Msr Reactor

[simon pemberton]

Hello,i am over in the UK and have aquired this stove for my winter trips and i am having some difficulty when lighting it,basically i am trying to light it in coldish temps(-5 ish) i only get the blue flame and it does not turn orange,if i agitate the canister(new msr) or turn it upside down briefly it will work,cant be right surley? also after about four uses there is some brown heat burnishing at the top of the perforated metal ring around the burner,is this normal or have i got a suspect stove? no replies from Msr so i was hoping someone else has expreience of this stove,regards,simon.

[Barry Foster]

Hi, I have been using one for a while. There is no flame with this stove! The catalytic foam below the top mesh should glow hot orange or even white. It is so hot that you should not put anything near it other than the pot. I singed the hairs on the back of my hand!
When you first light the stove there is usually a blue flame on top until the foam heats up.
I love the stove for it's amazingly fast boil times, mine heats twice the amount of water faster than my jetboil.
The problem with the Reactor is that it's very heavy, not suitable for a single backpacker, but I use mine either car camping or in my boat for a brew up.
So the long and the short of it is that your's sounds fine to me. Any more questions please ask away…
Barry

[Roger Caffin]

The Reactor has been reviewed in
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/stoves_tents_carbon_monoxide_pt_3.html
It is a somewhat dangerous stove for carbon monoxide emission. It can't simmer, and it is not designed for use at or below freezing – see
Selecting a Canister Stove for Cold Weather Backpacking
Part I: Stove and Fuel Fundamentals
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/selecting_stoves_for_cold_weather_part_1.html
and
Selecting a Canister Stove for Cold Weather Backpacking
Part II: Commercially Available Canister Stove Systems
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/selecting_stoves_for_cold_weather_part_2.html

[simon pemberton]

Barry/Roger,thanks for the replies,i bought it for boiling water in winter,i have a white gas stove(dragonfly)but prefer the no hassle gas factor,i was just wondering if mine had a fault,is the heat burnishing normal then?

[Barry Foster]

Simon,
I only use mine for boiling water, never for cooking. But what do you mean by "burnishing"? There is a pressure regulator as part of the stove which is intended to give constant boil times with a full and nearly empty gas cartridge. Maybe yours is faulty.
MSR did have problems with this stove and it was delayed by quite a bit until you could purchase one and now my local store says that no more will be available this year? Maybe more problems although mine works fine. I would like a spark igniter though.

Barry

[simon pemberton]

Barry,sorry if i was unclear,i meant that mine has developed a brown discoloration due to heat at the rim of the burner and was wondering if was normal or a problem with how mine is burning.

[Barry Foster]

Mine is the same, so I would not worry about it. I,ll give mine a test in cold wet weather over the next couple of days and let you know how it fairs.

Barry

[Roger Caffin]

> brown discoloration due to heat at the rim of the burner
Normal heat marking imho.

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