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HJ

Sorry HJ. August has been and continues to be super busy. No play.

Boy do I understand that.

HJ

I did not want to create a new thread about this excellent portable stove, so I've decided to resurrect the most relevant one.

Here is the story of my failure. Perhaps somebody can learn from my mistakes.

I have been camping with this stove for more than 2 years, and the only problem I had is the obvious lack of wind protection. So, I have finally tired of makeshift windscreens made with rocks and debris and decided to make a permanent one.

The large beer cans (Asahi) provide me with enough lightweight thin aluminum to start with, so I ended up making a two pieces cylindrical design screen with an opening for the gas valve. Two halves are freely nested in each other, so they can be moved relatively, making that opening larger or smaller for the air intake control. It looked simple and ingenious, and also stored around my mug/stove/canisters bundle in the mesh bag, also perfectly accepting both canister sizes I'm using.

During my regular new moon trip to the dark sites of Shasta forests (I'm amateur astronomer), on a late morning I have started the stove up and installed the screen, opening it wide enough just to deflect the breeze from the lake. I've stretched in my hammock nearby then, after setting the timer on my watch for 5 minutes.

When the timer went off, I took a look at the stove from the hammock and found it in high flames and thick black smoke! Canister explosion - was my first thought. But there were no any bang sounds and the mug was looking stable on it still. So I took the necessary precautions (put on my wraparound glasses, rolled my heavy fleece balaclava over the face, put on thick leather gloves, and took my leather jacket in front of me as a shield), and approached the mini-fire with a bottle of water. The canister looked fine, so I quickly took off the mug, closed the valve and poured some water over the stove. The flame went out with the hissing vapor sound. I have waited for it to cool down enough and started the investigation.

The cause was obvious - due to the severe overheating all of the rubber gaskets of the stove, as well as the plastic piezoelectric igniter, were completely disintegrated. So the gas started to come out of every hole in the mechanism, and sure thing it has eventually ignited. Later I've found that the canister itself started leaking a little too (disposed it).

Just as an experiment I have tried to fix the problem in the field with the pine bark. And I have succeeded with 2 gaskets going in contact with the canister. However 2 gaskets over the regulator valve pin must be more stretchable in order to fit in place. So, I ended up cooking on an open fire that day. However, I think I could have them fixed too with more efforts if necessary.

A week later I have contacted Ross Halbach of Snow Peak, and after listening to my story he has kindly offered all of the necessary gaskets I need to replace (4) and the instructions pdf how to install the igniter module for free! (the igniter itself is available on the market for $12.50). That's the really outstanding customer service!

My lessons:

• A canister may withstand a lot of heat before exploding.
• I need a field repair/maintenance kit for the stove.
• The windscreen for this stove must be made differently.

Be safe.

Have you considered the Snow Peak windscreen? It is a small disc like affair that goes around the burner and keeps a lot of wind off the actual burner area. They cost less than $10 and are a good investment. A field maintenance kit is a good item to carry with any stove.

I'm kinda surprised the stove parts melted, was the screen too tight and not enough air flow to cool it down?

Thanks for sharing the story Alex!

I'm glad to hear that you emerged without any new scars or hospital stories.

Thanks for sharing the experience with Snow Peak customer service too. I keep a mental checklist of companies that operate like that & I try to send my business their way.

Glad you're ok Alex. Good to know it takes a good amount of heat to make a canister explode.

Hello Widget, how is that windscreen?
I really like my Gigapower and was looking at picking one up.
Do you notice a difference with / without using it?
Thanks

Hey QL, I must admit I have never used the Snow Peak without the little windscreen. Not that I recall. I also have a folding aluminum windscreen that I somwtimes carry and use with the Snow Peak. That one makes a difference on a windy day. Most times I just try to position the stove out of the wind. I like the stove for ease of use and lightweight. It works good for my normal cooking needs on a backpack trip. I have some other stoves, white gas and multi-fuels but none are a small, light and convenient as the Snow Peak. I tend to take a white gas stove on longer trips and colder weather trips.

THANKS Widget