Follow up to the exploding primus Butane Stove

Hi Davoe
Glad you made a comment, when we used ours for the first time we had to stuff around to get the can to sit right without leaking gas.
When we got it to work right I don't think it burns as good as the gasemate ones.
Am thinking of chucking it to the dump and getting a gasmate.

Regards

Franga

My Gasmate will only allow that lever to travel to full lock when the plate on top is the right way up. If it is upside down to make it fit in the carry case, it will not lock all the way, you have the jiggle the stop out of the way. When the grate is on properly it pushes the stop out of the way and it works fine with no resistance.

Took me a bit to realise what the issue was, I suspect it's to stop you using it upside down and having no ventilation around the flame and blowing it up. This could be the same with your model?

As for the exploding one, no opinions without more info.

A friend had a shrapnel experience with one of these a couple of years ago and peppered her tent with bits. The tent looked like it had been hit with automatic gunfire. On looking at the bits and pieces and comparing it with my own stove it appeared that she had not turned the trivet the right way up but had left it upside down (as it comes in the case).
My own son had an almost similar experience with my own little stove but caught it just before it blew.( only just)
In his case it definitely was because of the trivet being upside down. It seems to conduct the flame into the canister area.
The incident of the exploding stove in the first case was refered to the relevant government authority dealing with gas bottles and explosions etc. I'm not really sure who it was but they had been notified of several similar incidents.

Davoe, that was me that posted about the Primus stove going bang... The party involved has been contacted by Primus a couple of times to say investigations are continuing... I can't comment on the fitment of the cans or anything else as I wasn't there. As far as customer support from Anaconda (place of purchase) goes, even though they were not at fault and legally not obliged to help out, they came to the party by replacing everything that was damaged and upgrading them to a proper gas stove.

I was at Inskip Point Qld a few months back now with the wife and kids.. right on the water and took out the 'Gasmate" portable cooker... the ones that you buy for $20 at Kmart and BCF etc....

I had never used one before but thought you just stick the can in push the lever down and then you are right to go... However I did not know that the little knotch had to be in line etc...

Now I have been told by people that if it is not in line the lever won't go down but mine did ... and easily!!!

What I did not know at the time was that it was allowing the gas to escape at a huge rate around the seal as it was not seated properly ... i couldn't hear the gas either as the surf was just behind me with the wind of the beach etc..

So I turn the start knob and KAWHOOMPA!!! I was engulfed in a ball of flame that took every hair off both of my arms and if I had hair on my head it would have gone too! The cooker was right next to the camper under the awning so I had a gas flame about 2 - 3 foot high coming out of every hole possible on this thing and lapping up my canvas tent...

My immediate thought was to pick it up and toss it away from the family which I did in about 1/10th of a second!

The cooker landed a good 30 foot away on the beach and after tossing water on it to cool the gas canister down my son finally arrived with the shovel to bury it in the sand...

I for one will not listen to ANYONE who tells me that these things will not let the gas out unless it is locked into position as I have the photos of the thing with flames p*ssing out everywhere on the beach before I got to put it out!!

I did buy another one though as I figure it was my fault in the first place for not reading the instructions... mind you I will be starting it VERY carefully in the future!!

Cheers

Have used one of the cheaper ones for about 3 years now every couple of months with no issue. But I know I'll be making sure it is in correctly after reading this!