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In Search of a Canister Stove

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Eastern NC
I've had a Camping Gaz for years. No longer can find the Gaz canisters that fit it. So I'm in the early stages of looking for a new canister stove.

I would like a stove that can use canisters of different makes, so I'm not captive to one fuel brand. That increases the chance I can find fuel in remote locations.

Appreciate any insights. I like the MSR rockets and Jet boil but are unsure if the readily accept other brand fuels.

Thanks!
 
Why canisters?
The naptha stoves have re-suable containers. Fuel seems to be cheap enough and readily available just about anywhere.

Even the multi fuel stoves offer an even bigger variety of options allowing you to use different fuels.
 
Thanks, I'll look into naphtha options. Have no experience with them. I truly love the ease of a canister system, and have a multi fuel MSR stove, but dislike all the priming, pumping, etc.
 
The standard valve for canisters is the Lindal Valve. Any stove with this valve (almost all of them) will work with all the canisters with the Lindal Valve. Manufacturers will say you must use their brand of fuel, but you don't. For example, I have a Primus micron stove. I have used the canisters by coleman, msr, jetboil and primus.
 
Thanks, I'll look into naphtha options. Have no experience with them. I truly love the ease of a canister system, and have a multi fuel MSR stove, but dislike all the priming, pumping, etc.

Geez, I feel like a dummy, naphtha is white gas - right?. My MSR whisper lite is in that family. Fuel readily available in most all places, just don't like all the fussing with that stove.
 
Thank you, that helps a lot. Looks like the industry has standardized on a valve connection. So it appears I can focus on the stove features I like, and not worry too much about the fuel canisters.
 
I'm loving my switch to Methanol. One of the best moves I've done. I still have my whisperlite for cold temps but for 3 season use, I love the alky!
 
Now I don't use a canister stove, but from somewhere I seem to have a memory of a little device that you could re-fill gas canisters from a larger propane tank. Maybe it was on the Cabela's web site? I looked at it with interest at the time because my propane torch uses the same kind of screw on fuel bottles. I finally decided not to get it as I use so little fuel in this way.
But if a person truly likes the convenience of a propane stove such a thing might be of value. One of the downsides of the gas fuel bottle, as I understand it, is you can have some gas left but not sure how much and could carry the bottle only to empty it on the first meal. If you had the option to re-fill the bottle then you'd start off with it full every time.

I wonder if they have anything on u-tube about filling tanks? Anyways: if it was me thinking about gas cooking, I'd check to see if this idea of re-filling fuel bottles would work and then I'd look to see what stoves work on those kind of fuel canisters.

Or you could check out the Littlbug wood burning camp stoves and sidestep the whole issue of canister availability. For those times when there is a fire ban the Littlbug works with a alcohol stove like the Trangia Spirit Burner as well.

Best Wishes, Rob
 
I have a MSR WindPro. I buy whatever isopro canister is on sale. MSR, Brunton , Snow Peak it does not seem to matter.
 
I've got a couple stoves... alcohol, white gas/coleman fuel, and butane. love 'em all. You asked specifically about canister stoves. I have an MSR Pocket Rocket. It runs on butane/mix whatever it's called. You can use MSR, Coleman, or non-name canisters (or maybe it IS a namebrand, but from walmart) in various sizes. I took a 250ml one with me recently. My BiL was using a smaller one for his Jet Boil (looked like it was about 150ml or so. smaller than mine in any case). But the connection is universal.
 
The Campingaz stove uses a different type non-threaded (European) cylinder than the domestic threaded ones (MSR, Brunton, Coleman, etc.), they wont fit it. you need the Bluet cylinders. They're still available in some dedicated climbing and backpacking stores. I just picked up a couple of the CV470's at Sail outdoors in Ontario for next weeks trip.
In Canada, it's illegal to use or even sell those filling adapters- it might be in the U.S too; they have quite a history of overfilling the cylinders, causing them to rupture or explode!
 
Well I'm still not going to switch over to a canister stove but reading the note above by Scoutergriz about re-filling propane containers, I was moved to check out the Cabela's site.
I found them: Mr. Heater Propane Tank Refill Adapter $18.00

Now about that business of "over filling and causing them to rupture and explode!" Sounds exciting all right, but I question if that is the case in fact. Firstly, that Cabela's is a big outfit and you know their lawyers would have fits if the company was selling a device proven to do anything as naughty as all that.

When you look at the adapter, really it's just a pipe with the two ends made to screw into each propane container. There isn't any way to overfill with it, the propane will only flow from a tank of higher pressure to one of lower pressure, which is what you do when you fill an empty container. Reading the customer evaluations is seems some of the guys had a hard time getting the tank full all the way, others read the instructions and had no problem. I wonder if that reading the instructions first isn't something that comes to you with age?

I can well imagine that the folks who make money selling new containers might get cranky if a person was able to re-use his once bought containers and was no longer was willing to fork over his cash for new ones. And it saves the used up containers from going to the landfill.

Best Wishes, Rob
 
Well, dog my cats! I thought I had a great answer; but it was just for the wrong question!

Thanks Yellow Canoe, saved once again!

Best Wishes, Rob
 
I know it's a little off topic, but the refilling of disposable cylinders is an important safety issue; after all, lots of people use them for tripping.
After some research, I found this from the TSSA; "refilling non-refillable cylinders is prohibited by the Propane Storage and Handling Code"
http://www.tssa.org/corplibrary/ArticleFile.asp?Instance=136&ID=6D4CD6C35AD311E0B7F95D889551D742
So I checked my inspection and filling manual (I used to have my propane handling licence, long expired) and found it's because the disposable tanks are made with non-heat-treated mild steel and are prone to fracturing from repeated sudden pressure changes caused by refilling them. Reusable tanks are made from hot rolled steel alloy that has been heat-treated to relieve stress and restore some elasticity.
Also the disposable cylinders use a Shrader filling valve (like a tire) that relies on a simple "o" ring for a seal which may or may not rupture in an overpressure situation compared to a refillable tank using a seat type valve and spring pressure release designed to vent the tank if the pressure rises above350psi
 
Back in the day we used to use the 1lb green tanks for backpacking. They weren't all that bad. Either we were too poor for the other canisters or they weren't all that popular or available, I don't remember which.

And FWIW I am a man less than 40, AND an engineer and I still read instructions!
 
Back in the day we used to use the 1lb green tanks for backpacking. They weren't all that bad. Either we were too poor for the other canisters or they weren't all that popular or available, I don't remember which.

And FWIW I am a man less than 40, AND an engineer and I still read instructions!

You are older than you think. The little canisters appeared about 15 years ago. That is I noticed them about then. :)

Before that it was liquid fuel. The little canisters are recyclable. Since you can squash them by stepping on them, I would think that trying to refill them would have a very poor risk to reward ratio.
 
Heh, my wife says I'm a 70 year old man trapped in a 30 year old's body!

And yeah, my school mates and I started packing about 17-18 years ago... so it was in that era.
 
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