Coleman Fyrestorm Ti Stove REVIEW

Hi Douglas,

While Coleman has a photo on their website of a canister inverter stand compatible with Max stoves they’ve not, to my knowledge, proposed a Max adapter for the Fyrestorm.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/images/PhotoLib/PowermaxAdapt.jpg

It would seem a relatively simple task, but I doubt there would be much of a market for it.

As to fuel mixture, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a lindal-valve cartridge with similar fuel to the Max specs. I definitely agree that the Max cartridges are easier to carry and store once depleted. Too bad nobody else picked up the system! (beta-VHS all over again :-)

p.s. The Fyrestorm is a real blowtorch with canister fuel.

> Is this stove compatible with Coleman Powermax fuel canisters,
Not compatible at all.

> or can it be safely adapted to work with them?
This would require a custom adapter, as shown in the recent article on modifications to stoves.

> Where available, Powermax seems to be better than regular canisters (mixture?, crushable).
The mix is 60% butane 40% propane. Yep, this is a real cold-weather mix!

> While Coleman has a photo on their website of a canister inverter stand compatible with Max stoves they’ve not, to my knowledge, proposed a Max adapter for the Fyrestorm.
I don’t KNOW, but I suspect this project may have died.

> As to fuel mixture, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a lindal-valve cartridge with similar fuel to the Max specs.
Nothing with that much propane is on the market. Definitely a top winter mix.

> When reviewing gear it would have been more useful to know what the actual ambient temperature was since the place name “Whipcrack Hill” has no significance to me.
Sorry, good point.
About freezing – cold enough that it wpuld have made problems for an upright stove.

Sorry about delay in answering – I was away for a while and then it slipped.

Roger Caffin

Hi!

I've been experimenting with an MSR WindPro. I found that it is very easy (and weightless) to invert the canister by (1) unscrewing the connection between the hose and the canister head, (2) inserting a small brass washer, and (3) screwing it back on until the washer is pressed into the seal. It tested leak-free, no problems. If anyone is interested I'm happy to track down the size of washer that fits.

However, in inverted mode the stove simmers about as well as a SimmerLite (ie. very very poorly). I gather that this is because the valve is on the liquid end of the fuel line. So much for that portion of the efficiency advantage of gas stoves…

The Fyrestorm looks like it should do better–finally I understand why there's a control valve at the burner head. But surely it's on the wrong end of the preheat tube? I understood that it would want to be after the fuel is vapourised, and it appears to be before. Does enough heat travel down the generator tube to reliably vapourise the fuel before it hits that valve?

That's a question based on my questionable understanding. The real question I want to ask is: does the stove simmer well in the cold (ie. below -12C or whatever the boiling point of isobutane is when it's emerging from its pressurised state in the tube)?

The other question–below -12C does the stove need priming (ie. lighting outside the tent) when running from a canister?

Thanks!
-Ben

Hi Shane

> I presume that in the warmer months you can leave the canister leg stand at home with this stove.
VERY belated reply!!! I missed your posting while I was away.

No, the legs on the canister stand are sort-of attached. In the warmer months you would be better off with a small upright like the Snow Peak GS(T) 100.

As G Kullenberg said.

Cheers

As long as the stove will work even for a moment (ie. above -20C with a propane mix) it can be lit with the canister in gas-feed mode, and therefore it will not fireball (unless you open it up inside the tent for too long before lighting it). The generator tube heats in a few seconds, after which you can switch to liquid by flipping it.

This is difficult with the Fyrestorm, since the hose is too stiff to willingly let you run in gas-feed mode (and many people have reported Fyreballs). Not too bad with my modified WindPro, but not great. Others? Also, of course, while a knob after the generator would be ideal, the WindPro will simmer quite nicely when it's warm enough to run in gas-feed mode.

Also: I got a 3" brass bolt and a couple of knurled knob nuts. They screw down around the canister interface of my WindPro and give it lateral legs (the hose is the third leg), so the canister sits happily upside-down. Weight: 13g. They didn't have aluminium ones.

It's handy to be able to run the stove either way. A swivel would be ideal if the moving parts were reliable. Has anyone found a part that would allow a WindPro or what-have-you to swivel easily?

the difference between the Ti and SS is that the Ti is titanium materials and SS = stainless steel.

weight difference is about 2 oz between the Ti and the SS.

price difference is about $40-45.

Hi Jim,

There's no upper temp limit to using inverted canisters. You can use them safely in all conditions.

Cheers,

Rick

Hi, Roger,

Good points. I believe that for just about any trip I'm ever going to take some type of liquid feed gas stove will do the job.

I'm curious about that -10F (-23C) number. I'm wondering if you could comment more on how you got that number.

I know that propane boils at -44F/-42C. Since the propane content of an (iso)butane/propane canister is in effect pressurizing the canister (when inverted), would I not have sufficient pressure to feed fuel to the stove at temperatures below -10F?. There must be other factors that come into play, yes? If you had the time and inclination, I'd be most interested in your comments.

HJ

Hi, Rick,

Yes, a bit of a mis-understanding. No worries.

I am interested in knowing about the Fyrestorm, but I'm even more interested in understanding the principles behind it. Understanding how stoves work makes me better equipped to select and use properly a stove for a given set of conditions. Yes, I can read "-10F limit" but it's nice to know why.

You would not believe how many very experienced backpackers and mountaineers I've encountered who really don't understand the how and why of stoves. I've heard some pretty outlandish ideas about stoves. One of my favorites is that "alcohol is for high altitudes." What?! It's such a relief to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff when people say such things.

HJ

Roger! Thank you so much. That's just the information I was looking for.

Now, if I'm understanding things correctly, the mixture used would be quite relevant. For example, if I have a gas blend of 65% butane and 35% propane (Powermax), it should work at a lower temperature than a blend of 80% butane and 20% propane (Glowmaster), yes?

So, is -10F a good safe bet no matter the blend? Or does the -10F figure assume I'm using one of the better brands with say 80% isobutane and 20% propane?

HJ

Hi, Roger,

Thanks. I did read the last article, with great interest. It talks mainly about upright canister stoves. I was wondering about remote canister stoves in liquid feed mode. Can I develop any reasonable numbers from the charts for a given mix for remote canisters?

HJ

P.S. By the way, 70/30 mix is not available in the US, at least I've never seen it or heard anyone discuss it. The best mix in a standard threaded canister is MSR at 80/20 that I know of. Jetboil is a bit cagey about their figures, but they may also be 80/20. Snow Peak follows fairly closely at 85/15 which I think wouldn't amount to a whole lot of difference in practical terms.

P.P.S. To clarify, I'm speaking of isobutane/propane mixes. 70/30 isobutane/propane mix is not available in the US that I'm aware of.

Ah, yes, but that's 70/30 ordinary butane/propane. What I was talking about was 70/30 isobutane/propane. Huge difference. Sorry I wasn't clear.

HJ