I need your help gang. I have an old Peak 1 micro stove that I rarely use. They don't make the same fuel canisters anymore so the guy at the store recommended this Primus 4-season fuel. When I tested it this weekend I had a problem. At first I couldn't get them to connect and when they finally did, I couldn't turn the knob on the stove to turn the fuel on. When I removed the stove from the cannister, the fuel started streaming out.

It looks like the rubber gasket inside the fuel cannister broke. Could it be that they don't match or could it be that the cannister was too cold from being in the Jeep overnight? Any ideas?

could you post a photo of the Gaz cart valve and the connect on the stove?..i use those carts with no problem and the cold should not effect them like that.

Sounds like the small rubber gasket internal within the brass threaded protrusion on the Colemand Peak stove has broken and found its way into the threaded 7/16 NS (Lindal Valve)on the Gas canister when the stove was being screwed on. This could have then stopped the Lindal valve from closing properly letting the gas to escape when the stove was unscrewed.

There is also another larger Rubber Gasket outside the Coleman external to the brass screw threaded protrusion to help seat the stove against the gas canister.

The low temperature could have easily affected the coleman rubber gasket as with Morton Thiokol's warning to NASA recommendation not to launch.

Hard to be sure without a hands-on exam, but I think it's a mismatch. That said, I try to warm the stove head inside a jacket before connecting.

The store guy should know better than to mix one brand of stove with another brand of cannister. If he doesn't know better, he shouldn't be making recommendations.

Stand by for Hikin_Jim for definitive answers.

These Primus Propane/Butane mix 450 gram Cannisters are top quality and they are completely compatible with the Coleman Gas Peak 1 stoves.

Hm! Interesting. Perhaps I spoke to soon. How far back in time does this compatibility go (he said, thinking of garage sale finds)?

You need Hikin Jim, he is the stove guru! What I recommend, is to put that old stove on the shelf and perhaps buy a newer one.

That canister of fuel is capable of a very large explosion and I would really hate to see you injured by a stove. You may also consider borrowing one from a friend for your trip. Then you can figure out the stove problem later. Seriously, I once put an "empty" canister in the trash and my then landlord burned the trash weekly. The explosion was a small scale thermo-nuclear looking fireball and it is really good no one was close by.

Think safety first, please

Not really help with the original issue, but I'll ditto widget's call for safety. I understand not wanting to shelve something like a stove, but what you described in the first post was a red flag to me. I have no idea what the problem is, but I'd be looking to get a different stove. There are so many...

(I picked up a Svea 123 off eBay for cheap a few years back and it has been great. Not as convenient as a canister stove, but solid and dependable -- Svea's have a great rep. For a relatively new stove, the MSR Microrocket is a pretty good stove, small but MSR has it listed with their rapid cooking stoves AND it simmers. $59.95 when not on sale.)

Continue to work on getting the Peak 1 micro stove up and operating, but in the meantime, get something you can trust.

My $.02 YMMV

No worries. The stove is shelved. It's only an emergency back-up. I cook on a campfire as much as possible. If I can't do that I use my hobo stove or my esbit stove as a back-up.

The canister was allowed to empty itself in a safe area and then our Troop Leader took it to dispose of it properly.

Safety first is my first rule.

Thanks for the sound advice!

We bought the stove new but it must have been a decade ago or more. Use it a few times and realized that we're just not stove people. (Sorry Jim, but I am trying!) I prefer to use a wood fire. (I have to admit to being a bit leary of liquid and gas fuel.) We shelved it and then added it to the family bug-in/out gear. We haven't used it in a maybe three years so I decided to test it this weekend.

We may have had some fuel left in the last original canester but figured it was probably too old so I went to get a new one. They don't make that one anymore so the sales guy suggested the Primus one. That may have been clue number one that this pairing wasn't meant to be.

I did have trouble getting the stove to attach to the canester. That was clue number two.

I couldn't turn the fuel adjustor knob at all. Clue number three or just an old stove? (This sucker doens't have auto ignition so there was thankfully no open flame potention from the unit itself.)

We got to or below freezing overnight so I probably should have warmed the canester up a little bit before using it.

All and all, this has kind of set me back into thinking that wood fire first, esbit fire second, is the way to go for me. Although, I think I may take a crack at it again with a new stove. I've been thinking about getting a Jet Boil as my third option. Most of my camp cooking is flame broiled or water boiled, and my understanding is that the Jet Boil boils exceptionally well.

Thanks for the other new stove suggestions, Russ. I'll check those out as well!

I'm a little chicken of liquid and gas stoves, Doug, so would be hard pressed to trust one bough second hand. That said, I did pick up an old Coleman white gase stove for our Scout group a couple of summers ago from a second hand store owner with a soft spot for Scouting. We've got a couple of guys who are brilliant at fixing them up. The Scouts have been using it regularly over the past year or so and it's working like a charm.

I'm throwing this to the top because I see Hikin_Jim is online.

Great Stove Guru, your expertise is needed...

OK, call me crazy.....but I like old liquid fuel stoves. Yes, there are issues of safety and learning curve. I have travelled mountaineering and such internationally and it always makes me leery of "dependng on a canister based fuel system" of any type. Give me petrol of any type. I have some REALLY REALLY old stoves, just picked up a WW2 Coleman 530 "pocket stove". I also have a 30+ year old XGK MSR that will run on just about anything and is outstanding at alitude (abeit LOUD). My Mother-in-Law has a Svea brass stove (similar to the Coleman 530) from the "touring car days" back in the 1910-20's. It is awesome, cant wait unit it lands at my house...... I have some MSR internationals, and a few double and single burner Coleman's. You can get a converter head to run the old school double colemans on standard propane canisters and if you still carry the fuel tank you can go somewhat multi fuel....

Your perference for wood cooking is also good! Do you have a Kelley Kettle yet? I really want one of those....

Ironwood

The XGK may be loud but it's pretty much bulletproof. Really though for a survival stove it needs to boil water and the XGK can definitely do that with almost any fuel -- white gas, kerosene & diesel, alcohol is not on the list.

The Svea is a classic.

On my coldest ever trip, three weeks on Denali,we used an XGK running on kerosene; it flamed flawlessly with a comforting roar. Twenty below was routine and one night we got a wind chill of -80F, and Mr. XGK still served up hot tea. If I could have just one stove, it would be a Svea - tough, dependable, and light enough. Going out in "normal" conditions, I nowadays tend to carry some sort of alcohol arrangement like a Trangia.

Going to get one from Buds store when he re-opens after illness.

Look good to me,going to get a rocket stove too.