Preparing for high elevation jobs

[Optimistic Paranoid]

P.S. Water takes longer to boil at higher elevations.

And it ain't 212 degrees, neither.  I believe cooking at higher elevations will require some adjustments, but that should be a thread over in the Food & Cooking sub-forum.

 

[DuneElliot]

And it ain't 212 degrees, neither.  I believe cooking at higher elevations will require some adjustments, but that should be a thread over in the Food & Cooking sub-forum.

I still don't get it right and I've lived above 5000ft for almost 20 years. The box cooking instructions don't help much

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

P.S. Water takes longer to boil at higher elevations.

Water actually boils faster at higher elevations.  The heat capacity of water doesn't change, the heat output of the stove doesn't change (blue flame), the boiling temperature of water is lower --> the water comes to a boil faster.  If you don't have a blue flame you have more serious problems than how fast the water boils.

And it ain't 212 degrees, neither.  I believe cooking at higher elevations will require some adjustments, but that should be a thread over in the Food & Cooking sub-forum.

Thanks, I forgot about that.  Since water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations it takes longer for food to cook in water (don't know about other cooking).  You can solve this with a pressure cooker;  I used one when someone else was carrying it 
 - Water boils at 1º lower per 1000' elevation gain (197º at 8,000 ft, Tom).
 - Add 1 minute to every 10 minutes cooking time per 1000' elevation gain.
 - Above 18'000 ft: pour water in, stir, count to 3, try to eat before it freezes; first bite scorches your tongue, last bite crunches.

 -- Spiff

 

[highdesertranger]

water does not take longer to boil at elevation per se. but it boils at a lower temp so anything that you are cooking that requires a certain amount of time being boiled takes longer. highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Well, as long as we're doing this here:

https://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/tipslibrary/baking-tips/baking-cooking-high-altitudes

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/porta...igh-altitude-cooking-and-food-safety/ct_index

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Elevation is where pressure cookers shine.

 

[Gary68]

the only thing i know about elevation is i want no part of it but way up high in parts of colorado are some nice mineral and crystal deposits

 

[Vanada]

Y'all are right. I was thinking more along the lines of boiling water to sterilize for drinking or melting snow. Always nice to learn new things!

 

[DannyB1954]

At sea level, water boils at 212 °F. With each 500-feet increase in elevation, the boiling point of water is lowered by just under 1 °F. At 7,500 feet, for example, water boils at about 198 °F.

 

[Vagabound]

Lots of different people: I'm not in Florida. I haven't been there in years. I'm in Pahrump at 2700 feet elevation. Sorry if my description was misleading.

Spiff: I think something is off with your water boiling / elevation calculation. 212 -.8 = 204.  Maybe Danny's calculation is the right one, but he didn't reference any kind of formula, so no way to tell.

Danny: Regarding that Buddy Heater, as luck would have it, that's the one I own. However, I couldn't see anywhere in the specs that it said it was good up to nine thousand feet. The description mentioned 9000 a couple times, but it was always in reference to BTUs. If I missed it somewhere, please point it out.

Tom

 

[DesertDweller]

Don't buy bags of 'tater chips until you get there    POP!

 

[Vagabound]

Don't buy bags of 'tater chips until you get there    POP!

That's a great one. That and the tire pressure are two that I probably would not have thought of.

Tom

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

 . . .
Spiff: I think something is off with your water boiling / elevation calculation. 212 -.8 = 204.  Maybe Danny's calculation is the right one, but he didn't reference any kind of formula, so no way to tell.

Danny is correct.  It should have read 1ºF per 500 ft elevation gain.  Must have been spacin'

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/boiling-points-water-altitude-d_1344.html

 -- Spiff

 

[dannab1]

--Eat light meals the first few days. And don't drink two dark beers the first night no matter how good they are! 

--Don't chase the dog up the hill after he gets away from camp. (at  Molas Pass around 11,000 ft while setting up camp). Thought I was a goner and was sure the city dog was gonna get eaten by a bear on his first camping trip! Dang Houdini dog, Altitude didn't seem to bother him at all.

Amazing views were worth it though!

 

[MrNoodly]

After you've worked your way up in elevation, hang out in Leadville for a few days (10,000 feet) then drive up 14,000 Mt. Evans and hike up the trail from the parking lot to the summit. After that, 8,000 feet will feel like sea level.

Oh and you might go to a medical supply place and get yourself a tank of oxygen.

 

[DannyB1954]

Lots of different people: I'm not in Florida. I haven't been there in years. I'm in Pahrump at 2700 feet elevation. Sorry if my description was misleading.

Spiff: I think something is off with your water boiling / elevation calculation. 212 -.8 = 204.  Maybe Danny's calculation is the right one, but he didn't reference any kind of formula, so no way to tell.

Danny: Regarding that Buddy Heater, as luck would have it, that's the one I own. However, I couldn't see anywhere in the specs that it said it was good up to nine thousand feet. The description mentioned 9000 a couple times, but it was always in reference to BTUs. If I missed it somewhere, please point it out.

Tom

https://www.thespruce.com/boiling-points-of-water-1328760

On the buddy heater, you are correct. I may have confused BTU with altitude. Researching further it seems the manufacturer recommends 7,000 feet. People who have used them say that they are good to about 10,000 feet. http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=347487&forum=2
I would not run it without a window open, and probably a Carbon monoxide detector. 



This post says the wave heater is good to about 12,000 feet. http://forum.expeditionportal.com/archive/index.php/t-99058.html

 

[MrNoodly]

...it seems the manufacturer recommends 7,000 feet.

The low-oxygen sensor cuts off the heater when oxygen gets too low. Mr. Heater's idea of "too low" is the equivalent of air at about 7,000 feet. There are a lot of people living above 7,000 feet who would think that limit is ridiculously cautious. My Mr. Heater Portable Buddy worked sporadically when I was in Flagstaff, which is 6,900 feet. I resorted to heating with my stove.

 

[Almost There]

Ha, my Mr. Buddy worked just fine at 7,200 ft.

I tested it in the picnic area for a half hour before I checked in to the campsite. I wasn't staying if it didn't work cause it was going down to mid 20's that night. I'm brave (or foolish as some would say) but not that brave....

 

[MikeRuth]

I found this to be an interesting read, as I have never worried about tire pressure change with elevation change.

Once a tire mounted on a wheel essentially establishes a flexible airtight (at least in the short term) pressure chamber in which the tire is shaped and reinforced by internal cords, it retains the same volume of air molecules regardless of its elevation above sea level. However, if tire inflation were set with a tire pressure gauge at sea level (where the atmospheric pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch is used as ambient atmospheric pressure by the gauge), the same tire pressure gauge would indicate the pressure has increased at higher elevations where the ambient atmospheric pressure is lower. Those measured at the 5,000-foot level (where an atmospheric pressure of only 12.2 pounds per square inch is the ambient pressure) would indicate about 2-3 psi higher than at sea level. On the other hand, traveling from a high altitude location to sea level would result in an apparent loss of pressure of about 2-3 psi.

However, the differences indicated above assume that the tire pressures are measured at the same ambient temperatures. Since tire pressures change about 1 psi for every 10° Fahrenheit change in ambient temperature, the tire pressure measured in the relatively moderate climate typically experienced at sea level will change when exposed to the colder temperatures associated with higher elevations.

This means that in many cases differences in ambient temperature may come close to offsetting the differences due to the change in altitude. Depending on the length of their stay at different altitudes, drivers may want to simply set their cold tire pressures the morning after arriving at their destination, as well as reset them the morning after they return home.

 

[MrNoodly]

Tire pressure changes due to ambient temperature and elevation are minor compared to pressure changes from the tires themselves heating up from just driving.