Equipment Review: Compact Butane Stove

Super Compact Butane Stove

[PLEASE NOTE - THIS IS NOT INTENDED AS AN ADVERTISEMENT, ONLY TO SHOW THE PICTURE]

Unlike the other, larger Butane Stoves now popping up all over the place (The square ones that use the specialty canisters) - which, I must note, Sarah and I have had for going on 2 years now, bought at the swapmeet for 20.00 each...unlike those...

THIS thing is a GEM. It is seriously lightweight...uses a ceramic element in the middle, and is refillable from a butane canister normally used for filling lighters, so, no single-source fuel supply. You can use hong kong fooey butane, ronsonol, whatever floats your boat. It has its own internal reservoir and burns from anywhere around a half hour to 45 minutes on a refill, depending on how high you set it. The flame/heat pattern reminds me very much of a screened Bunsen Burner. It is small but will hold a medium cookpot or canteen cup, and is fully capable of boiling water.

Last night, after the hurricane, we made hot chocolate with it. Today, as I type this, Sarah is making us fried burgers in her mess kit over this handy little stove, RIGHT HERE IN THE COMPUTER ROOM.

It is also 10 dollars cheaper than we paid for the "Quick Range" series of stoves.

This one's a keeper, folks. 1) Standardized Fuel. 2) Internal Fuel Reservoir (You can store it filled if you want) 3) About 3/4 the size of a Boy Scout Mess Kit and roughly the same weight.

Definitely a worthwhile upgrade for US and, after having tested it and eaten the food cooked on it...

...we're going to take it into the field to see how practical it is, side by side with the older "Quickrange".

Panz

PS: Burgers go well with Sonny's Barbecue Sauce <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

What are its dimensions (height, diameter)?

Thanks,
Steve

is there a gauge to see how much fuel is left?

Pretty neat. Have to look into one.

thanks

Anybody know where to get one other than eBay?

Yes, I just got on on Sportsmansguide.com, but they are out.

You can try this link:
http://search.shopping.yahoo.com/search;...0&pt=20

many stores have various kinds

Well, I can't find anything on the net about this. If you type in "Pocket Rocket butane stove" you get about a thousand hits for the MSR Pocket Rocket, which this ain't. The e-Bay site mentions the brand name "Camp Chef" but nothing on the Campchef.com site looks remotely like this.

Do you have a brand name or manufacturer for it?

It seems pretty heavy, compared to a good backpacking stove; but it also seems a lot cheaper, so you get what you pay for I guess.

Is it safe to use a butane stove indoors?

Dimensions: Approx. 5.5" by 2.75" (Dia by Height)

Alas, there is no butane indicator that I can see.

Published weight for this unit is about a pound. HOWEVER, that includes the butane in the reservoir, as opposed to the backpackers 4 oz. stove that must be attached to a butane or propane canister to work - So where's the weight savings really? You must decide for yourself. Yes, for a strictly backpacking unit, it's HEAVY. But for a long-term bugout, for some of the other reasons stated (such as near-universal fueling capability with butane lighter refills) it could be a more desirable option.

It does not have a brand name. Just the ubiquitous "made in china" tag.

I won't say it's "Safe" but we made burgers AT OUR DESKS indoors while typing on the computers. Of course, we have the A/C on. Neither of us suffered any obvious effects that we could see.

But any kind of burning indoors is At Your Own Risk, obviously.

Panz

"Made in China" - that explains why there's no brand name.

I wasn't criticizing your decision to cook indoors - just curious. I guess there are a lot of things that the safety police want to condemn, the problem often is knowing whether it's really dangerous, or just something that one or two people died from in a freak accident.

My Primus Omni-Fuel doesn't have a refillable butane canister, but it will burn gasoline or diesel in a pinch. However, it also cost about $150 more than your stove did <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Since I don't live in hurricane territory or tornado alley, I'm less concerned about having to "bug out" than some others on the forum. On the other hand, getting snowed in.... <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Panzerboy:

Unless you are talking about a window A/C unit with the outside air intake damper open (The least efficient way to use an A/C.), the A/C unit DOES NOT bring in outside air to negate or reduce CO build up. DO NOT DEPEND ON THE A/C EVEN IF IT HAS AN OUTSIDE AIR INTAKE DAMPER OPEN AS CO CAN BUILD UP FASTER THAN FRESH AIR CAN BE BROUGHT IN!!

I would seriously worry about the grease in the air being pulled into my computer if I cooked in the same room my computer is at. It can get in and coat devices and heat exchangers causing loss of cooling to vital components.

Bountyhunter

Not really worried about asphyxiation, honestly. Our house is not the airtight wonder of the northern regions...I was just mentioning that air WAS circulating, so it wasn't just a sealed-in, stagnant mess. That's all.

As far as grease in my computer...?

The whole side of my computer is open anyhow. I don't bother putting the panels back on the case as I tinker to maintain the damn thing.

I don't sweat the small stuff. Dinner takes a high priority.

Panz

Bounty is right about the CO danger. If used only for cooking then 20-30 minutes with good ventilation should be safe. But if I recall, CO poisening is cumulative. And I think that all fossil fuels put out CO at varying levels of toxicity. Please be careful and use adequate ventilation and NEVER use it for heating (you probably already know that--just an FYI.)

Regards, Vince

Panzerboy:

Norad45 is right about CO being cumulative in the bloodstream.

Circulating air IS NOT the same as fresh air exchange! Any CO you circulate can still make it into your bloodstream even if it goes all the way through the house.

Do your cooking next to an open window as CO builds up fastest with combustion that lacks sufficient oxygen.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter