Portable butane cooker gone - what do I use now?

[pedrogb]

Hi all
OK so now  the safety police say I can't use my butane cooker any more (my wife heard about it on Facebook - dammit)
And it was the only thing gas powered she will use without stressing!
What new toy I am going to have to buy so SWMBO can boil the kettle for a cuppa?
I have a trangia metho burner, is slow but reliable
Any other suggestions?

[Pog]

I'll keep using my butane cooker.... This situation is a big beat up...

[edz]

Kelly kettle and a box of matches  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCR-ie9H_w   
As Pog said, been using ours probably 10 years without any troubles .

[austastar]

Hi,
  this was covered some years ago in a safety paper I read some where.
The problem arises when a large pan is put on the burner and the heat is reflected down onto the canister.
If the pan is small enough for the flames/heat to escape upwards and not overheat the canister, I gather there is no problem.
Note: I have no expertise in gas safety whatsoever.


cheers

[marvellous_matt]

Try a canister stove. These guys are more for the lightweight Hiking market than swaging per say, and while you will baulk at the price (start at $20 go to $lots) something like this http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/271657692962?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107&chn=ps
the canisters come in tiny 100g, 200g or 450 gram. A 200g one should be about $9. However the heat output is so much more than $9 of the other butane ones, you get much more bang for your buck. One of the really popular models of this style of stove is by MSR, and is called the pocket rocket! But they are safe, if you follow the manufacturers directions, and they are pretty fool proof. Dont use a wind shield, use in a well ventilated space. Unlike the old hiking canister stoves these have a screw thread, so separate the burner from the canister for travel.

[edz]

Hi,
  this was covered some years ago in a safety paper I read some where.
The problem arises when a large pan is put on the burner and the heat is reflected down onto the canister.
If the pan is small enough for the flames/heat to escape upwards and not overheat the canister, I gather there is no problem.
Note: I have no expertise in gas safety whatsoever.
cheers

So simple to fix, with a cheap retro fitment 3 or 4mm thick flexible reflective heat sheild mat to sit over the top of the unit to protect the gas cannister from overheating ..
But then people dont read the instructions for use now , so I m guessing they wouldnt use the heat sheild properly if at all anyway .

[prodigyrf]

Hi,
  this was covered some years ago in a safety paper I read some where....

Note: I have no expertise in gas safety whatsoever.

cheers

Yes you have and it's called common sense but like most of us you don't get any special award for that-
http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2014.html

[Alan Loy]

Hi all
OK so now  the safety police say I can't use my butane cooker any more (my wife heard about it on Facebook - dammit)
And it was the only thing gas powered she will use without stressing!
What new toy I am going to have to buy so SWMBO can boil the kettle for a cuppa?
I have a trangia metho burner, is slow but reliable
Any other suggestions?

Before butane cookers we used to use single burners that screw straight into a smaller gas bottle (2kg etc).  The first trick is to find one with a good heat output, some were/are hopeless and the second is to find someone to refill the gas cylinder.

[Homer_Jay]

There was a few cases years ago that stoves had 'blown up' because people hadn't turned the top cover (trivet) thing over, so heated the canister and result was disaster.

I stopped using them years ago, only because I had a can puncture in the car while traveling. The cans are very thin and long corrugated roads can see things move and rub. It was a big enough scare to think what could have happened if it ignited when the can punctured.

If i need a small one burner stove I use a coleman dual fuel stove with shellite. Not cheap, but good quality.

Like anything, just use commonsense and the risk should be minimal. There is some risk in everything in life.

[gronk]

Wait a month or two for the new improved models to come out and buy another cheapie !!   

[Bird]

I'll keep using my butane cooker.... This situation is a big beat up...

x2

[LuckyDog]

still plenty of the butane cookers on fleabay, so cant be that serious

[alnjan]

A letter from Gasmate about their butane cooker

http://www.gasmate.com.au/uploads/1503-Portable-Cooker-Public-Notice.pdf

[KingBilly]

still plenty of the butane cookers on fleabay, so cant be that serious

Some ebay sellers knows more than every state regulatory body in Australia.  LOL

KB

[LuckyDog]

lol

[Bird]

Some ebay sellers knows more than every state regulatory body in Australia.  LOL

KB

most are in chinlee and don't care!

[KingBilly]

most are in chinlee and don't care!

E xac ery 

KB

[prodigyrf]

"There was a few cases years ago that stoves had 'blown up' because people hadn't turned the top cover (trivet) thing over, so heated the canister and result was disaster."

Can't see how they could engage the gas with the trivet in pack up mode.
As for puncturing gas cans common sense should prevail but the omniscient ones haven't deemed the threat serious enough to ban them yet.
This is a beat-up by office jocks whose greatest threat to their cosseted existence is a paper-cut at the photocopier.

[cardinal28]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-10/scramble-to-determine-safety-of-portable-gas-cookers/6296160?section=business

Starting to snowball to most states

[fluids]

I'll second the Coleman single burner pressure stove (533 / Sportster II)... uses shellite, or ULP !!

WAY more heat output than the little butane stoves, built like a tank, repairable, ... and if you run out of shellite, ULP is pretty easy to find !! 

We have used 2 for many years without any issue. When you finish using them, you de-pressurize them so there's no pressurized fuel stored in the vehicle.


http://www.ebay.com.au/bhp/coleman-dual-fuel-stove


Kevin

[alnjan]

Does anyone here actually call then a lunchbox cooker?

[rags]

"There was a few cases years ago that stoves had 'blown up' because people hadn't turned the top cover (trivet) thing over, so heated the canister and result was disaster."

Can't see how they could engage the gas with the trivet in pack up mode.
As for puncturing gas cans common sense should prevail but the omniscient ones haven't deemed the threat serious enough to ban them yet.
This is a beat-up by office jocks whose greatest threat to their cosseted existence is a paper-cut at the photocopier.

It has more to do with the failure of the locking device ,rather then a trivet plate upside down or a oversize hotplate /pan.
I think wiser people than some user have a better understanding of the issues and inherent failure /dangers of these cookers including the AGA certifying body that tests and issues most gas appliances in aust,

[sweetpea]

It has more to do with the failure of the locking device ,

Push anything hard enough and it will break.

And if pushing it hard doesn't fix it use a hammer.

Have you noticed the prevalence of burnt out caravans in the doom and gloom press?  Both of my stoves have instructions printed on them to avoid using them in caravans.

S

[Wooly]

x2

x3

[lyns]

The reporting has been all over the place with this and that report from gasmate posted above is the clearest thing I've seen.  Facebook and other social media is  a nuisance with so much rubbish being posted it's hard to find what is real and what is not.

One thing I have noticed is my parents one - which is years old you have to turn the trivet thing over whereas the couple I've had that are much newer the box it goes in is higher and the trivet is the right way up and packs up like that, in fact I don't think you can sit it upside down.  So the problem with overheating cylinders shouldn't be a problem with the new ones leaving only the locking pin system, which works fine but can be a little fiddly if you aren't careful.