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MC Camping on the Cheap

Weigh an empty one. Weigh a full one. The difference is the amount of liquid propane in the cylinder. Weighing a partially full cylinder will give an indication of the amount left when you compare it to the weight of a full and an empty cylinder. Pressure in the cylinder will remain the same until all liquid is gone. Downs water method is a crude weigh scale.

Hey don't call my methods crude :rider: Budget is the preferred term ;)

MSR gives a little pictogram on the side of their fuel cans to give you an idea of what's left in it.

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I use the green propane bottles too. The float idea probably works on them too?

There have been times when I used the green ones in the morning where the dew formed on it to tell me what the level was.
 
Frugal. Frugal man. When we're signing pens out in a logbook so they know how many we've used it's a bit out there. I also ride a Strom primarily. Us Stromers are only just a smidgen above KLR riders when it comes to cheapne.............I mean frugality.
 
We need to have a cheap camp some day. Total cost of shelter, food, water, gas, stove...

winner gets a sports trophy, used of course, cheapest available regardless of sport.
 
We need to have a cheap camp some day. Total cost of shelter, food, water, gas, stove...

winner gets a sports trophy, used of course, cheapest available regardless of sport.

A repurposed plastic participation trophy given to one of our kids by the local elementary school. Duct tape and a marking pen can make that trophy say anything you want.

I haven't actually been bike camping in at least 2 years, though. I'm finding that in my "silver" years, my financial resources exceed my tolerance for cold, hard ground. I'm in the midst of planning a week in Arizona with a riding buddy, and there won't be a single night's camping. There will, however, be a number of sub-$50 motels, and a night on my sister-in-law's couch, along the way. Cheapness evolves with age.
 
My days on the ground may be numbered but I still have no problem in my tent. There are places I want to go to that just don't have beds.
 
Got home from the lake today and realized my error of tossing the empty gas can in the trash. Now I have to burn a new one out and weight it. That is why I posted to see if there was another way.

The 'putting it in water' method mentioned above is pretty accurate and works in the field. While at home observe how well a full vs empty canister floats. Take those observations with you in your brain when camping, etc.
 
The 'putting it in water' method mentioned above is pretty accurate and works in the field. While at home observe how well a full vs empty canister floats. Take those observations with you in your brain when camping, etc.

OK.

I think I know why this has been bugging me. It just seemed to run out of gas too quick. The problem may be that instead of beanie weenie or something I am just heating from a can at room temps, I heated food that was frozen inside a freezer bag and was still frozen when we stopped the ride for lunch. It took a lot of gas to heat the water that heated the boiler bag.
 
I need to get a tent by the end of March. Do I really need to be worried about how much it weighs ?

Sl350 , do you have a link for the academy tent you have? I searched your posts and couldn't find which one it is.
 
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I need to get a tent by the end of March. Do I really need to be worried about how much it weighs ?

Depends. Are you carrying it on your back or your bike? For a bike, not really. Worry about how small it packs. You'll run out of space on the back of your bike long before you get remotely close to your weight limit. In the world of 2-man 2- and 3-season tents, the typical weight range is anywhere from 3 to 5 pounds. You won't notice the extra 2 pounds.
 
Yeah, I figured. I'll save you the trouble of digging back through 73 pages of posts. My main tent packs at 22" long and about 6" thick. My main concern is length, because a tent tied across the back of a seat catches air & creates drag. The tent weighs just under 6 lb. A bit heavy, but it's also quite warm on Colorado evenings at 8,000 feet, so the extra pound or two is well worth it.
 
I actually have two tents. I have a 6 y/o Eureka that's a nice tent, but strictly 2-season. It's all mesh, with a rain fly. No way to keep cold air from creeping under the fly and freezing me out. So I bought a 2nd tent, brand name Moose Country, and spent a little more. It's a true 3-season and has solid sides with zippable windows. Also has a very sturdy, heavy rain fly. I've used it in moderate weather, say nights in the upper 50s, and it was fine for that. For a 70ish night in Texas, it would probably be too hot unless I pulled the fly way back for more air flow.
 
I need to get a tent by the end of March. Do I really need to be worried about how much it weighs ?

Sl350 , do you have a link for the academy tent you have? I searched your posts and couldn't find which one it is.

This is the current version of mine:

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/magellan-outdoors-tellico-3-person-dome-tent#repChildCatid=3496509

I bought some velcro tape to close the hole designed for a power cord. Also, late this summer I used seam sealer on all tent seams and seams on the rain fly. Still happy with it but too heavy to backpack.
 
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