View Full Version : Canister Stoves and Cold
Monkeywrench
08-07-2008, 14:32
When I start my thru at Springer in mid to late March next year, should I expect it to be cold enough consistently enough that the performance of my canister stove is going to be affected substantially?
Yes, it could be an issue.
I tested my canister stove a couple of years ago by leaving it out on the back deck on a 30 degree night. It was hard to start and burned poorly when I cranked it up the next morning.
mister krabs
08-07-2008, 15:02
Keep it in your sleeping bag at night and near your body in your pack or warm it up in your jacket before you stop to eat. I've noticed that cold affects my cannister stove more as it gets towards empty. Sleeping with it always worked for me while winter camping, even in snow and cold in the teens.
Coleman Powermax fuel works great in cold temps. Locally I can easily find it.
But I can’t say how easily you will be able to find it along the trail. My guess it’s hard to find.
An external canister stove like the MSR Windpro is designed for cold weather. If you can flip a canister upside down you get a liquid feed, and the cold doesn't matter. This would only work though if the stove has the fuel line running above the burner to preheat the fuel. You can also use a regular windscreen with the stove.
I used a Windpro starting mid Feb and it worked great. So great in fact that I carried it the whole way instead of my pocketrocket since that has major issues with the wind.
gravityman
08-07-2008, 16:54
When I start my thru at Springer in mid to late March next year, should I expect it to be cold enough consistently enough that the performance of my canister stove is going to be affected substantially?
NO! We started March 1, 2005 with a Gigapower canister stove. You will have to put in your jacket to warm it up for 10 min or so shortly before starting to cook dinner or breakfast. That should do it. A full canister will work better than a nearly empty one. We had plenty of sub-freezing and maybe one single digit in the AM.
Plenty of people with canister stoves that time of year.
You don't need to go to an external canister for the AT in march.
Gravity
bigcranky
08-08-2008, 13:10
It can be an issue, but keeping the canister in your bag will help.
I want one of these: http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=596
It's an adapter for a regular canister stove which lets you use it as a remote canister stove, so you can turn the fuel can upside down and get liquid feed. (That second part only works if your stove has a vaporizing tube.)
John Klein
08-08-2008, 21:45
It can be an issue, but keeping the canister in your bag will help.
I want one of these: http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=596
It's an adapter for a regular canister stove which lets you use it as a remote canister stove, so you can turn the fuel can upside down and get liquid feed. (That second part only works if your stove has a vaporizing tube.)
Can you use this with the Pocket Rocket?
bigcranky
08-08-2008, 22:06
Can you use this with the Pocket Rocket?
You should be able to use this with any canister stove which uses the Primus-type canisters. So, I would venture a "yes," but I haven't actually bought one yet. Need to get it for this winter -- my canister stove isn't so good when it's 10-F out. (Ask me how I know this :-)
You probably coul use it, but it probably wouldn't work right. The pocketrocket doesn't have the fuel line going over the burner to vaporize the fuel, so it may not burn right.
bigcranky
08-11-2008, 15:31
You probably coul use it, but it probably wouldn't work right. The pocketrocket doesn't have the fuel line going over the burner to vaporize the fuel, so it may not burn right.
Good point, I don't have a Pocket Rocket so I'm not familiar with its design. To reiterate what I said in my first post, the adapter should work with any stove that has a vaporizer tube and takes Primus-type canisters.
Blissful
08-11-2008, 20:23
Snowpeak is the best for cold. MSR stinks. We never had an issue with starting our pocket rocket in the cold.
whitefoot_hp
08-11-2008, 20:49
MSR stinks. We never had an issue with starting our pocket rocket in the cold.
contradiction?
If you keep your Bic (or no-name) lighter in your pocket, you can take it out occasionally to give a boost to your cannister stove by holding it under the cannister for a few seconds. I did this last January in New York to get the last bit of fuel out of my cannister in 32 degree weather. Another hiker in our "Parade of Fools" group simply held is cannister with stove attached over the fire they had built. No explosion, but I don't think I'd dare to do the same.
Carried MSR Pocket Rocket for entire thru in 2006 and for month of March this year from Springer to Damascus. Temps occasionally in 20's. Always used MSR canister. No problems.
Red Ranger
More then you will ever want to know about cannister stoves;
http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_GasStoves.htm