Warning on cheap butane stoves!

I don't know how widespread these cheap stoves are, as they are great to take on overnight trips on Islands, but evidently they have been removed from sale in Australia, due to the risk of the butane tank being overheated (and exploding!!!) when a large vessel is put over the flame.

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/A ... utane.page

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Thanks for the heads up Tony. I've been using this stoves for 20 years and never had a problem. They are a great little stove and really cheap to run.
Not sure what I'm going to replace them with (if anything!)???

Same here Stringy! It is just a case of being mindful that the butane canister is not too far away, so anything which might divert heat in that direction is not a good idea. Don't you dare cut back on those coffees mate!

Actually, I have a bag used for charging lithium batteries safely. I think I will cut it up to make insulation in the area of the cannister.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

When I first saw this I don't think the problem is with all of the stoves and that only some models didn't meet the Australian Standard.

However when I had another look on the fair trading website it's defiantly all of them.

I have one of these stoves but mostly use a couple of Shellite pressure stoves. These will run on ULP when Shellite is not available.The only downside is that you have to put it on a firm level surface or your pots will slide off.

Brad

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Brad K
Papaya Tandem Island - "Dry Reach"
Lengthened Jet Ski trailer
"Kayaking Bob" Spray Skirts
Trampolines

Why don,t you make your own stove ?
Much more fun and less space

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F18 Hobie Wildcat sail nr NED 066 & NED 1111
F18 Hobie Tiger sail nr 973 sold
Hobie 16 sail nr 104195 sold
470 sailnr NED 560 sold

Thing is Johan, these stoves were insanely cheap, as are the butane canisters, and the stoves are really convenient. The ban on their sale is basically a "nanny state" move, as there is no real danger just so long as nothing is put on the burner wide enough to channel the heat sideways to where the canister lives.

I keep my stove and a couple of canisters in a dry bag when going on overnighters. Stringy uses his to brew excellent coffees (amongst other things!)

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

I used the 230ml butnae cans on my trangia gas-burner. They are far, far cheaper than normal
primus-type canisters.

You can get adaptors on ebay (around $5) that allow you to use the 230ml cans on pretty much
any gas stove.

Mike.

Hi Tony,

I've a feeling that it's currently only the nannies over east that have so far banned them? I think our nannies in WA have still to catch up?

I'll pop into " lowest prices are just the beginning", to see if they are still for sale or not.

Agree they are great little stoves......if used correctly.........

Of course, but Trangias cost TEN TIMES as much as the other stoves. Hard to compare them really.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

I hope the gas canisters will still be available. I have a blow torch attachment I use to light the fuel brickett in my Cobb stove.

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Brad K
Papaya Tandem Island - "Dry Reach"
Lengthened Jet Ski trailer
"Kayaking Bob" Spray Skirts
Trampolines

I hope they are still available as well. I've decided that, as I have had no problems with the stoves in over 20 years of use, I'll continue to use them. Not sure what that would mean liability wise but I do think this is an over reaction. There are clear warnings on all my stoves about heat build up if too large a pot/plate is used. Only a couple of weeks ago we were using our 10L pot to re-heat vacuum packed meals by bringing water to the boil. The pot was on the stove for about 30 mins each time. Never a problem.

PS- Tony, re the coffee, I've upgraded my stove top boiler to a full on 15bar pressure portable coffee machine. I can now make coffee almost as good as what you can get if you bought one over the counter. Getting a good coffee while camping has always been a challenge. Not anymore. It's so much better than the boiler!

I went with the little stove in link below to save weight and space. The stove and gas canister is small enough to fit inside a Billy. Not to expensive either, probably only about A $70.http://www.bivouac.co.nz/gear/camping-and-tramping/stoves/outer-limits-huntsman-stove.html

Those lunch box cookers take up more space then the entire cooking utensils I wanted to take for my overnight trips.

I’ve had a few of the ‘now banned’ stoves over the years. They are so reliable and cheap. Sure they are more bulky than most but with them coming in their plastic rectangular case, they seem to fit quite easily into most places. And the case doubles up as a convenient wind break. There is a house being built just up the road and I‘m just waiting for the skip to have leftover roof and wall sarking thrown in it. A small section should be spot on as a shield over the gas canister. I’ll grab enough for all of us.

Ahhhh......the coffee ...........the memories..........I can smell it now. In fact Stringy, I’m also trying to perfect the coffee situation at camp. We may have to have a taste test next time. I’m not going to give away any secrets of how I achieve such a exquisite beverage, but I will say that the home coffee machine and vacuum sealer are working overtime.

So that you know what competition you're up against Stringy, this shot was taken at my last camp...............

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Mate, knowing a bit about your vacuum sealing food methods, I'd say the word "fresh" need not apply here, so I'm confident.
Bring on the taste test!