The Short Saga of an Isobutane Canister


Wandering_About

Wandering_About

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This is a bit silly, but maybe also helpful. Last year I bought one of those little backpacking stoves that uses isobutane canisters (Snow Peak Gigapower). Been using the stove quite a bit since I bought it to test it out and get accustomed to it.

I should note I've been using a 200g canister so far.

The stove's first burn was on a camping trip on April 30, 2011. (Didn't take pictures of it doing any cooking)
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I have no idea what the actual burn time for the canister has been, but it finally has gotten empty enough that it won't boil water in mid-20-degree weather any more. In warm weather I bet it'll still have a couple burns left in it but I had to break out a new canister while making some tea and easy mac on a hike this afternoon.

In short, I'm pretty dang impressed with this little stove and the canisters it uses. This canister has been in use for about 8 months. The stove and canister have been used for things from simple boiling water to making eggs and sausage. I haven't gotten to anything fancier, but will probably try some more stuff with it in the next year.

Here are a couple more glory shots:

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I have a snow peak and really enjoy it. It has come in handy while scouting/hunting, when I am on the move. I also have the MSR Dragon fly which I wouldn't trade for anything. A tad more bulkier the the canister stove, but has proven ultra reliable for at least 10 years.
 
I just got back from a trip on the AT. In one of the shelters someone had left a Coleman isobutane canister that felt at least half-full. I screwed it on my stove and it burned for a minute then went out. I could feel liquid in it and hear it sloshing. Wonder why it wouldn't burn?
 
My first backpacking stove was a Dragonfly. After using the Gigapower for a few months I sold the Dragonfly. For me it's just too fiddly and bulky. It was great for gourmet backcountry cooking though, the heat control was extremely good.

The white gas was kind of fun to have around too. Toward the end of longer trips, we would take empty hot chocolate packets, fill them with white gas, and toss them into the campfire (if we were able to have one) to scare the other guys.
 
jackietreehorn said:
I just got back from a trip on the AT. In one of the shelters someone had left a Coleman isobutane canister that felt at least half-full. I screwed it on my stove and it burned for a minute then went out. I could feel liquid in it and hear it sloshing. Wonder why it wouldn't burn?
Click to expand...

How cold was it?

Could also have been a faulty valve on the canister itself, I suppose.
 
I have two Gigapower stoves...the GS like yours and the BF remote canister model. I really like them both.
 
I have the Giga and love it... perfect for me and what I do... glad you have had the same luck.

Ski
 
I have several stoves. For every type of fuel. I like the isobutane for how clean it is to use. I take white gas to the Boundary Waters. I'm generally there for at least a week. Short trips I take the iosbutane or an alcohol stove. I like the alcohol stoves the most, if all I have to do is boil water. They each have a place.
 
IN the colder weather if your isobutane won't burn (I had issues as high as 20 F) you can place the cannister in a bowl or pot (I have a coffee can cut down to a little shorter than the cannister) and add water the cannister will pressurize even if it is cold water. If you can warm the water to 40-80 F ( if you cant stick a finger in it it is too hot) the cannister will have enough pressure to operate properly to sub zero. I have done thios on winter trips many times.
 
When a canister is getting too low that I won't think it will make it through the next hike, I will just use the rest of it up in the kitchen instead of the stove for cooking until it is empty.

BTW. I love my gigapeak. Probably the best canister stove out there. The windscreen is worth trying if you don't have one already. For an ounce or so of weight it helps out a lot in breezy areas.
 
I have the Giga and love it. The larger size Coleman's are all that I've ever run through it since they are cheaper. Still need to get a Crunch It though.
 
I recently bought a used Jetboil, but haven't taken it out yet. It does a great job of boiling water in the garage. I just have a hard time getting away from my Svea 123.
 
I have the giga also (manual) and have enjoyed it thoroughly. It burns hot and fast. This is what was left of my custom windscreen after about 4 minutes wide open, maybe it was to tall?
 

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Scary...you know you're not supposed to use a windscreen that encloses the cartridge tightly like that. Too much risk of overheating the cartridge to the point of rupturing.

This is the proper windscreen for a Gigapower stove - LINK
 
jackietreehorn said:
It was ~35f. My canister worked fine. Has anyone used/had problems with a Coleman canister?
Click to expand...

Different brands use different mix of butane/isobutane/propane, if coleman uses mostly butane 35 is too cold for it work, probably why it was left there. If you have a remote mount stove with preheat loop you can flip it over for liquid feed and it'll keep working.
 
Cheapeats said:
IN the colder weather if your isobutane won't burn (I had issues as high as 20 F) you can place the cannister in a bowl or pot (I have a coffee can cut down to a little shorter than the cannister) and add water the cannister will pressurize even if it is cold water. If you can warm the water to 40-80 F ( if you cant stick a finger in it it is too hot) the cannister will have enough pressure to operate properly to sub zero. I have done thios on winter trips many times.
Click to expand...
I will stick a foot warmer/hand warmer (one of those exothermic things) on the bottom. It works fine for me until about 6 or 8 degrees. Colder then that, and I Just wont go camping long enough to need a stove. LOL
 
Looks similar to an older one that I have hiding around here somewhere. Uses blue cylinders like your and and the name is Camping Gaz. Picked it up in Europe but they were also sold here as well as the cylinders. Think I'll dig it out and see if it uses the same cylinders as yours as they look so identical.
 
Middlewolf - I have an old Campingaz stove and Lantern and they use an un-threaded valve system called an "Easy Clic". Most current stoves use the threaded Lindal valve cartridges.

Campingaz cartridges are hard to find in the US, even though that system is still used in Europe and the name is now owned by Coleman. The MSR Superfly can use both types of cartridges.
 
Spork said:
Scary...you know you're not supposed to use a windscreen that encloses the cartridge tightly like that. Too much risk of overheating the cartridge to the point of rupturing.

This is the proper windscreen for a Gigapower stove - LINK
Click to expand...

What he said. That is very dangerous and could explode. The cartridge should never be in a situation where it is too hot to touch. Surrounding it with a wind screen like that can do it. The correct windscreen is in his link or maybe an improvised one can be made that just covers the burner and not the canister. But for 10 bucks the gigapeak windscreen is a good deal.
 
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