Thread: Kmart/Campmaster "Jetboil"

Ha, just redid the test with that 80/20 campmaster can - 3:48 to boiling from 21deg so about 1/2 a deg warmer on start temp for the 500ml off the cooker's mark. Both cannisters at room temperature before starting the boil test, so I guess the older Kovea can might have lost some of the good stuff.

I am looking for a 110gm fuel can to use with my MSR pocket rocket. Which one do you recommend?

Originally Posted by Inder

I am looking for a 110gm fuel can to use with my MSR pocket rocket. Which one do you recommend?

Nothing wrong with Kovea which is probably the most readily available, Jetboil, Primus powergas and MSR are all equally as good if you can find them.

I use the Gasmate 230gm canisters from Bunnings, 75/25 butane/propane mix. They don't sell smaller sizes unfortunately, but they're cheap @ $6.90 & I don't know how they deal with the cold but fine for what I need.

Originally Posted by Inder

I am looking for a 110gm fuel can to use with my MSR pocket rocket. Which one do you recommend?

Get Isobutane, rather than butane (or n-butane, same thing as butane). Isobutane or iso-butane is not as clean burning but boils at -17 rather than a little under -1 deg c which gives more leeway for use in cold temps. The other one is as higher percentage of propane as you can find, but the proviso here is don't use the cooker/can inside anything (cabins, vans, tents) as it will be more likely to make carbon monoxide than the more cleanly burning butane filled cans and this has created dead people multiple times. Carbon monoxide is tasteless, doesn't smell and kills extremely well...

Originally Posted by No.3

Get Isobutane, rather than butane (or n-butane, same thing as butane). Isobutane or iso-butane is not as clean burning but boils at -17 rather than a little under -1 deg c which gives more leeway for use in cold temps. The other one is as higher percentage of propane as you can find, but the proviso here is don't use the cooker/can inside anything (cabins, vans, tents) as it will be more likely to make carbon monoxide than the more cleanly burning butane filled cans and this has created dead people multiple times. Carbon monoxide is tasteless, doesn't smell and kills extremely well...

I guess MSR are isobutane and propane mix (80/20) but frigging costly for 110gm cylinder $12.59 :O

Just wanted 110gm because it is supposed to fit in my Stanley adventure 2cup pot perfectly. Maybe I will buy one MSR if I ever end up going hunting for fishing with son bigger (and cheaper) canisters should suffice. Will always be in open so chances of carbon mono killing me are less

+1 good in the maimai or family camping missions

Originally Posted by Inder

I guess MSR are isobutane and propane mix (80/20) but frigging costly for 110gm cylinder $12.59 :O

Just wanted 110gm because it is supposed to fit in my Stanley adventure 2cup pot perfectly. Maybe I will buy one MSR if I ever end up going hunting for fishing with son bigger (and cheaper) canisters should suffice. Will always be in open so chances of carbon mono killing me are less

Against that, the can sits on the ground so you are likely to get crap into the cooking gear putting the can in there??? No issue with CO if cooking outside, none whatsoever as it's denser/heavier than air. Only if you are enclosed in a tent or vehicle, hut, or possibly a cave or deep depression in the ground with no wind will you have an issue with cooking appliances and CO.

We always used trangia with meths when I was caving

Originally Posted by No good names left

I use the Gasmate 230gm canisters from Bunnings, 75/25 butane/propane mix. They don't sell smaller sizes unfortunately, but they're cheap @ $6.90 & I don't know how they deal with the cold but fine for what I need.

Those canisters are a good option to refill your smaller 120g canisters with a refill hose, there is even a larger size that the likes of gasmate and campmaster come in around 4-500g or so which makes good savings for refilling those small 110g canisters which is a popular size.
Also note that most of these canisters are all stamped "Made in Korea" on them, regardless of the brand.
That can only mean one thing and I think its safe to assume they are filled in the Kovea factory which is a Korean company.
Sure they may make different mixes according to the manufacturer's spec, but the great majority of them have a mix close to 75/25 and the quality is likely just the same.

The cynic in me says the mix is the same across the board and the label is the only difference, but I would get shouted down on that. I tested another can after my last few, within 5% of the other two in boil time from 20degC. That's more likely to be a practical concern in how full the containers are than any technical difference in the fuel make up. Same cooker and gear obviously...

My understanding is you won’t typically notice the difference between mixes at normal temp ranges, but once you start to get well into the sub-zero, the difference becomes apparent very quickly. The weak mixes simply won’t get you to boil.

There’s apparently an effective trick for an underperforming can, of heating water as much as the frozen can will give you, then sitting the can in that part-warmed bowl of water to keep the gas warm enough while you use it to heat some more, so you can actually reach a boil.

I've noticed that all the gas cannisters seems to be filled in Korea

Originally Posted by No.3

The cynic in me says the mix is the same across the board and the label is the only difference, but I would get shouted down on that. I tested another can after my last few, within 5% of the other two in boil time from 20degC. That's more likely to be a practical concern in how full the containers are than any technical difference in the fuel make up. Same cooker and gear obviously...

Agreed. I highly doubt in the real world you would notice much if any difference.
Even doing consecutive boil tests on the same gas canister can give you different readings by a few seconds.

Originally Posted by StrikerNZ

My understanding is you won’t typically notice the difference between mixes at normal temp ranges, but once you start to get well into the sub-zero, the difference becomes apparent very quickly. The weak mixes simply won’t get you to boil.

There’s apparently an effective trick for an underperforming can, of heating water as much as the frozen can will give you, then sitting the can in that part-warmed bowl of water to keep the gas warm enough while you use it to heat some more, so you can actually reach a boil.

I've really only noticed the difference between a pure butane mix and a propane/butane mix.
They work well for the first few minutes of use before performance degrades as the propane boils off and leaves a richer mix of butane.
In sub zero conditions, the butane will just sit in the canister.
You can do this test yourself by freezing the canister and then attaching to your stove, try lighting it and see what happens.
Iso butane is a good comprise, but not as efficient and clean burning as others have mentioned.
Ideally if these canisters were able to withstand the pressure of propane, that would be the ultimate.
Perhaps something might come to the market eventually, but wait and see.
For the most part, you will be fine.
One advantage of a stove that attaches onto the canister is enough heat reflects down onto the canister to warm it up and help vaporize the butane.
Adding a wind shield around also helps.
Otherwise you are better off using a remote canister stove that has a vapor tube like the kovea spider.
You can invert the canister upside down and feed with liquid fuel and the vaporizer tube will vaporize the liquid fuel so even in freezing conditions you will be able to make use of the butane in your stove.

If it's too wet to light a small fire to cook, and too cold for my $6 Bunnings gas to boil water, I'm heading to a hut or going home.