Gas queery

[Barney]

what is the lowest temperature that you could expect the portable gas cooker to operate in, does it freeze?

[Bodge]

Hi Barney, anything below 4 deg and butane struggles.
I had a new year bbq party and ran out of propane (red) and had to cuddle my butane(blue) cylinder to get the darn thing to even light.

hth:)

[gregorach]

Depends on the stove - some have pre-heat, which keeps them operating at lower temperatures. The big problem is keeping the pressure up in the cannister, especially when they start to run low - I've seen myself cooking on my Epigas (now Coleman) Alpine stove with the gas cannister sat on top of the pot. In a tent, no less. Still, I lived to tell the tale...

[Dexter]

Last winter I was in the Cairngorms with a gas stove. The temperature was probably around -5 and the loss of pressure due to cooling was significant. Enough to stop me being able to boil water.

Since then ive invested in an MSR petrol stove which allows you to add your own pressure as an when.

[HillBill]

I have just come back from the Lakes. The pressure does get pretty low after a few minutes use but it never froze. I just took the cannister out and gave it a rub and a shake and it was good for a bit longer.

[Bodge]

I have just come back from the Lakes. The pressure does get pretty low after a few minutes use but it never froze. I just took the cannister out and gave it a rub and a shake and it was good for a bit longer.

I think butane wont freeze until 100 + degrees below, it just wont vapourise (boil) below 4 degrees so giving the can a quick hug gets it boiling again and thus vapourising and cooking:)

[Barney]

Thanks for the replies and tips. Unfortunately it is not going to be as cold as I anticipated/hoped this weekend with a forcast of 7 c. So I think freezing will be unlikely. Noted for future reference though, so once agai thanks a lot.

[rik_uk3]

Some newer stoves, remote canister type let you invert the gas canister and this puts the performance right back up. You can't do this with stoves like the Jetboil but can with stoves like the Primus ETA power setup, or Primus Omnifuel if you opt to use gas.

Most cooking on Antarctic field trips still use paraffin powered stoves as they work at any temperature. The British teams down there use stoves that are up to fifty years old:) Parafinn is my usual choice of fuel and is what I'll be using on the 27th / 28th:cool:

[Barney]

Cheers Rik for the further tip, I have a Primus ETA Power and I have just had a thought about why the fuel pipe goes through the flame:).

If the canister is upside down and the liquid is allowed to siphon through the burner feed pipe it looks like the flame of the burner will heat up the liquid in the pipe and keep it going.

Does that make sense?

[rik_uk3]

Cheers Rik for the further tip, I have a Primus ETA Power and I have just had a thought about why the fuel pipe goes through the flame:).

If the canister is upside down and the liquid is allowed to siphon through the burner feed pipe it looks like the flame of the burner will heat up the liquid in the pipe and keep it going.

Does that make sense?

Thats the idea Barney, works well. This guy is using a nice old Primus stove, like to see a Jetboil perform as well

http://www.youtube.com/user/PRIMUSKONGEN

[Barney]

Thats a great film Rik, and a lovely compact stove god knows what all the little fiddles were when he set it up, but it looked to get a right blaze on. gettin onto ebay now looking for one, what are they called?

[Claudiasboris]

That is a great little stove. My Action Man used to have one of those.

I'm always amazed at how well other people do when cooking outdoors. I just rely on compo. Just lazy I guess.

Claudiasboris

[rik_uk3]

Barney, there are lots of different models to pick from, just search eBay for primus stove. If you want a collapsable like in the clip look for a model 210 or the smaller 96.

Easier to use as they are self contained are the Optimus 111 range of stoves

Ebay item 130287969157 this one should make good money but you can pick them up for aroung £30 - £50. This type will burn paraffin/Coleman/petrol (if you must) and with a littler converter tube it will burn meths.

10,000 BTUs high heat to low simmer, and a lot cheaper to run than gas plus it will work in any temps (Auzzie Antarctic Survey use them in the field). Not the lightest stove (around 3lb with fuel) but its worth the effort to take along if there are two of you.