Primus Eta Heat Exchanger Pots

[DannyBoy2k]

I had two questions I was hoping to solicit feedback on regarding Primus' heat exchanger pots, specifically the one that comes with their PackLite stove, but the questions may apply across their whole line.

1) The non-stick coating in the bottom of my heat exchanger pot is very rough, which I did not expect. I had thought a non-stick coating would be smooth, but mine feels like a medium sandpaper. For those of you with Primus' heat exchanger pots, are your non-stick coatings similar? I'm pretty sure when I rubbed the bottom, that I got some particles on my hands too, but after washing the pot, it still feels rough, but no more particles are coming off. I never really felt the bottom before now and have used the pot with both my PackLite stove and my SnowPeak Gigapower GS-100, which leads me to question 2).

2) The PackLite pot heat exchanger ring is too far out to fit on the Gigapower standoffs, so I very slightly collapsed the standoffs and put the pot bottom directly on the standoffs, not resting on the heat exchanger ring. This would put the pot bottom at the same height as a normal pot without heat exchanger fins. The pot still worked great that way, but it was after doing that, that I noticed the rough feeling non-stick coating. It made me wonder if the pot is not designed to be used at that height above a stove flame. I also discovered that the bottom is slightly convex, which made me wonder if it had warped at all. Again, something I did not check before using on the Gigapower, so I have no idea if it was that way from the get go.

So, my question is, is it safe to use the heat exchanger pot in that way, resting the pot bottom on the standoffs instead of the heat exchanger ring?

Thanks!

~Dan

[Snowleopard]

My pot's surface if pretty smooth and the bottom is flat. It could get overheated if you boil it dry and leave it on the flame. I've ruined kitchen pans doing this, but they got really really hot on an electric stove. If nothing comes off after washing it should be OK to use.
Height: I think the best height is to have the bottom of the heat exchanger on the standoffs. You could test it by measuring boil times at both heights; in fact try other heights and measure boil times.
--Walter

[DannyBoy2k]

Thanks for the feedback, Walter. I would definitely just rest it on the heat exchanger if it wasn't too wide for the Gigapower pot supports. I was hoping it would be a viable alternative to bringing the PackLite stove in the summer, since I won't need the inverted canister capability.

When the PackLite pot bottom is resting on the Gigapower supports, it's at the same height a normal pot would be. So I guess my biggest concern is making sure Primus didn't use abnormally thin gauge metal there since they expected the bottom to be higher up with the pot resting on the heat exchanger.

Thanks,
Dan

[DannyBoy2k]

Here's how the Gigapower fits wide open on the PackLite 1.2L Pot:
http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/45329/2414278140103381133S425x425Q85.jpg (http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2414278140103381133YimUYM)

And here it is collapsed just a little bit:
http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/25449/2183828800103381133S425x425Q85.jpg (http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2183828800103381133QjtSgn)

You don't have to collapse it much, just a smidge, to get it to fit.

~Dan

[DannyBoy2k]

Picture of the non-stick coating in question:
http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/44418/2972791870103381133S425x425Q85.jpg (http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2972791870103381133EIxLwU)

~Dan