What stove to use on the Appalachian Trail

[Alligator]

Are there any sections of the AT with restrictions on the type of stove allowed? Are there seasonal restrictions on parts of the AT?

Venchka is just responding to the earlier posters (OP included) and probably missed the AT part in the thread title.

On the AT, I don't recall encountering any restrictions on the type or seasonal restrictions. Were there any fire restrictions around the times of the Gatlinburg fire? An exception to that might be using wood burning stoves in areas where no fires are allowed, would be useful to know one way or the other. Barring any restrictions, I use whatever stove I feel like using based on the trip.

[zelph]

Question:
The fire season warnings and instructions that I have read from various Government sources clearly stipulated “A stove with a positive ON-OFF valve.” Examples: SVEA white gas or propane canister like Jetboil or Pocket Rocket.
Many of the stoves mentioned above do not meet these requirements. How do y’all get around the stated rules?
Wayne

In my case of using a Starlyte Stove.....I showed it to the Park Official and he approved. That was about 5 years ago. Rules have changed no doubt. If the Starlyte stove was to fall on the ground and had to put it out in an emergency, my foot could stomp it out in a second. If a caninster stove should fall to the ground it would take more than a few seconds to get down there and shut it off. In a Starlyte or Kojin type stove/burner the fuel does not splash out

[HooKooDooKu]

Venchka is just responding to the earlier posters (OP included) and probably missed the AT part in the thread title.

On the AT, I don't recall encountering any restrictions on the type or seasonal restrictions. Were there any fire restrictions around the times of the Gatlinburg fire? An exception to that might be using wood burning stoves in areas where no fires are allowed, would be useful to know one way or the other. Barring any restrictions, I use whatever stove I feel like using based on the trip.

At the time of the 2016 Gatlinburg fire, the GSMNP issued an extremely rare "no camp fires" ban.
But I don't recall any bans on the use of stoves.
GSMNP is normally such a rain forest, I doubt the park service ever went so are as to differentiate between a stove with and without a shutoff.
Seems like they didn't even ban charcoal fires, just wood burning camp fires. But I can't say with 100% certainty, I rarely camp at the front country campsites.

[One Half]

Jetboil MicroMo. boiling water in minutes.

[Venchka]

I didn’t miss the AT mention.
I must admit that after experiencing Burn Bans in northeast Texas and the Rockies, the state of North Carolina was lax by comparison in announcing the state wide burn bans.
Be careful Y’all! Even the eastern rain forest can burn!
Wayne

[Alligator]

I didn’t miss the AT mention.
I must admit that after experiencing Burn Bans in northeast Texas and the Rockies, the state of North Carolina was lax by comparison in announcing the state wide burn bans.
Be careful Y’all! Even the eastern rain forest can burn!
Wayne

Sorry your post wasn't up yet (#21) when I was responding and I didn't see it after I posted.

Eastern US the climate is generally much wetter and rainfall more regular than out west. Yes there are fires but they are not nearly the same scope as out west. They are smaller and less frequent. Restrictions on burning get put in but like I said, I can't recall anything regarding a stove restriction. Sometimes the burning bans are just time of day as well, not a complete ban.

[cmoulder]

I've read about campfire bans but not about stove restrictions, requiring a certain type, etc, here in the NE.

[Venchka]

I've read about campfire bans but not about stove restrictions, requiring a certain type, etc, here in the NE.

That’s good to know.
I apologize for overreacting.
I live in a relatively remote part of NW North Carolina. In a VERY thick forest with several years worth of leaves on the ground. I take very low humidity and very high winds VERY SERIOUSLY!
Enough of that. Be safe. Be fire aware.
Get outside and have fun! Safely!
Wayne

[Slo-go'en]

Any type of stove has the potential to start a fire, if it malfunctions or is miss-used. I can think of situations where having an off switch isn't going to help much if you can't get near it. (Out of control white gas stove)

Doing the simple task of clearing the area around the stove of anything which might catch on fire (leaves) greatly reduces the risk of an accident getting out of control.

[JNI64]

I have the original, discontinued jetboil it's a beast yes boils water in minutes. I use on my section hikes.
Other stoves various alcohol I made , Esbit and woodstove.
I like playing with fire and I like the versatility of cooking methods. I even have a system to cook on the side of a tree to keep me out of snow ,mudd etc.

[JNI64]

Why did they discontinue this stove? Was it because of heat exchanger issues?

[cmoulder]

Why did they discontinue this stove? Was it because of heat exchanger issues?

If you're referring to the Ti Sol, yes there were some HX problems possibly due to dissimilar metals being welded. The pot is Ti, the fins Al, and Ti doesn't diffuse heat as well as Al does.

However, I say 'possibly' because many people used them for a long time with no problems and some people are still using them. I'd speculate that in some (likely most... all...??) cases people accidentally boiled off all the water and ran them dry and managed to burn up the HX fins, which can happen with any pot. OR, they tried to actually cook in them, which they are not designed for. (Heat dissipation through semi-solid and thick liquids is inefficient, which is why foods burn.) Now, most pots can tolerate a little bit of overheating like this, but not a lot, and it might be that the Ti Sol can tolerate none due to the materials issue mentioned above. Those people whose Ti Sol pots are still working probably never accidentally ran them dry or tried to cook food in them.

[JNI64]

If you're referring to the Ti Sol, yes there were some HX problems possibly due to dissimilar metals being welded. The pot is Ti, the fins Al, and Ti doesn't diffuse heat as well as Al does.

However, I say 'possibly' because many people used them for a long time with no problems and some people are still using them. I'd speculate that in some (likely most... all...??) cases people accidentally boiled off all the water and ran them dry and managed to burn up the HX fins, which can happen with any pot. OR, they tried to actually cook in them, which they are not designed for. (Heat dissipation through semi-solid and thick liquids is inefficient, which is why foods burn.) Now, most pots can tolerate a little bit of overheating like this, but not a lot, and it might be that the Ti Sol can tolerate none due to the materials issue mentioned above. Those people whose Ti Sol pots are still working probably never accidentally ran them dry or tried to cook food in them.

Thank you for this great explanation
I've never ran mine dry or cooked in it. It's still going strong screaming and burning like a F-16 fighter jet taking off on after burners!!

[HankIV]

I used the Jetboil stash. Worked just fine. On 4.5 month thru, I went thru 5-6 small cans. Cup of coffee in the morning, either a dehydrated meal or mashed potatoes (with Fritos) at night. Fairly average number of town stops, below average zeros. Followed Phil Werner’s advice on keeping burner on the lower side for fuel efficiency.

Had used Flash before, and valued the speed and simplicity over alcohol lightness.

[zelph]

Had used Flash before, and valued the speed and simplicity over alcohol lightness.

I get the impression that speed is the major reason for the canisters stoves. It's the JET FACTOR

[JNI64]

I get the impression that speed is the major reason for the canisters stoves. It's the JET FACTOR

^^ THIS^^

And I like the way the small canister of gas and stove fits in the pot and lasts me all week on my section hikes.

[zelph]

^^ THIS^^

And I like the way the small canister of gas and stove fits in the pot and lasts me all week on my section hikes.

The faster it heats up, the faster you can get back to the soft sounds of nature around you......Ohhhh the long lost quietness of an aclcohol stove

I do like the recent discoveries being made with heat exchange pots coupled with the addition of heat exchange fins going up the entire length of the pot. I look forward to experiments this spring and summer. The Jetboils have inspired me...let the thinking lead to discoveries.

[JNI64]

The faster it heats up, the faster you can get back to the soft sounds of nature around you......Ohhhh the long lost quietness of an aclcohol stove

I do like the recent discoveries being made with heat exchange pots coupled with the addition of heat exchange fins going up the entire length of the pot. I look forward to experiments this spring and summer. The Jetboils have inspired me...let the thinking lead to discoveries.

Yes I concur I prefer the softer side of nature sounds for sure.
I didn't know they were experimenting in vertical heating exchangers. Makes perfect sense, bringing heat right up the pot no waste.
This reminds of me when I've used my alcohol or Esbit in combination of my woods stove and tall stainless Walmart pot the flames shoot straight up the sides of the pot and super heat to boil!

[JNI64]

And I truly look forward to your future endeavors bring it brother!!

[Venchka]

I snagged the all Aluminum pot JetBoil Sol below half price as Gander Mountain was closing. Great water boiler for freeze dried meals. Ridiculously fuel miserly!
Wayne