[at-l] Primus fuel cannisters

[bullard@northnet.org (James Bullard)]

At 08:27 PM 1/13/01 -0500, Hal Wright wrote:
>In preparation for a little overnight tomorrow, I went onto the back porch
>to verify that my Primus butane/propane would boil water quickly below 20°
>(some folks on the "other" list said that butane/propane doesn't work well
>in cold weather). I put on a brand new canister. Nothing. Nada. Zippo. Put
>on another full canister. Everything went well; boiled in about 4 minutes.
>
>The obvious message is, try out those new canisters before assuming they'll
>work in the woods!

I have an isobutane stove. The problem with gas (gaseous state fuel, not 
petrol) is that is has to vaporize from its liquid state in the canister. 
That requires absorption of heat and when it's really cold there isn't 
enough heat to absorb from the air. The canisters can freeze up. One trick 
is to  place the canister in a pan of water while using the stove (any temp 
above freezing will do) but that assumes  you have lots of water that 
you've managed to keep from freezing. I don't winter hike so I have no 
problem. If I did, I think I'd use a different stove in winter.

Saunterer


>-- Pokey Papa
>
>"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be."   Pink Floyd
>
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