Stoves

[Empty]

I am sure this subject has been done to death but some current info would be handy. Now that I have been alerted to the potential problems of the Kovea Supalight I am wondering what others are using.

I have had one recommendation for the fire maple 300 t hornet - nice looking stove but I did read some bad reviews about blocked jets that could not be cleaned.

Have looked at all the online shops, forums and reviews and nothing really stands out.

Is there anything of similar size to the supalight which is bomb proof?

[icefest]

Here is a string from BLP with a similar conversation: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... d_id=75590

AFAIR the issue with the 300-T is the sintered fuel filter, which can be removed before use - preventing any issues.

Failing that the Monatauk Gnat Is also a decent stove. It's identical to the kathmandu ti stove - same OEM.

[Empty]

Thanks for the tips icefest

I had narrowed it down to the msr micro rocket or the soto micro regulator both of which are at the upper end of the price scale. The giga and the gnat have made it a more difficult choice now although the giga looks a bit bulky.

I am trying to get the entire kitchen, gas and all into one tall and slim pot.

Strangely, apart from on this forum, I have not been able to find one negative review about the supalight.

[Strider]

The Gnat is actually a Firemaple FMS-116T

[dancier]

Interesting, I've got a Kovea and just realized it was a superlight, never a problem, anyway check this site out, it hasn't been updated for awhile but there might be some useful information. I was looking at the gas cannister refilling section and noticed some stove recommendations.

http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com.au/

Edit: While looking at the latest stove recommendations, there is a link back to this site in the comments.

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=12876

[Gadgetgeek]

I have the MSR micro rocket and its a great stove. I just did some looking and it seems like it might be available at a more reasonable price than when I bought mine. I bought mine in Canada for about $55 with a nearly 1:1 dollar. Here they were more like $100 which seems a bit silly. Even with that price a bit lower I'm not sure its better enough than the other to justify the pricetag. It is a bit of a laser though, so that might be a concern with thinner pots. A buddy of mine owns a Giga, and likes the larger flame base.
With a heavy bottomed fry pan (car camping and no cans for the bigger stoves) it handled egg and bacon duty with no problems at all. And in lower wind conditions it will simmer pretty well. I would say your best bet would be to focus on the budget, as far as I know there are no drastic differences in quality, (at least I didn't find any when I looked a year ago)

[ofuros]

Since you quoted a slim pot...maybe the head shape should be a factor to take into account.
No point in wasting those precious flames/heat up the side of your pot.

You'll see the different types here...2 bunsen burners, an intermediate & 2 wides.

[Empty]

Thanks for the great replies, there is some really useful info here. I am still struggling to find any negative comments about the supalight apart from on this forum and when you think of how many there must be in circulation that is hard to reconcile.

So far I have not had any problems with mine but, as I was concerned about the experiences of other forum members I thought it would not be a bad idea to have a stove in reserve. Compared to other items like tents an packs they aren't really all that expensive.

I agree with the remarks about the concentrated flame of the micro rocket which is why I am leaning towards the soto. A couple of long term test reviews I read were extremely positive. It is locally available for $84.50 with free postage so eventually I may go that way.

Thanks again to everyone for their help.

[Strider]

The micro rocket is also known as the Kovea Flame Tornado. Might be a bit cheaper.

[mrpotter]

What kind of safety concerns have people faced with gas stoves?

Stability has been a very minor issue for me but I have heard that people knock them over, or they're blown over by wind, and can then start fires very quickly.

I've wondered if leaks are an issue with gas stoves, and what would actually occur with a leak

[icefest]

What kind of safety concerns have people faced with gas stoves?

Stability has been a very minor issue for me but I have heard that people knock them over, or they're blown over by wind, and can then start fires very quickly.

Can't this happen with any stove? At least gas stoves do not let the fuel run out, burning, over the ground.
Shorter, fatter stoves tend to fare better in this regard.

I'd say the most dangerous for fire risk are old liquid stoves (SVEA 123 and Juwel 84) as they can overheat and turn into a flamethrower.

I've wondered if leaks are an issue with gas stoves, and what would actually occur with a leak

Not so much of an issue. Some stoves have a bit of a leak when adding/removing as the pin that depresses the valve is a tad too long.

Explosion of the canister is very very rare.

[mrpotter]

Thats a good bit of feedback! I was told that most gas stoves are bad cause they're taller, I've never really had an issue with stability myself - always make sure its firmly footed. But thats a very good point about liquid fuel stoves.

Canister explosion would have to be rare given the size of the nosels and gas lines, designed so flame can't feed back except under very very low pressure.

A greater concern would be heat conduction after prolonged use, causing fire in places not intended and melting of the plastic safety value in the canister?

[Gadgetgeek]

As long as you are looking after your stove, there should be no problems. Checking for leaks before use is a good idea, but not always practical. Listening to the valve should be enough, unless its noisy or you are a metal-head. You can get some canister stoves that are quite tall, and combined with a tall tank, it may be too much, but a little sense goes a long way with that. Most camping stoves are not super stable anyway just due to the nature of being so small.
I highly doubt you could get flames back into a canister at all, since you need air to be coming in. I'd be more worried about someone dropping a cannister on a sharp rock, and the resulting rocket from the puncture. Also unlike liquid stoves, leaks don't accumulate, so in that regard they are much less dangerous. Most likely the gas would be carried away too quickly to ignite. The risk might be if you had it inside a wind-screen that could collect the fumes, that might be exciting, like lighting a BBQ with the lid down.

[corvus]

Thats a good bit of feedback! I was told that most gas stoves are bad cause they're taller, I've never really had an issue with stability myself - always make sure its firmly footed. But thats a very good point about liquid fuel stoves.

Canister explosion would have to be rare given the size of the nosels and gas lines, designed so flame can't feed back except under very very low pressure.

A greater concern would be heat conduction after prolonged use, causing fire in places not intended and melting of the plastic safety value in the canister?

g'day mrpotter,
What type of canisters are you using and have you heard about canister stands? especially the Brunton "CanStand" I use it with a Brunton Liberty Mantleless lantern on occasions with the tall cans (and with all Cans JIC ) but now have an adapter to transfer tall gas into to squat cans for this Lantern,if you are concerned about heat transfer I suggest if you have the funds purchase a "remote " canister stove and use it with 110g or 230 g cans
corvus

[jjoz58]

Thats a good bit of feedback! I was told that most gas stoves are bad cause they're taller,

I use a MSR WindPro II Stove which doesn't sit directly on the bottle. Gets rid of the stability issue.

[mrpotter]

As long as you are looking after your stove, there should be no problems...

Great bit of feedback there! Thanks! Gas accumulation is probably low risk too, the rate of release is very low

What type of canisters are you using and have you heard about canister stands?

The large jetboil cans - and yep I've looked at getting one but personally I've never had a need. One, *MAYBE* two, carefully placed rocks, can do the same job and I don't have to carry them. Strangely down in Blue Gum there are quite a number of near perfectly flat rocks in and around the river that make great solid tables & seats.

I use a MSR WindPro II Stove which doesn't sit directly on the bottle. Gets rid of the stability issue.

I've wondered about the weight distribution of these, as sure its not as tall but the assembly becomes top heavy the moment you place a heavy pot on it and the weight is typically displaced on 3 or 4 very thin small legs that would have a tendency to sink into sand. Possibly could be worse?

[Gadgetgeek]

I would think it would act very similar to the Whisperlite which actually gets more stable with a pot on it, as the fuel line can push the stove around some. I've used the Trillium base with my whiperlite international, and really like it, but its not strictly necessary.

[jjoz58]

I would think it would act very similar to the Whisperlite which actually gets more stable with a pot on it, as the fuel line can push the stove around some. I

Totally agree, It is a lot more stable, although I have never used it on sand. I couldn't see it being a problem though, just push it in to the sand before you put a pot on it or use a convenient rock or other surface. I used it with this shield, at Lamington NP, last weekend cooking everything for 3 people over 4 days and had no problems. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B5P ... UTF8&psc=1

[icefest]

Sand with a gas canister stove has got to be the most best cooking surface I have ever used.

It's fire-proof
I can bury the canister and have an ultra-stable stove.
I can keep implements dirt-free (stick them clean side up in the sand)
Cleaning pots is a breeze.

The only issue is condensation on the canister leading to rust with long-term use.

[RonK]

Thats a good bit of feedback! I was told that most gas stoves are bad cause they're taller,

I use a MSR WindPro II Stove which doesn't sit directly on the bottle. Gets rid of the stability issue.

Ditto my Kovea Spider. Also lets me invert the canister in cold weather.

[Myself]

So everyone would pretty much recommend say, an MSR Whisperlite Multi-fuel?

I'm still deciding on a stove myself, and don't much like the notion of 1 hour burntime from gas cannisters. Although multi-fuel's sound a bit more potentially dangerous, the ability to refill with any liquid combustible sounds good.

[icefest]

So everyone would pretty much recommend say, an MSR Whisperlite Multi-fuel?

No, I wouldn't - unless you are melting large amounts of snow (then the cheap fuel and high energy output is worth it).
It's smelly, produces large amounts of carbon monoxide, requires priming, is heavy, is hard to simmer on, is expensive, is more dangerous in the even of a leak, harder to clean, takes longer to set-up and pack down, is often smelly and has to be separated from the rest of your gear.
All in all it's an outdated technology that, like steel frame packs and wooden tent poles should be removed from active circulation (except in certain niches).

I'm still deciding on a stove myself, and don't much like the notion of 1 hour burntime from gas cannisters. Although multi-fuel's sound a bit more potentially dangerous, the ability to refill with any liquid combustible sounds good.

One hour of burntime at high power. Enough for a weeks worth of food. Double that with the large canisters. Shellite bottles weigh about the same as a gas canister.

Refilling with any "liquid combustible" sounds too good to be true. You shouldn't be using diesel or unleaded due to the fuel additives which may have harmful side effects.


EDIT: I should add, I used to use a Whisperlite Internationale. I switched to gas just over a year ago and have never regretted this decision.

[Gadgetgeek]

I have a whisperlite international. I had to leave it in Canada because I was too lazy to clean it for shipping. Which is flaw #1. But it is a great stove for what it is. If I needed an expedition stove, with no idea what kind of fuel I'd have to run through it, then that would be the one, or the new universal. I wouldn't want to cook for long with gasoline, and diesel makes a fair bit of smoke, but it will burn nearly everything. Great stove, massive overkill for most things. For most things compressed gas is the way to go. simmering is a great thing.

[Empty]

Ended up going with the manual version of the Snowpeak Giga Power as my back up for the Supalight. It is a little bit heavier but the quality seems to be higher than the Kovea and I struggled to find a poor review about it. Seems to be a bit of a favourite amongst those in the know. Really good spread of flame as well.

Most of these stove makers always recommend using their own brand of gas (as you'd expect - more money in consumables than hardware). Do you reckon it really matters? Anyone had a bad experience with other brands of gas?

[icefest]

On recent incident with a coleman tank and several with chinese cheap tanks. Korean ones seem ok.

[Myself]

So everyone would pretty much recommend say, an MSR Whisperlite Multi-fuel?

No, I wouldn't - unless you are melting large amounts of snow (then the cheap fuel and high energy output is worth it).
It's smelly, produces large amounts of carbon monoxide, requires priming, is heavy, is hard to simmer on, is expensive, is more dangerous in the even of a leak, harder to clean, takes longer to set-up and pack down, is often smelly and has to be separated from the rest of your gear.
All in all it's an outdated technology that, like steel frame packs and wooden tent poles should be removed from active circulation (except in certain niches).

I'm still deciding on a stove myself, and don't much like the notion of 1 hour burntime from gas cannisters. Although multi-fuel's sound a bit more potentially dangerous, the ability to refill with any liquid combustible sounds good.

One hour of burntime at high power. Enough for a weeks worth of food. Double that with the large canisters. Shellite bottles weigh about the same as a gas canister.

Refilling with any "liquid combustible" sounds too good to be true. You shouldn't be using diesel or unleaded due to the fuel additives which may have harmful side effects.


EDIT: I should add, I used to use a Whisperlite Internationale. I switched to gas just over a year ago and have never regretted this decision.

Can the cannisters be unscrewed/removed once the top's been popped-open, or do you have to store the stove assembled once you start using it, until it's empty?

[icefest]

Can the cannisters be unscrewed/removed once the top's been popped-open, or do you have to store the stove assembled once you start using it, until it's empty?

Yes,

If you want the cheapest and you are hiking in warmer weather you can also just use straight butane with an adaptor.

ie:
50$
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fire-Maple-Smal ... 1014913226

PLUS:

15$
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Gasmate-Buta ... 628&_uhb=1

and you can use these cartridges @ 1.20 each.
http://www.bunnings.com.au/gasmate-buta ... k_p3171476

[Myself]

Yes you have to store it assembled, or yes you can atore it apart?

I don't mind spending $150-200 for the stove, as long as it's reliable really. Reliable and durable, would be my preference over cheap.

[icefest]

Yes you have to store it assembled, or yes you can atore it apart?

I don't mind spending $150-200 for the stove, as long as it's reliable really. Reliable and durable, would be my preference over cheap.

It can be undone.

If reliable and durable are what you want, and assuming this is for the permanent accommodation then a whisperlight would be a decent choice. Second only to a fire.

[Myself]

How long would three cannisters last me, boiling a few kettles a day, say three meals (not rice or anything takes a long time to boil though - quick heat&eat type food?