Single burner butane stove
Submitted: Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 21:01
ThreadID:
20806
Views:
24557
Replies:
7
FollowUps:
3
This Thread has been Archived
D-Jack
Hi all
Just bought a Wild Country butane single burner stove. Came with 4 x bonus 220g canninsters and plastic case. Normal price at Rays was $30, got it for about $22 with their sale. I have never used one before but when I tried it out I was suitably impressed. Flame is 100% controlable, from an extremely gentle simmer to full on roaring flame. Set up is extremely quick and easy and my intention is to use it on my boys fishing trips and to have handy as a back up for the 3 burner gas stove when the cylinder runs out (currently take 2 cylinders in case, now only need one).
I just have a few questions or concerns .
Firstly, how long should a full can of butane last for if one was to run it on a moderate flame (like for frying sausages). Is 30 minutes realistic for all you out there who use them?
Second, the instructions say not to leave the can in the stove when not in use. How important is this and why? It just seems the slightest bit inconvenient.
Third, where do people store their full cannisters when on the move? It says they should not be in temps hotter than 40 degrees. This excludes the car on a hot day (leaving it in the back of the wagon when fishing etc on a 30 degree plus day. Does this mean they have to be in an insulated transport box?
Fourth, I have seen once someone's concerns re cannisters leaking when in transit (ie like heavy corrugations). Anyone care to comment as to this and how to rectify/make them safe?
All the
feedback much appreciated.
D-Jack
P.s. having been on this
forum for 12 or so months now I have to say it ROCKS!
Reply By: Member - Blue (VIC) - Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 21:33
Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 21:33
I don't own one so I can't actually answer your questions... If I remember correctly, Truckster came up with another invaluable bit of info though... In the alpine areas, put them(the butane canisters) in your sleeping bag over night... Apparently they don't like to work properly when they are really cold, raw bacon and eggs would surely be a letdown when it's -5 outside.
AnswerID:
100298
Follow Up By: Lone Wolf - Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 21:37
Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 21:37
Blue, I have enough trouble with gas in my sleeping bag, without putting MORE in it .... LOL!!!
FollowupID:
358475
Follow Up By: Member - Smocky (NSW) - Monday, Feb 28, 2005 at 23:29
Monday, Feb 28, 2005 at 23:29
Hey Wolfie,
got one of those stoves? :-)
FollowupID:
358753
Reply By: Member - Geoff & Karen - Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 21:44
Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 21:44
Hi DJack
I'm sure you will not be dissapointed with it. We have got one and used it so many times. I use it for our fire brigade when our boys are fighting fires and they need tea and coffee. Beats taking thermos's full of hot water and then they go cold. Anyway, a can of gas will last approx. 90 minutes on a moderate flame, we tried it. Also I carry 4 spare cylinders in the
cargo drawers in our patrol and never had a problem. The weather here in the summer can get to 45 degrees for a few days in a row and still havnt had a problem. I just make sure they are standing up and cannot roll around or sit anything on top of them. As for taking them out when not in use, we don't and never have. I do make sure it is just sitting in there though and not engaged. What Truckster says about being in the high country is true. We tried to boil the jug on the top of Kosiosko, mmmmmmmmmmmmm, and it didnt burn to good at all. Once I got a new can out from the storage draws and put that in it was fine. But the stove was left out for the night. It wasnt really that cold either, got down to about 5 degrees.
Well, I hope this has been some help, just remember it is gas though and do still treat it with respect and you will be right.
Karen
AnswerID:
100303
Reply By: Member - JohnR (Vic) - Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 22:01
Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 22:01
Make sure you have the surround for the flame the right way as one of the members had a stove blow apart last year - it had not got the sticker there to tell them they needed to. It did yoga as Truckster put it....... no it wasn't his, he kept his warm though.
As Karen warns the gas will freeze at lower temperatures, as the liquid turns to gas it will drop the temperature below what it was stored at and freeze putting an end to your flame. It freezes at 0 degrees celcius.
AnswerID:
100310
Reply By: Scubaroo - Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 23:13
Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 at 23:13
Two issues affect these stoves - altitude and temperature. Butane has a boiing point of around -1C (ie turn from liquid to gas), so it does not require a very strong container to contain. Propane on the other hand has a much lower boiling point, and requires a very strong container (eg the heavy green Coleman 465g canisters are pure propane). The problem with the butane is that in cold weather, it's not going to convert to gas very
well - so pre-warming the canister (as suggested by keeping in the sleeping bag) helps the stoves ignite when it's *really* cold. The butane is most likely a butane/propane mixture to help with the cold weather use - the lower boiling point propane keeps the canister pressurised, but the propane can burn off first, so performance will degrade as the canister is used up. If it's just regular butane, it's going to be a PITA when it's cold. Either way, canister warming helps.
I use a Primus canister stove, and being a butane/propane mix, it works quite
well in the cold (cold as in around freezing temps).
The problems experienced on top of Kosciusko were probably related to the fact you were at over 3000m elevation, and the boiling point of water drops as atmospheric pressure drops - water would boil at around 90C (not 100C) on top of Kosciusko. This can double the cooking time.
AnswerID:
100320
Reply By: Ray Bates - Sunday, Feb 27, 2005 at 10:01
Sunday, Feb 27, 2005 at 10:01
Hi all,
while we are on the subject of LPG I have a Primus BBQ. Very nice and very neat but controling the height of the flame is a problem as I am unable to turn it low. The only control is by the tap on the bottle. Primus did not supply any regulator or control valve with it. Any suggestions???????????????????????
AnswerID:
100347
Follow Up By: AdrianLR - Monday, Feb 28, 2005 at 13:58
Monday, Feb 28, 2005 at 13:58
It will have a jet in the hose. It may be partially blocked and this will cause the big poorly-defined flame when on full and poor simmer (at least it does on ours). Try cleaning the jet with a strand of copper wire. It can be unscrewed with a pair of longnose pliers.
Also
check that a
spider hasn't taken up residence in the burner (common with gas lanterns stored in the shed for some reason)
Adrian
FollowupID:
358640
Reply By: Patrolman Pat - Sunday, Feb 27, 2005 at 10:39
Sunday, Feb 27, 2005 at 10:39
I think most things have been covered in previous posts. I now have two of the butane gas burners and leave the LPG one at
home most of the time now. One of the best bits of camping gear I've ever owned. As for protecting cannisters on corrugation stick a couple of stubbie holders on them.
AnswerID:
100349
Reply By: porlsprado - Sunday, Feb 27, 2005 at 12:28
Sunday, Feb 27, 2005 at 12:28
I use butane stoves and the i believe the recommendation to not leave the can inside the stove is like this - its not actually locked into place - its a placement type thing relying on a spring, so if a movement dislodges the connection without fully disconnecting it then you have butane spilling into the ignition area - that's when these stoves blow up upon start up. I have seen this dislogement in my stove but luckily i checked it before I hit the ignition - so now i do take it out after every single use. So apart from the leakage issue, its a safety issue as you don't know who has knocked it since you last used it.
AnswerID:
100354