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  1. #1
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    Default Canister Stove & Mixture

    Another gear update regarding stuff moving toward the outside of my circle of trust -

    My BRS 3000-T stove gave me 2 years of light use, then 6 months of meh performance. Eventually it stopped producing a flame, even indoors with sufficiently full fuel cans. Given that I feel I've solved my winter alcohol stove issues (going to a FF stove, wick-style, instead of putting the pot directly on a side-burning cat can), I'm leaning toward going to just alcohol stoves.

    I replaced the BRS with a Coleman Peak 1, with the intent of using up the rest of my canister fuel, then mothballing the Peak 1 for any future time when I might want a stove during an open-flame ban, such as is common out west and which sometimes occurs during southeastern drought conditions.

    This weekend I took one of my remaining canisters, a Coleman "Performance Blended Fuel" 220g canister that was 2/3rds full. This is a propane / butane mix, and I would not be surprised if the propane burned off already and it's mostly butane at this point (assuming the fuels can separate in the canister - IDK). It's my understanding that butane vaporizes at 31F. This weekend my first AM temp was 50F and the second AM was 60F.

    No trouble the first night or AM. Stove worked fine. Second AM, when it was actually warmer, it conked out doing the same type of 1-2 cup water boiling. I found the can had (as expected) cooled a fair bit, but it didn't feel like it cooled THAT much. Nevertheless, I put the canister between my thighs for 5-10 minutes and tried it again - and it worked. Though for good measure I kept my hands on the canister while it was in use. When I came home the can was 41% full by weight.

    I may just use up that canister at home. I have another canister, a 110g Snow Peak that is about 80% full. Probably a better mix, but I don't know how much more I should trust canisters just because of that. I see that Hikin' Jim has raised a caution about these Coleman canisters (orange label), but more in the context of working/not working, rather than temp-based failure. So in my case, it was probably a fuel-mix issue rather than an incompatibility issue with the stove, but I am still surprised that it got too cold to use at 60F ambient temps. That orange coleman canister definitely won't go into the woods with me again.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Time Zone View Post
    ...I am still surprised that it got too cold to use at 60F ambient temps...
    That does sound quite odd.

    I've never had the slightest issue with a canister stove until temperatures started getting close to freezing.
    But if temperatures are 40º or above, no issue.

    But I also don't use Coleman (and wouldn't recommend it because of the issues you point out about the orange label).
    I usually use the Snow Peak MaxLite stove. The cannisters I've used have been varied, but the common name brands: MSR, JetBoil, SnowPeak
    For my JMT hike, I purchased the JetBoil MiniMo... for the combination of having a JetBoil to conserve fuel, and because the stove was a new one for JetBoil that claimed to have better performance in cold weather.
    I had ZERO issues using it along the trail... but I must admit that I've never done a cold weather comparison between the JetBoil MiniMi stove, the JetBoil Sol stove, and the Snow Peak MaxLite.

  3. #3

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    Not sure I can diagnose the problem you had, but I've gone to avoiding any canisters that contain butane, in favor of those that have just propane and isobutane. I do a lot of shoulder season camping, and it just makes it easier to not have to worry about how low the temps are going to go. In winter, I use the Moulder copper strip technique to keep the canister warmer.
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  5. #5
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    To clarify, the Peak 1 stove I have now is not the kind Coleman used to make that has a liquid fuel tank below. It's the kind that screws on to a fuel canister (like isobutane, though in my case it was a butane/propane mix).

  6. #6
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    My canister collection includes:
    Coleman. Made in France. Retired from backpacking use. Kept for use at home or car camping on my way to backpacking destinations.
    Primus, MSR, JetBoil. All made in Korea. I believe. The Primus may come from Europe.
    All of the above used with Primus Himalaya MFS, MSR Pocket Rocket 2 & JetBoil SOL.
    No problems with any of the Korean canisters.
    Wayne

  7. #7

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    Before giving up on canister stoves completely,why don't you try a different brand of fuel first?I tried canister stoves and have the BRS which so far has worked just fine,but it's LOUD and I get comments from hiking partners so I have gone back to alcohol with an esbit tab or two in reserve just in case I need one.One thing about alcohol is that you always have a good idea how much fuel you have left.

    I do know people who refill isobutane canisters with just butane and it appears to work for them but I personally have no interest in doing that just to save a couple bucks.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Five Tango View Post
    Before giving up on canister stoves completely,why don't you try a different brand of fuel first?I tried canister stoves and have the BRS which so far has worked just fine,but it's LOUD and I get comments from hiking partners so I have gone back to alcohol with an esbit tab or two in reserve just in case I need one.One thing about alcohol is that you always have a good idea how much fuel you have left.
    I'm not really giving up on canister stoves completely - as noted, I'll mothball one for when/where alcohol stoves aren't allowed. And I do have a Snow Peak fuel canister that probably has no butane and therefore should be good to freezing temps (I hope ... ?). I'm just trying to focus on one type of stove now, and hope to make a go of it with the alcohol. [I previously had trouble with my side-burning cat stove in winter, but I have since learned that it was likely the case that my pot of cold water was acting like a giant heat sink, killing the alcohol burn. With a different design - the "carbon felt" wick and the steel (tomato paste) can pot support of a Fancy Feast stove - I hope to overcome those cold weather issues.]

  9. #9
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    At times I use a BRS3000t canister stove, but most of the time I use alcohol in a Fancee Feest stove. Alcohol works well down to -18 degrees as seen in Shugs 2016 video. Fast forward to min. 6:50


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