jetboil ignition!!

[yari]

that's the funny thing. i warm my canisters, keep my camera batteries in my pocket, keep my bladder in the bag at night so it doesn't turn to ice, but the jetboil just doesn't spark. bad jetboil? either way, my reactor is still more reliable!

I have had a JetBoil for three years and love it. I had to replace the ignition module after I dumped it in the lake (don't ask). Replacement module was cheap and switching it out took only a few minutes. Nice thing about it was I was in the middle of my trip and could just light it with my Bic lighter until I could fix it.

[dcmidnight]

Curious if the people who have had ignition troubles had the PCS or the Flash? IIRC when I bought the Flash I remember reading that they had redone the ignitor design from the PCS model.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Just FWIW / IMO, I wouldn't buy or not buy ANY stove based on the ignition system. They ALL are prone to failure in the field. I'd figure that eventually I'd wind up lighting any stove with a bic, so I'd make my choice based on other criteria.

[dcmidnight]

I always have a mini-bic as backup but have never needed it. I think its safe to say that just about anything *can* be prone to failure.

[Franco]

"Just FWIW / IMO, I wouldn't buy or not buy ANY stove based on the ignition system. They ALL are prone to failure in the field. I'd figure that eventually I'd wind up lighting any stove with a bic, so I'd make my choice based on other criteria.'

yes, and on my first walk after I poo pooed the use of a magnesium stick "because my mini Bic never fails" it just happen that my Mini Bic got wet and as it was also a bit cold it would not start...
My mate had his magnesium stick, after striking it in vain for about 10 times to start my Caldera Cone stove I finally opted to get out some petroleum jelly smeared cotton ball and that lit up on the first strike.
generally below freezing I do that to start my alcohol stoves anyway.
(talk about back ups..I also had some matches , somewhere)
Of course the Mini Bic started working again about 30 min later (warmed up in my pocket)
I have the first version of the Jet Boil. The ignition never really worked from day one. It was a promo unit so I could not really send it back.
A friend fiddled with his and sort of worked but did not succeed with mine. So I just removed the offending part and used my Mini Bic , 'cause that always works...
From what I see in various forums the new version works much better (it could not really be worst)
BTW, the ignition on my Kovea Ti works .
Franco

[DAJA]

This past weekend we camped at Speck Pond Shelter on one of the platforms.. Sunday morning when we awoke the temp was 32.4 F, just a smidge above freezing. My Jetboil and cannester spent the night under my vestibule.

I filled the pot with water, pushed the ignitor once, and off it went... This has always been my experience with the Jetboil... Never do I have to push the ignitor more than twice to get ignition. I will admit, that when I first got the stove, I bent the ignitor a smidge closer to the escaping gas..

Very pleased with the jetboil for boiling water... Efficient and fast!!!

[Alpine Jack]

I've been very pleased with the Jetboil. I can squeeze 32 boils (2 cups) from the smaller gas canisters. It might be heavier than my MSR, but seems twice as efficient. Yes, the igniter is lame, but I use my mini bic on all my others stoves too.

[Speakeasy TN]

I've had mine for a couple of weeks now. I've been using it at the house to get a feel for burn time on the cannister. I wonder if the wife will ever get used to the startup WHOOSH. Watching her jump is worth the cost! Super happy so far.

[mudhead]

Try torching it with a little less gas flow. The older ones could really poof.

Tough on sleeves. (Glad it was fleece, not sil-nylon.)

[neo]

i been using jet boils 6 years now ,i am very happy with mineneo

[Trailbender]

I use Esbit tabs on a bent piece of sheet metal. I don't like finicky gear, especially in the woods. As for weight, I can get 24+ burns out of 12 esbit tabs, which weigh 6 oz.

[Dogwood]

Personally, I can't justify the extra expense of a piezo ignition system. I've seen them fail too many times on the trail. Although, Jet Boil says it addresses this issue by protecting the piezo ignition from breakage. I've also heard that story before. If, for some unknown reason to me, you HAVE to have piezo ignition have a back-up ignition source too, which in my mind, defeats the purpose of having piezo ignition.

I know someone will say it's good to have a back-up source of ignition or a back-up to the back-up. BS. A mini bic or two OR a mini bic and magnesium flint OR mini bic and a few WP stick matches are cheaper and more versatile for starting a flame or creating a spark.

[Dogwood]

If the JetBoil system works for you great. It has several great features. It uses fuel efficiently for a gas stove because it combines the burner and cooking vessel into one unit and the flux ring was simply designed but made the stove that much more fuel efficient. The cozy attaches to the stove. The system nests nicely together, etc.

I wish I had designed the system, the Jet Boil accessories now available, and marketed it as effectively as has been so I could be on the receiving end of that handsome paycheck!

What I can't justify is the additional cost, usually about $1, for a small Jet Boil fuel canister that has only 100 g(3.53 oz) of a isobutane fuel mix versus the 110 g of fuel in a Snow Peak Giga Pro gold label isobutane mix(65 % isobutane, 35 % propane) or the 113 g of isobutane fuel mix in a MSR canister(80% isobutane, 20 % propane). IMO, these MSR and Snow Peak gas mixtures are just as efficient as the Jet Boil Isobutane mix. Additionally, the Snow Peak Giga Pro gold label fuel mix, with the added propane, is probably better than the Jet Boil fuel in the coldest temps that one would typically employ a isobutane stove or isobutane fuel mix. Keep in mind that I'm only comparing the fuel mixes not stoves!

Despite some searching I still could not find the isobutane/butane ratio of Jet Boil fuel. It seems Jet Boil is keeping that to itself for now. WHY? I had little issue locating the fuel ratios of all the other backpacking gas stove manufacturers and their fuel canisters! All I keep getting from Jet Boil is their blanket marketing statement about how efficient their fuel is. Show me the proof! Display your fuel ratio so we can compare it against other fuel mixes. I know the Jet Boil stove is fuel efficient for a gas stove but I want it demonstrated to me that Jet Boil fuel is so much more efficient than other comparable fuels that it should command/warrant the higher price tag FOR LESS FUEL! What's so special about Jet Boil fuel? Show me the proof!

Who ever is profiting from the sale of Jet Boil fuel canisters is sure making a steep profit by selling less fuel for a greater amount of money when the fuel in the Jet Boil canister is no better performing than the Snow Peak Giga Pro gold label isobutane fuel mix! If anything, I think the Snow Peak Giga Mix mentioned performs equal to or better than the Jet Boil fuel in equally cold temps! WHY would I pay more for less?

[jethro]

Dogwood, I use the Snow Peak canisters with my Jetboil all the time. They and the Jetboil brand canisters are the only ones I've found that fit inside the pot. In my limited experience I haven't seen any difference in performance between Snow Peak and Jetboil fuel.

[Dogwood]

Jethro, that's my contention too! So, why pay more money for less fuel if they perform the same? Why the additional cost of Jet Boil isobutane fuel? What justifies the extra expense of Jet Boil canisters, WHILE IN THE PROCESS YOU ARE GETTING LESS FUEL/LESS BOILS, if it's no better performing or more efficient of a fuel than the MSR or Snow Peak canister fuel!

Seems like I'm making a big deal about it but when you consider that someone might use quite a few gas canisters over the course of a long thru-hike or several thru-hikes the additional cost of Jet Boil fuel starts adding up. And, when you consider how many canisters Jet Boil sells in a year their additional profit starts adding up too! Another thing I would point out, as I surprisingly found out on one of my thru-hikes, because I had mistakenly assumed that the small Jet Boil canisters contained the same amount of fuel/boils as other canisters is that when using Jet Boil fuel canisters in my Snow Peak Giga gas stove(Jet Boil fuel canisters were the only ones I could find) I get LESS BOILS at a GREATER COST! This scenario came into play on one of my thru-hikes because I was expecting to get a set number of boils with the Jet Boil fuel canister as I get with other 4 oz(small) canisters. I ran out of fuel!