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Ercoupe
02-17-2014, 17:10
Had a chance to pick up a MSR 1 liter Reactor $100 off list. Thought it might make a good windy condition stove.

Nice pot, worked well with burner and my alcohol stove. Quicker to boil than my Jetboil Flash. 10 grams lighter than a Flash.

Unit does get very hot, need to use gloves to handle. Burner or fuel fits in Pot, not both.

Did not try on trail as I made the mistake of cracking the fuel valve, as my lighter went out. By the time I got the lighter lite, the residual gas must have been too much. Unit ignited and immediately quit for good.

To the manual, unit has a failsafe that can only be repaired at a repair facility or the factory. Does not do me much good if I were on a trail. Did not want to send it in as my faith in it was gone now.

Would have liked to keep the pot, but Gander Mountain refunded with no questions asked.

I admit my lighting sequence was off, but wind happens.

Light the match or lighter first, if you have one of these. If the ignition source goes out, clear any gas, before attempting to light.

4eyedbuzzard
02-17-2014, 17:24
The "fail safe" is supposedly a thermal element/fuse that prevents the canister from getting overheated. Why a quick ignition "poof" would cause it to fail is interesting.

Can't say I'm impressed with what needs to be a piece of "fail safe" gear (stove), having a "fail safe" design element that can't be field reset, and renders it inoperable. Pretty worthless IMO, and even more so for mountaineering where it could be a life or death thing.

Starchild
02-17-2014, 19:45
Very sad to hear about the failsafe aspect.

One thing that I have seen with the reactor burner on the trail is it being used as a portable campfire, it is a lot more effective of creating a little warmth to gather around during a winter lunch then a open flame canister burner.

Mr. Bumpy
02-18-2014, 00:03
I like the reactor for winter weekends when I'm using it as much for purifying drinking water as for food. I save the weight of the pump and it sure is nice not to have to mess with it either.