Geez, Jim - you are strongly implying that one must take responsibility for one's actions. What an outmoded concept in today's environment!
I'm terribly sorry to have made such an outrageous suggestion. What was I thinking?
I guess the problem is that if one is refilling canisters they have crossed the bright line drawn in the sand by lawyers, and boldly violated the words printed on the canister: WARNING; DO NOT REFILL. Even if it isn't really valid, refilling does leave you hanging out on a limb.
Remember! Lawyers know more than you do about the outdoors. DO NOT consult people who have experience in the outdoors. Lawyers are always your best guide in all areas of life.
From a more realistic technical perspective, I am just a wee bit cautious about refilling a container that is designed, manufactured, and marketed, as well as plainly labelled, as a single use device. Your experience is quite interesting, but I am going to have to take a bit of time to get my head around the concept. And then I still have to deal with the basic ease of buy, use, and toss (well, recycle), and staying firmly within the lines....
Yes, I had to think about it too. But consider:
Canisters have Lindal valves. What else has a Lindal valve? Well, hair spray, Lysol, spray paint, etc, etc. What's the propellant? Often it's... wait for it... a hydrocarbon. Butane in other words. So those valves are in all kinds of "canisters" in use every day. How many times is a valve used in a can of hair spray?
Or consider this: How many times is a valve used on a 450g canister of gas. Probably at least four times the number of times on a 110g canister of gas. That tells me right there that the valve on a 110g canister of gas is good for at least four refills. But now consider usage. Some people are soloists who just boil water. They're going to hook up and unhook that valve dozens of times compared to someone who is cooking for a family and is doing "real" cooking. In other words, those valves have to accommodate a wide range of uses. Those valves are very rugged. Using one 12 times in refilling is fairly conservative.
Now consider this: In canister failures, what usually fails? Well, the bottom inverts (goes from concave to convex) first. In other words the base of the canister is the typical point of failure, not the valve. That valve is actually quite robust.
The main thing I'm worried about is rust or corruption getting into the valve, not the valve itself per se. I visually inspect the canister, and I always keep the lid on the valve when the canister is not in use.
HJ
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