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  1. #21
    Registered User nox's Avatar
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    Last week on the Loyalsock the temp got down to around 20. My buddy brought his coleman cannister stove and couldn't get his water to a boil. It got hot but never actually boiled and he ended up overcooking his food thinking it needed to keep cooking. I brought my simmerlite and had boiling water in about 3 minutes... well worth the weight penalty if it's going to be cold out.

  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by nox2825 View Post
    Last week on the Loyalsock the temp got down to around 20. My buddy brought his coleman cannister stove and couldn't get his water to a boil. It got hot but never actually boiled and he ended up overcooking his food thinking it needed to keep cooking. I brought my simmerlite and had boiling water in about 3 minutes... well worth the weight penalty if it's going to be cold out.
    Sounds like he has my stove. Did he keep the lid on the pot while attempting to boil the water? And how full was the canister? I know you can't discern this with specificity but approximately - half, full, near-empty?

  3. #23
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    Jetboil makes a supposed four season fuel mix that I have used along with a pocket rocket down to single digit temps. The cook times increase significantly as the temperature lowers but it gets the job done. As said by previous posters, pre-warm the fuel canister by sticking it inside your jacket and try to use a wind screen. I have gotten desperate at times and put my hands around the canister while it was in use in order to keep the fuel warm enough, I wouldn't recommend it, but then again I was hungry.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  4. #24
    Springer-->Stony Brook Road VT MedicineMan's Avatar
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    canister stoves never fail to work even at 0F if there is an alcohol stove under them...i know the naysayers will say its a bomb waiting to happen...YMMV
    Start out slow, then slow down.

  5. #25
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MedicineMan View Post
    canister stoves never fail to work even at 0F if there is an alcohol stove under them...i know the naysayers will say its a bomb waiting to happen...YMMV
    So I need two stoves to heat up hot water ????? Why carry two stoves when one will do?

    I am all for saving weight, but I also believe in the KISS principle, too!

    I found that my trusty propane did not work very well at all a few weeks ago in single digit tempts. Switched to the white gas unit I thoughtfully packed and I was rocking again. (It was Coleman two-burner. Can use propane with the converter or the original white gas.)

    Likewise, when I winter backpack, I'd rather not futz around with sleeping with my canister, lighting another stove to get one stove working (?), etc. etc. etc.

    Carry my Simmerlite and call it good.

    Of course, 'winter' backpacking is such a nebulous term. Winter at Springer Mtn in February is not the same as Mitchell Lake in Colorado at 11k ft. (I've been to both places in February..they are a tad different! )

    Then again, backpacking in Hawaii in Feb sounds rather nice...if a bit different as well.

    All depends on what you do, how much snow (if any) you want to melt and how many coconuts are available for drinking out of (see above about backpacking in HI in Feb... has a low 70F currently!!!)
    Etc. Etc. Etc. Thank (Insert Diety of your choice here) there are so many choices to backpack with.


    Quote Originally Posted by ec.hiker View Post
    I found what I was looking
    for but am a little confused on what fuel comes in what canister ie the green ones at the super center
    Don't think anyone addressed the OP, but the 'green ones' are straight up propane vs the mixed propane/butane canisters that are sold for backpacking stoves.

    Propane is better in colder weather (if gets less efficient than white gas) than the mixed fuel canisters.

    The drawback is that propane has to be pressurized more and the fuel canisters are much heavier than the ones you use for your SnoPeak/JetBoil/etc. They are fine for car camping, but a bit heavier than most backpackers want to carry.

    In the end, since you are going to springer mtn, a canister (or even an alchy stove) will be just fine. Sleep with the canister, and try to find one with more propane and less butane as that mix will burn hotter and better even as the canister gets more used.

    Good luck!
    Last edited by Mags; 12-13-2010 at 01:38.
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  6. #26

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    One thing not mentioned in this thread, is that the performance of the cannister vares dependent upon how full it is, especially if its mostly being used during cold conditions. Most of the cannisters are blends of butane and propane, during cold conditions the propane preferentially vaporizes initially, leading to reasonable performance. As the cannister empties, the blend of butane and propane ends up becoming mostly butane and the perfomance suffers.

    There are creative ways of keeping cannisters warm but nothing commerical as the liability of potentially having a canister burst into a ball of flame makes the insurance expensive. I have heard some people swear by using the reusable heat packs that use a phase change material (sodium acetate?) to generate heat. They activate one and stick it under the cannister prior to lighting the stove. Once they get the stove cranked up to bol wateer usually there is enough reflect heat off the bottom of the pot to heat the cannister . Then they reactivate the heater by putting it in the boiling water.

  7. #27
    Registered User nox's Avatar
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    Originaly Posted by Cookerhiker Sounds like he has my stove. Did he keep the lid on the pot while attempting to boil the water? And how full was the canister? I know you can't discern this with specificity but approximately - half, full, near-empty?
    The cannister was used but had enough left in it to run for about 20 minutes in the morning attempting to boil 2 cups of water for mac n cheese. He had the lid on while cooking.

  8. #28
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mags View Post
    Don't think anyone addressed the OP, but the 'green ones' are straight up propane vs the mixed propane/butane canisters that are sold for backpacking stoves.

    Propane is better in colder weather (if gets less efficient than white gas) than the mixed fuel canisters.

    The drawback is that propane has to be pressurized more and the fuel canisters are much heavier than the ones you use for your SnoPeak/JetBoil/etc. They are fine for car camping, but a bit heavier than most backpackers want to carry.

    In the end, since you are going to springer mtn, a canister (or even an alchy stove) will be just fine. Sleep with the canister, and try to find one with more propane and less butane as that mix will burn hotter and better even as the canister gets more used.

    Good luck!
    Inre green canisters, unfortunately Coleman also uses some green on their "isobutane" canisters, as does Optimus I believe. That said, I kind of assumed the 3/4" or so diameter threads on the propane minitanks (can I call them that?) would be a kind of giveaway that they aren't hiking stove canisters. But, then again, maybe not. If you've never seen one, well, I guess you could get confused.

    All these flammable gas threads have me "zelph dreaming" - thinking of how to make lightweight acetylene and mapp gas stoves
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  9. #29
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4eyedbuzzard View Post
    I If you've never seen one, well, I guess you could get confused.
    Guess I thought he meant the 1# ones because of the 'green ones at the super center''remark... God knows I get confused, so who knows.
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  10. #30
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mags View Post
    Guess I thought he meant the 1# ones because of the 'green ones at the super center''remark... God knows I get confused, so who knows.
    Yeah, I first thought of the 1# propane bottles / tanks / whatever too. Then I realized that some of the iso's are green too, though not completely. No biggie, he'll figure it out.
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by fiddlehead View Post
    They had just finished Manasalu and were heading to Annapurna II i believe and their helicopter was waiting.

    ps. as a sad footnote, one of the brothers died on the next mountain on their list. (they only had 2 more to go)
    Annapurna II has something close to a 50% mortality rate. Climbing it with a buddy is a bad idea.
    No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength.

  12. #32

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    Why not use a battery powe sock around the cannister and keep it warm that way don't think it will
    go boom gone to try in later this see if it work.

  13. #33
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    Default What is this stove called?

    I have been looking for a stove that can burnn whit gas and or probane/butane

    Quote Originally Posted by Mags View Post
    So I need two stoves to heat up hot water ????? Why carry two stoves when one will do?

    I am all for saving weight, but I also believe in the KISS principle, too!

    I found that my trusty propane did not work very well at all a few weeks ago in single digit tempts. Switched to the white gas unit I thoughtfully packed and I was rocking again. (It was Coleman two-burner. Can use propane with the converter or the original white gas.)

    Likewise, when I winter backpack, I'd rather not futz around with sleeping with my canister, lighting another stove to get one stove working (?), etc. etc. etc.

    Carry my Simmerlite and call it good.

    Of course, 'winter' backpacking is such a nebulous term. Winter at Springer Mtn in February is not the same as Mitchell Lake in Colorado at 11k ft. (I've been to both places in February..they are a tad different! )

    Then again, backpacking in Hawaii in Feb sounds rather nice...if a bit different as well.

    All depends on what you do, how much snow (if any) you want to melt and how many coconuts are available for drinking out of (see above about backpacking in HI in Feb... has a low 70F currently!!!)
    Etc. Etc. Etc. Thank (Insert Diety of your choice here) there are so many choices to backpack with.




    Don't think anyone addressed the OP, but the 'green ones' are straight up propane vs the mixed propane/butane canisters that are sold for backpacking stoves.

    Propane is better in colder weather (if gets less efficient than white gas) than the mixed fuel canisters.

    The drawback is that propane has to be pressurized more and the fuel canisters are much heavier than the ones you use for your SnoPeak/JetBoil/etc. They are fine for car camping, but a bit heavier than most backpackers want to carry.

    In the end, since you are going to springer mtn, a canister (or even an alchy stove) will be just fine. Sleep with the canister, and try to find one with more propane and less butane as that mix will burn hotter and better even as the canister gets more used.

    Good luck!
    Still Going.... Cancer survivor of 13 years!!!!!!!

  14. #34
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    The stove I mentioned is a a Coleman 425 (or similar) . It is a wg stove used for car camping.

    Converters are sold to use the small propane (1#) tanks and additional converters are sold so they can use type 1 (5# or higher) refillable propane tanks as well.


    A bit impractical for backpacking (but good for winter and/or early shoulder season) basecamps.

    I don't know of any dual use white gas/propane backpacking stoves off hand. But, I'd be lying if I said I knew of every widget out there...
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  15. #35
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ec.hiker View Post
    I have been looking for a stove that can burnn whit gas and or probane/butane
    Brunton Vapor AF, and Primus Omnifuel

    There may be other mfgs that make similar - don't remember offhand.
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  16. #36
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4eyedbuzzard View Post
    Brunton Vapor AF, and Primus Omnifuel

    There may be other mfgs that make similar - don't remember offhand.
    Doesn't look like they burn those 1# car camping canisters (straight propane)...but does the Lindal valve ones (propane/butane mix)?

    As mentioned...I do get mixed up, so I wouldn't be surprised if I was mistaken!
    Last edited by Mags; 12-15-2010 at 20:13.
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  17. #37
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Paul Propane doesn't work as well as a mix that is clear, what does work in Colorado?
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

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  18. #38
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    If you hike with a canister stove in this weather, then you will need to borrow another stove from someone else.

    Panzer

  19. #39
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Panzer1 View Post
    If you hike with a canister stove in this weather, then you will need to borrow another stove from someone else.

    Panzer
    something wrong with that canister is designed for high altitude... need more input...

    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  20. #40
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Paul Propane doesn't work as well as a mix that is clear, what does work in Colorado?
    The Wise old owl is getting mixed up and I think missed the point of what Buzzard and I were saying.

    I'd rehash it... (and I almost did)...but sufficient to say your sentence is rather wrong.

    To sum it up: Propane is better than mixed isobutane..but is required to be in too heavy of a canister for backpacking.
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