2L pot vs. 1L pot

del

I happily agree that the Reactor is a very efficient stove for extreme conditions but when you do the maths it doesn't really stack up as a low weight option. It may stack up if you require other aspects of its design and weight becomes a lesser factor in the decision.

The 1 litre Reactor weighs 417 grams vs a light weight canister set up (including windshield) at under 200 grams including a pot cosy that the Reactor doesn't have. A difference of 217g or more.

At 30 grams of gas per day for 2 people with a conventional setup the Reactor may save 7.5 grams per day. It would take 25 days to get the weight of the extra gas to match on day 25 and so about 50 days to equalise the average weight carried. Even examining the issue of times when you carry two canisters with the standard setup vs only one with the Reactor (trips of about 8-9 days) a 100g canister is still lighter than the weight difference of the stoves. Most people don't go much past this between resupplies so for the vast majority the Reactor will always be the heavier option.

I believe the weight efficiency argument used by all the makers of heat exchange cooking systems is just marketing spin – true but not of a magnitude that warrants taking it into consideration if weight is your primary interest. There have been quite a threads on this subject.

"Another option is a smaller pot and multiple boils? Is this more fuel efficient? My gut feeling is no, but I'm wondering what is the most efficient way to get 2L of hot water out of a canister stove ( supplemented by fire when legal and safe)?"

For any two pots, the heating efficiency is the number of calories of heat absorbed by the water devided by the fuel used. So, no, it doesn't matter. What does matter is the cooling inbetween, ie, cooling of the pot when emptied, and, cooling of the water as you drink one cup, and it sits there waiting for you to pour a second before adding your food. These approximatly break even, though this depends on how hot you like your drink. Off hand, I would call it a wash and simply stick to the standard JetBoil pot.

Heat exchangers only capture extra or excess heat. If you are using an aluminum pot at 75-80% efficiency inside a caldera cone on a slow alcohol burner, they will NOT help you. If you are using a JetBoil they do. At least they will save fuel if not time to boil. (That depends on the output of the stove used for comparison.)

You can think of heat exchangers as increasing the surface area of the bottom of the pot. This is exactly the same as using a larger pot (but without the radiant heat losses of a larger pot. The JetBoil pot has a sleve over it.) Note that once the flame is out, the fins will transfer heat AWAY from the water just as fast as they added it. Cover these ASAP to keep the water hotter.

Material makes a difference. Example: HE fins are never ti. It does not conduct heat well. Aluminum conducts heat very well.

Trangia has a 1.75 liter hard-anodized pot that is specified as being 120 grams (4.2 oz). The 1.5 liter is 110 gram, 115 gram on my kitchen scale. These come without lid or gripper. Hard-anodized skillet is 90 grams on my scales (the non-stick will be heavier), this also serves as a lid. The gripper is 45 gram and is usable for both pot and skillet.

I have used the 1 liter hard-anodized pots from Trangia for two years now and I like them. There are two slightly different versions so the slightly smaller one nests inside the larger one and are about 85 gram each.