FMS-F2 Stove

[corvus]

G'day all,
Does anyone use one of these ? look like they could handle extra cold conditions .
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fire-Maple-FMS- ... 953wt_1037
corvus

[Ent]

Hi

Assuming that I am looking at it correctly it looks like it will suffer the simmer issue that all liquid fuel stoves suffer that only control the fuel in rather than the gas generated by the preheating tube. Very few stoves control the gas side of the preheater. But apart from that it looks good for the price.

Cheers

[corvus]

Not all liquid fuel stoves are unable to simmer the Svea 123 can simmer nicely and the bell burner and flame spreader style on the F2 may well give the same result just need to wait for a users feedback.
corvus

[rucksack]

The price of the Fire Maple FMS-F2 in Shanghai, (as in walk off the street and buy it off the shelf), is AUD$63.40 (about USD$66.60). That includes a 750ml Fire Maple fuel bottle. Like Corvus, I suspect that it could be coaxed into a simmer. I can simmer my 123R, not perhaps with the finesse of a Primus OmniFuel, or an Optimus Nova/Nova+, or an MSR Dragonfly - all of which have double regulators - with one at the fuel bottle and the second at the stove itself - but simmering a 'single regulator' liquid fuel stove is a black art, one that can, how shall I say, be 'acquired'.

And sorry Corvus, I have seen quite a few of these F2 stoves, but I do not own one, so cannot comment as to its suitability for handling very cold weather. I would guess that they would be perfectly fine, so long as the pump was up to spec. I have had them in my hand and they feel OK, but it is often the pumps (and/or hose connections) that let down these sorts of liquid fuel stoves and few manufacturers are immune .. think Optimus with the recent versions of their Nova and Nova+ stoves, or some of the dreadful pumps that MSR have saddled users with over the years, especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s, (though their latest versions seem to have solved many of those earlier problem), or the early pumps on the Snow Peak GS-010R Shellite stove, (brother to their very wonderful GS-300A remote gas stove), which were far from trouble-free. All have had their moment of gloom, so who is to say. The Primus Ergo pump, which I have with my Multifuel X2 seems OK so far. Fingers crossed eh? Our 123's avoid all these problems, of course, a couple of strands from a cotton mop and you are away, and only one moving part - the regulator itself!

rucksack

[corvus]

Thanks for that rucksack,looks like the e-bay price is fair at $98.50 delivered considering the security of the transaction.

Glad you could confirm that not all liquid fuel stoves are incapable of simmering, my Optimus Explorer II can also go from an inferno to a flicker and speaking of which it would appear that FM have copied both the" bell style - flame spreader" burner and the pump from Optimus.

Looks like I will need to do a wider search for user feedback.
corvus

[Ent]

Hi Corvus

As mentioned the best simmering systems are the ones that control the fuel after it is turned into gas by the pre-heater. Sure you can with patience get a Whisper-lite to simmer but not nearly as easily and controllable as the Optimus Nova + (I have both stoves). The simmering issue also extends to the Jetboil Helios system even though it is a gas stove. With that system the tube is filled with liquid gas so the stove operates very much like as liquid fuel stove. With that system you are almost forced to always to have the gas canister inverted.

As for extreme cold performance a liquid fuel stove is the go. My favorite is the Optimus Nova + but they are not cheap and still have the problem that if the valve sticks you need a tool as the adjustment is done by turning the feeder hose, not exactly a strong part of the stove. Honestly the gas system that you have is good enough for Tassie conditions as with a pre-heater you can invert the cylinder and get good performance. But by all means add to the collection

Cheers