stove for sub freezing temps

The XGK is a traditional mid-winter stove. It's basically a blowtorch for melting snow. Generally reliable and effective.

My winter stove of choice, however, is the Coleman Xpert, which takes the PowerMax cartridge. I find gas canisters easier to deal with than white gas, and the Coleman stove works flawlessly in cold weather. They also have a new stove that mounts standard canisters upside down for winter use, which I assume would work as well, but I don't have any direct experience with it.

The MSR XGX EX stove will do the job. There are surly lighter and more compact options but this stove is hard to beat for low temp conditions. It boils fast, burns multiple fuels, is very reliable and has been tested in the most extreme conditions.

PM sent.

I used the original XGK for years. They are durable, does a fine job melting snow, and can run on multiple types of fuel. If you don’t need multi-fuel, the something like the MSR simmerlite would get the job done, is lighter, can simmer, and doesn’t sound quite so much like a jet taking off.

Several years ago I switch to using an Coleman PowerMax Xtreme because it was a lot less hassle, quieter, safer in enclosed spaces, and the fuel fuel canisters are lighter than what I carried white gas in. The Xtreme isn’t sold anymore, but the replacement parts are. So you could buy repair parts and do a light-weight rework of the stove. and an article here about winter canister modifications The Xtreme PowerMax has been replaced by the Fyrestorm which is also available with a canister adapter.

Mark, Campmor started selling more Coleman Exponent™ Xtreme Stoves
for $50. Get one while you can!

The whole stove is the same price as just the spare parts connector… that is a good deal. Coleman doesn't list the single burner PowerMax Xtreme on their website anymore… I wouldn't be surprised if campmor has the last batch of them.

Thank you very much. I will look at the Whisperlite. I have seen them but since I don't do winter stuff (as in not at -20c) , I look at them hold them and run away…
Now my friend is waiting to hear from Bill Merchant to find out what model he is using, but looks like there are two or three workable options.

BTW I have not been able to send or receive PMs here…
my E Mail is franco dot darioli at gmail dot com

Franco

Hi Franco,

I have both the Whisperlite and the Xtreme. The Xtreme is a great cold weather stove, it leaves the whisperlite for dead for fuel efficiency, it has the best canister attaching system of all. I will probably not use my whisperlite again. I am lucky that the Coleman Max canisters are available here in Canberra, , I also have the STD canister adaptor but it adds another 50g.

I have had trouble contacting you with Pm's.

Tony

Thank you Tony. My e Mail address has been corrected. Apparently there is no "d" in gmail . ( I am glad that I have a simple name otherwise I would provably misspell that also).

Franco

Franco,

I have an old Whisperlite you're welcome to borrow to try out. It's 20yrs old, but I don't think they've changed a heck of a lot. They are a bit idiosyncratic if you haven't used one before. I'm around for a couple more days, then take off for three weeks.

Regards, Rod

Thanks Rod, one of my mates here does have one as well but I am still trying to figure out what can go wrong at those insane temperatures. With wind chill it can go well below -30c during the day and to fiddle with anything at that level is beyond me. One thing that I have worked out today (in town) was that a wider pot will work better. Most 1 to 1.3 L pots don't sit on the XGK but are just OK on the Whisperlite.
Yaki already has an ancient Coleman multi-fuel stove, looks like a big burner on top of a big canister, but purchased a small Kovea canister stove when I pointed out that his stove was heavier than my pack….
(I had a 15g cat stove with me that time)
Franco
Now I need to convince Boeing to build a wind tunnel inside an industrial walk-in freezer so that I can test gear without going too far…

Hi Franco.

I am interested in knowing what stove Bill Merchant is using. If your friend hears from Bill pls let me know. Thanks.

Hi Franco

You could of course trawl through the various stove articles I have written for BPL. They do cover most of this.

One thing which is not mentioned in my articles is the matter of wind chill. This concept ONLY applies to human perception, on skin. It does not apply to things like stoves.

Yes, I would favour the Xtreme too, but the Coleman Fyrestorm is similar for screw-thread canisters. However, if the stove has to be used at temperatures below -20 C (never mind the wind chill factor), then canisters can get tricky and you may well need to revert to Shellite or kero, with LOTS of metho priming. In that case a Primus EtaPower (NOT the Express!), an XGK or a Brunton Vapor AF maybe would be suitable. And there are others, depending on your needs.

Cheers
Roger

Hi Roger
I think that I have seen one or two of your reviews….*, I always like you dose of "common sense" thrown-in amidst all that data, for example in the carbon monoxide series and the "winterizing" a canister stove ones.
(The wind chill comment was about visualizing myself with my gloved hands firmly planted inside my pockets jumping on the spot muttering "Golly gosh, it's rather nippy today" ….)

The Coleman Xtreme is another candidate but I suspect that Yaki will retire his ancient Coleman whateveritis and find it easier to just use Shellie in most areas. (but we can organize the Coleman cartridges for the race…)

The Brunton Vapor AF was the one Yaki had in mind but apparently it has a few dodgy plastic bits ( I haven't seen one…) whilst the XGK ( I had a good poke at one yesterday) seems glove friendly and solid.
Franco
*For example The Reactor was quickly eliminated from my list

Roger,

Could you just clarify for me, am I better using metho to prime a shellite stove, or is this for kero only? And how does the metho go at really low temps?

My understanding of wind chill is the same as you've stated here, ie only affects people not gear. Would it be feasible for Franco to drop all his gear in the freezer overnight, maybe with the fuel bottle in a bowl of water, to simulate the operating temp. I realise the limitations of this, but I'm not sure of how else to do it, short of getting into the chill room of an abbatoir. (This would have been acceptable 25 years ago when I was working there, but I'm not sure it would be now. And with those big blast fans, you don't need a wind tunnel)

Hi Rod

You wouldn't normally need to prime a Shellite (white gas) stove under above-freezing conditions, although you DO need to prime a kero stove under any conditions.

However, when it is seriously sub-freezing you might find that priming a shellite stove with a little metho will make it much easier to start. Yes, it may be a little difficult getting the metho to even light at -30 C, but it will be difficult getting a Bic lighter (butane) to light then too! The solution is obvious: you put both the Bic and the dropper bottle of metho inside your clothing when you start to pitch camp.

Why not a dropper bottle of Shellite (white gas)? Because the volatiles in Shellite will evaporate too fast when the liquid is at or above freezing, while metho will be better behaved. Not to mention the smell your clothing will develop if you carry Shellite inside your clothing for a while!

Cheers

Hi Franco

> The Brunton Vapor AF was the one Yaki had in mind but apparently it has a few dodgy plastic bits
Hum … dunno about dodgy, although the plastic pumps do seem to fail at -30 C. I don't think the brands matters too much. I am told that some of them just fall to pieces in extreme cold. An all-metal pump seems indicated.

> "Golly gosh, it's rather nippy today" ….
Those wasn't quite the language I used! :-)

Cheers

Roger
"plastic", I used to cringe when people called polycarbonate camera bodies "plastic" in a derogatory way, but here I am doing the same…

We now have on order the XGK and the 1.7L Primus ETA pot and will experiment with that . It may not be the best combo but should work . Yaki will test (practice) with that up at Feathertop and Bulla.
Thank you all for the suggestions.
Franco
Now Roger, go and put at least a Merino layer on, those UVs are not good for you.

My MSR Dragonfly is the best winter stove I've yet seen.

It simmers lower than any multifuel stove I've tried and it is VERY reliable under extreme cold and windy conditions but I do advise using an MSR windscreen for best efficiency. Also an MSR plastic stove/fuel bottle holder will serve to keep the stove from sinking into the snow unevenly and spilling your pot of fod or hot water.

Also, for added efficiency I use a JetBoil 1.5 L. pot. With its bottom "Flux Ring" heat exchanger and neoprene/cloth cozy wrapped on the sides it saves a lot of fuel and is great for melting snow.

Eric

> We now have on order the XGK and the 1.7L Primus ETA pot and will experiment with that . It may not be the best combo but should work .

Oh, it will certainly work all right. It just won't simmer very well! But maybe that is the least of your worries?

Cheers

For a stove base I am toying with the idea of using this bowl

silicone walls,nylon bottom.
500ml, 2.8oz. A bit heavy but it folds flat and should be easy to handle.This obviously would be the cup for soup or a hot drink and as a holder for the occasional Mountain House meal. I know that it can take the heat but have no idea about how it behaves below freezing point. Maybe a few days in the freezer will tell. (????)
Otherwise the MSR base or a bit of plywood will do .
Franco