Review - camping pot with heat exchanger (1L)

The heat exchanger is an additional metal radiator welded to the bottom of the camping pot. Such a pot captures more heat and the water in it boils noticeably faster. This results in fuel savings, which, according to the manufacturer, reaches 30%. We bought such a boiler and tested its operation in tandem with several gas burners. It turned out that not everything is so simple - to achieve 30% savings you need to guess the shape of the flame.

Here's how we came to this conclusion:

In this testing, we used two burners: Kovea Supalite Titanium and Kovea Power Nano Stove (follow the links to read detailed reviews of each of them). And as a control sample (to have something to compare the boiler with a heat exchanger with) we took an ordinary aluminum boiler of a similar shape.

We conducted several experiments during which we measured how much time and gas it takes to bring 1 liter of water to a boil (the initial water temperature is about +15).

Unfortunately, we did not have time to carry out at least several measurements in each experiment. This would significantly reduce the error and eliminate many doubts. For example, the result of 7 minutes 20 seconds for a regular boiler paired with a Power Nano burner looks very suspicious. The previously mentioned test of this burner used the same aluminum pot and generally boiled water faster (about 6 minutes). This may be due to both the water temperature and the drop in gas pressure in the cylinder.

But these are details - the really important results are visible even through the veil of errors: if you use a Titanium burner, then there is no gain from using a boiler with a heat exchanger, but with a Power Nano burner it gives the same 30% savings (10 grams of gas instead of 15).

It seems to me that the secret of such differences lies in the shape of the burner flame. See for yourself:

In Supalite Titanium, the conical splitter produces a “wide” flame and although it seems that it “fits” into the hole at the bottom of the pot, in fact this is not entirely true. Part of the flame is reflected from the radiator protective casing and goes to the sides.

And the Power Nano burner, with its flat splitter, forms a narrow torch that hits the center of the bottom. Next, the flame “spreads” along the bottom and enters the heat exchanger radiator from the desired side. This results in time savings and gas savings.

By the way, this is exactly the shape of the divider on the JetBoil burner.

It’s no secret that this particular system is currently the standard of speed and convenience. And I decided to buy a boiler with a heat exchanger precisely in order to try to get at least part of the benefits of a jetboil without shelling out $100 (the average cost of a budget Jetboil ZIP kit). The bowler hat cost me 15 dollars. I found it on AliExpress by searching for "Heat Collecting Exchanger Camping Pot". And as you can see, its results are quite at the level of the expensive Jetboil.

I took the data on Jetboy from the Internet, so this comparison cannot be considered 100% reliable, because the experimental conditions could vary. However, the overall picture is already clear - even without a neoprene cover (which is also a dust collector), a budget boiler with a heat exchanger can compete almost equally with the very expensive Jetboil in terms of such a parameter as water boiling time. It is clear that there are other criteria - weight, convenience, compactness, versatility, durability. But they must be dealt with separately based on the specific task.

My task, by the way, was formulated this way - to save money on buying boiling water in Nepal. There, especially in the upper part of the route to Everest Base Camp, boiling water is quite expensive - from 1 to 5 dollars per liter, depending on the altitude and distance from civilization. At the same time, in Namche Bazaar (a major transit point on the way to Everest) you can easily buy a gas cylinder at completely standard prices.

But let's return to our dishes. We forgot to compare the weight of a simple and improved cauldron (both have the same volume - 1 liter).

So, the pot with the heat exchanger is 100 grams heavier than usual. In order to compensate for 100 grams of excess, you need to save 100 grams of gas. And this will happen if you have to boil at least 20 liters of water during your hike. This means that from the point of view of saving weight, for me personally, a boiler with a radiator makes sense on hikes lasting more than 4 days.

But we remember that in addition to the “weight saving” factor, there is also the boiling speed, ease of use, price, and in the end, beauty.

So, from the point of view of comfort, I liked the new boiler. First of all, it has wonderful folding handles. They do not heat up during operation, they take up minimal volume when folded, and holding on to them during the cooking process is much more convenient than the classic “arc” over the cauldron. Secondly, the saucepan has a notch on the inside that makes it easy to measure the required volume. Thirdly, this pot has an anodized coating, which somewhat reduces the risk of food burning.

The only not very successful element of the design seemed to me to be the lid of the Chinese pot. It is too heavy and made of hard, non-elastic plastic. If the plastic were flexible, then it would be possible to make the lid 3 times thinner and lighter without the risk of it breaking in the backpack.

Well, in general, gorgeous dishes, good value for money.