a smart investment to boot. If so, you're asking the right questions, because today's stoves a designed to pay great dividends. Capitalizing on your stove's potential begins with choosing the right type of fuel. But beyond that, here are three steps to help stoke your stove to its full heating potential.

First, take the temperature of your wood burning stove.

A lot of today's stoves come with thermometers preinstalled, which makes this step easy. If this isn't the case, it's not difficult to attach a stack thermometer to your stove's flue--that pipe that carries the exhaust outside. Once you have a thermometer in place, you'll be able to check the temperature of gases as they exit the stove. For the average wood stove, the ideal temperature range falls between 300 and 400 F. If the stove is burning within this range, it is producing heat efficiently while causing the least pollution possible. You can target this optimum spectrum by adjusting the stove's burn rate or changing the quantity of fuel.

Second, do stove maintenance. This a simple step, but easy to overlook.

Modern stoves don't create a lot of waste, but from time to time you'll want to clean out wood ash. When excess ashes start to build up, it's time to service your stove with the equivalent to a quick oil change--only it's much, much easier! Collected ash can obstruct the air vents of your stove, depriving the fire of oxygen. This makes it hard to control the burn rate of your fire, and compromises efficiency. Heating your home is hard work, so the last thing you want to do is making your stove short of breath.

Third, take an outsider's perspective on your wood stove.

By "outsider" I mean outside your house. When a wood stove is burning with maximum efficiency, it creates almost no visible smoke. So when you have a good blaze going, walk outside and inspect your stove flue or chimney. If you see dark fumes, you should vary the stove's oxygen flow and wood supply, then check again. A well-tended fire with good fuel will eliminate that smokiness. When there's no smoke, and just a shimmer in the air, you'll know your stove is reaching its potential: burning clean and hot.

Feel like you're getting the idea? Modern stoves are designed to take most of the guesswork out of all this. Feeding your stove the right woods and following the "common sense" tips above will turn your stove into a radiant heating machine.