Canister Stoves

Basics

• The name for (typically portable) stoves that use small Gas Canisters for fuel, rather than larger tanks or centralized plumed systems
  • Although adapters can be used to “tap into” these
• Main advantages are (short of ultra-cold weather) Self Pressurized Fuel, Low Cost Construction, and Easily Started, Reliable, (Mostly) Clean, High Heat Output
• Main downsides are “Intrinsically Risky” fuels (Compared to Diesel / Kerosene or Solid Fuel etc, Poor Cold Weather Performance, and Less Energy Density for Long Term Fuel Use Storage/Logistics

Main Concepts

Fuel Types

• Read up at Gas Canister Fuel
• But Essentially:
  • Propane is best, but requires heavy + hard to dispose of tanks
  • Isobutane is better, but can be expensive and still is worse than Propane
  • Blends can make up for the issues, but if used in “gas feed” (ie Conventional Upright Canister Stove) Mode, they can “fraction off” leaving behind unevaporated (Iso-) Butane thus stopping before being TRULY empty + causing issues
  • Butane can be cheap (depending on the local fuel economies/market) and can even be stored in Blow Molded plastic tanks (Re: Butane Lighters ) etc
    • Also reporting percentages/tolerances on Fuel Blends is less strict vs “pure” fuels

Stove Mechanisms

Regulated vs Needle Valve

• A “Single Size” Needle Valve needs to be designed for safe operation at MAXIMUM pressure
  • Ie a Hot Day, with a Full Tank
• This can lead to poor performance as the tank is nearing empty (although no amount of regulator technology will make essentially empty tanks magically work etc), or in cold weather
• Stoves with a built in Gas Regulator alleviate some of this issue
• Re the post by Adventures in Stoving (Blogpost)

Gas Feed vs Liquid Feed

• Most Canister Stoves Operate Upright on Conventional Gas Feed Tanks
  • This means they draw up “vapor” which is generated in the canister via ambient temperature heat
  • At high draw rates and/or in cold ambient temperatures though, this evaporation rate may not meat demand
    • This can lead to stunted performance at best, and failure to run at worst
      • Which for applications such as Boiling Water or Melting Snow for Drinking…can be life critical
• While larger LPG / Propane systems can use specialized tanks with a Liquid Draw Tube , a rather ingenious solution for small portable Canister Stoves is to simply invert the canister such that liquid is Pressure Fed into the same inlet
  • Furthermore, if a Vapor Generator is integrated into the stove design, the Flame of the stove itself will provide the heat for vaporization of the Liquified Gas…not the ambient temperature, thus allowing these stoves to work at FAR COLDER temperatures

Ignition=

• Most need to be ignited by am external mechanism, such as Matches , Lighters , or a spark from a Piezo Igniter or Ferrocerium Striker etc
• For convenience sake, some stoves have an integrated Piezoelectric Ignition System
  • This can be a separate button (akin to a lighter)
  • More complicated, such as on some recent Jetboil models, are systems that integrate the piezo mechanism into the twisting of the Gas Valve/Regulator itself
  • Both of these mechanisms bring Design for Repair / R2R concerns, although the former can be partially fixed by Off The Shelf “rebuild kits” of the button+piezo+wires and Spark Gap
• A High Voltage Electric Spark Ignition System would add E-Waste + Cost/Complexity concerns, and require either batteries or external DC Power (such as via USB etc), BUT would be far more durable/easy to repair long term

Canister Standards

• Propane tends to be standardized as the thread on a 1LB Propane Tank (although adapters and Propane Distribution Posts can be used for 20LB Propane Tanks etc)
• Butane is typically a more narrow threaded connector
  • Some adapters can be used to convert these stoves to propane, if rated for this it is fine, but some may not be able to handle the higher pressure/moderately different a/f ratio etc
• Finally some have an integrated hose and have the fitting separate from the burner itself

Industry Standards

Coleman

• Coleman 2 Burner Propane Stove + Clones is the standard of Car Camping/Tailgating scale etc
• They also sell a Propane/Butane Regulated Collapsible Single Burner stove that while maybe not “ultralight snob” level, is compact and high quality (and sells at most Walmarts etc)

MSR

• ”Pocket Rocket” (and similar concepts/clones) for an ultra-compact ultralight burner

Jetboil

• A system of burners, Iso-Butane-Propane Blend Fuel, and Heat Exchanger Pots that allows for fast easy boiling of water
• Some models allow for “simmer control” via high quality valves/regulators, and they even make large propane multi burner setups etc, but the main thing this company is know for is ULTRA fast boiling of water for Freezer Dried Pouch Meals in a compact nesting solution

Trangia

• Trangia sells not just a Fuel Alcohol “Spirit Burner”, but also a Canister Gas Burner for their Windproof Nesting Cookware System

Internal Links

• Fuel Gas Canister Disposal / Butane Tank Disposal / Propane Tank Disposal etc