In freezing cold my jet boil did not have any pressure???

[1234]

I tried a grey new jet boil small canister and screwed it on tight as it would go, turn on the gas and nothing, tried a big red MSR canister same result. back home I tried them both and soon as I turned the valve, I could hear the gas and 3 clicks and poof it lit. Anyone have any issues with the jet boil like this? Know of a fix? I have the flash.

[Grits]

I tried a grey new jet boil small canister and screwed it on tight as it would go, turn on the gas and nothing, tried a big red MSR canister same result. back home I tried them both and soon as I turned the valve, I could hear the gas and 3 clicks and poof it lit. Anyone have any issues with the jet boil like this? Know of a fix? I have the flash.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/canister_stove_faq#.Up04hKr0Fok

cold temperatures reduce the vaporization of the fuel in the canister, and with less vapor pressure the stove burns sluggishly. If you use a blended fuel in cold weather, it is important to warm the canister before you use it so that the butane will vaporize and burn along with the propane and iso-butane. If you don't, the propane and iso-butane will boil off first, leaving you with a partial canister of butane that doesn't want to vaporize. The heat of vaporization (heat required to change the fuel from a liquid to a vapor state) of the fuel as it is burned also works against you, because the required heat for the phase change is drawn out of the remaining fuel in the canister, causing it to become even colder and less volatile. To counteract this, I suggest the following: 1) use full canisters (because they have more propane in them than a used canister), 2) warm canisters in a sleeping bag or inside your shirt or pocket, and 3) if you have a second canister, trade canisters when the fuel in the first one gets too cold. Another tip is to choose the right canister fuel blend for cold weather. Fuel that is a mix of iso-butane (boiling point 12 °F) and propane, works better in below freezing temperatures than fuel containing butane (boiling point 31 °F), because the fuel in the canister will continue to vaporize (albeit more sluggishly) at cold temperatures. For cold temperature performance (below freezing), the propane is the basic driving force (because of its low boiling point) that makes the stove work; iso-butane will volatilize and burn along with the propane (but in decreasing amounts) down to its boiling point of 12 °F, while the n-butane will just sit there. Warming the canister will enable it to perform at even lower temperatures. Examples of cold weather fuels are: MSR IsoPro fuel - 80% iso-butane and 20% propane; Snow Peak GigaPower fuel - 85% iso-butane and 15% propane; and Jetboil JetPower fuel which is 20-30% propane with the remainder iso-butane.

Sounds like you had some moisture frozen in the jet assembly. Just a guess.

[Slo-go'en]

Yeah, don't use it when it's cold out :) Canisters loose preasure when thier cold, but usually they will work when freash. Typically it isn't a problem until it's near empty. I wonder if maybe there was some mosture in the value which froze up and clogged it?

One thing many do is to put the canister inside their jacket for a while to warm it up and sleep with it at night so it will be ready first thing in the morning.

[Garrett1]

As the temperature drops, the pressure of the gas in the cans also drops which deminishes the effectiveness of the fuel. When you're using your jetboil when its cold out try putting just the fuel canister between your body and your jacket, or in a pocket close to your body to warm it up before you use it. The warmer it is, the more effective it will be. **Obviously never put the fuel near a fire to warm it up**

[yaduck9]

I tried a grey new jet boil small canister and screwed it on tight as it would go, turn on the gas and nothing, tried a big red MSR canister same result. back home I tried them both and soon as I turned the valve, I could hear the gas and 3 clicks and poof it lit. Anyone have any issues with the jet boil like this? Know of a fix? I have the flash.

The short answer is that most upright canister stoves need to be kept warm during cold days ( the canister, not the stove ). Keep it next to you or in your sleeping bag. MSR Reactor and a version of the SOTO have a built in regulator that is suppose to mitigate this issue. Another solution is to use a remote canister stove in liquid mode ( MSR Windpro II )


This web page will explain all of the details of running an upright canister stove and most variations of canister stoves. The author is writing from "down under" so his pricing or costs calculations for certain items is wwaaayyyy higher then the US. Its about the best stove page out there except for "Zen Stoves"



http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_GasStoves.htm#Upright

Have Fun!!

[Feral Bill]

Not the stove you want in winter. Some canister stoves invert the fuel for a liquid fuel supply, which is supposed to work. Or you could go for a white gas stove for winter use, which certainly works.

[Starchild]

I had a problem with a household propane supply in the winter, the pressure regulator would freeze up and no gas would flow, spraying it with a kitchen sink water 'spraying thingy on a hose' would cause it to work again. The propane company diagnosed it as water in the pressure regulator and added menthol to fix it which it did.

As for the jetboil I never experienced a total stopage of gas flow, but at low temps (12F) a reduced flow and longer boil time.

[juma]

I pour a little water from my sleeping bag water bottle into my bowl made from the bottom of a gallon milk jug and put the canister with jetboil cup screwed on in the water. you can hear the gas boiling when you go to light it. works fine in below 20*.

[bigcranky]

Yeah, three tricks that can help:

1. keep the canister in your sleeping bag at night,

2. use your hands to warm the canister while cooking (this gets really cold as the canister sucks all the heat from your bare hands),

3. as juma suggested, carry a small shallow dish to hold the canister/stove, and fill it with water. The canister will suck the heat from the water.

[The Cleaner]

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/canister_stove_faq#.Up04hKr0Fok

cold temperatures reduce the vaporization of the fuel in the canister, and with less vapor pressure the stove burns sluggishly. If you use a blended fuel in cold weather, it is important to warm the canister before you use it so that the butane will vaporize and burn along with the propane and iso-butane. If you don't, the propane and iso-butane will boil off first, leaving you with a partial canister of butane that doesn't want to vaporize. The heat of vaporization (heat required to change the fuel from a liquid to a vapor state) of the fuel as it is burned also works against you, because the required heat for the phase change is drawn out of the remaining fuel in the canister, causing it to become even colder and less volatile. To counteract this, I suggest the following: 1) use full canisters (because they have more propane in them than a used canister), 2) warm canisters in a sleeping bag or inside your shirt or pocket, and 3) if you have a second canister, trade canisters when the fuel in the first one gets too cold. Another tip is to choose the right canister fuel blend for cold weather. Fuel that is a mix of iso-butane (boiling point 12 °F) and propane, works better in below freezing temperatures than fuel containing butane (boiling point 31 °F), because the fuel in the canister will continue to vaporize (albeit more sluggishly) at cold temperatures. For cold temperature performance (below freezing), the propane is the basic driving force (because of its low boiling point) that makes the stove work; iso-butane will volatilize and burn along with the propane (but in decreasing amounts) down to its boiling point of 12 °F, while the n-butane will just sit there. Warming the canister will enable it to perform at even lower temperatures. Examples of cold weather fuels are: MSR IsoPro fuel - 80% iso-butane and 20% propane; Snow Peak GigaPower fuel - 85% iso-butane and 15% propane; and Jetboil JetPower fuel which is 20-30% propane with the remainder iso-butane.

Sounds like you had some moisture frozen in the jet assembly. Just a guess. Whew, that's almost info overload. I'd just go with a white gas stove like Ferral Bill suggests...

[Another Kevin]

As long as I'm not needing to melt snow, I'm fine with my beverage-can stove. I've rigged a primer on it made from a bit of another can. About a half-dozen drops of alcohol in the primer, possibly with a bit of TP to catch a spark, are enough to warm the stove body. It does make quite a fireball before the priming fuel is consumed and it settles down to its normal burn.

Melting snow is another story altogether. It takes enough fuel that a Whisperlite is a net weight saving on all but the shortest trips.