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Stove Care &
Feeding
Tips to improve
performance.
Getting the most heat from your stove
requires a little care and feeding. The following are tips and hints gleaned
from years of guiding and stove use that you can rely on to improve your stove's
efficiency:
- Always store a stove and fuel away
from food, such is in a side pocket of a pack. Many manufacturers offer
padded sacks or special stove cases for this purpose.
- Take the time to test fire a stove
at home. This way you will know it works and can learn in a controlled
setting your stove's particular quirks and features. Another advantage, you
are only a phone call away from either the manufacturer or your local
specialty store if you encounter any problems--not the case if the problem
is discovered in the high mountains.
- Water (from condensation,
typically) and debris (from careless opening and closing of a fuel canister
when filling, most likely) can clog a fuel line. Use a fuel funnel outfitted
with a small screen to prefilter fuel going into their stove. Also, before
filling a fuel bottle, always check it for debris and water.
- Never use old fuel. Fuel stored in
a stove's fuel tank for more than a few months begins to break down which
results in impurities that will clog a stove.