MSR Superfly Compatibility

Do NOT try to use the Powermax canister with the Superfly!!!
The Superfly requires a vapour feed, which the screw thread and campingGaz canisters give when upright. The Powermax canister gives a liquid feed. You would have a fire ball.

Don't know about the CV360 fitting.

Cheers

Thanks, Roger. I was hoping you'd chime in :) Will the PowerMax behave like this even if they are upright? Does that brass tube in there act like a straw or something?

Curt, the Superfly won't fit on a Powermax canister anyway – the connection is different.

The CV360 canister has been discontinued for quite a while.

Hi Curt

> Will the PowerMax behave like this even if they are upright?
Yes.

The steel tube inside (brass is way too expensive) goes a long way done, well into the liquid, like this:

Cheers

Thanks guys. I figured as much, but it's nice to have answers from people who know what they're talking about.

Here's where this is coming from. It seems to me that we've reached the point of diminishing returns on stoves. We've got a few 2.5 ounce stoves now. They can probably shave another .5 – maybe even 1.0 ounce from them, but the real problem is the canisters themselves. So I started looking at lighter canisters and what stoves I could mod to work with them. I've always liked the X stoves – I've had an X-treme since they came out over a dozen years ago. It's got a great canister, but the stove is heavy. There are light stoves, but they all use heavy canisters. Frustrating.

I do use Esbit once in awhile, but I like the speed, cleanliness, and "gearhead" aspect of the canister stoves. My guess is that regulations keep the canisters heavy, although I wonder how Coleman can make the X fuel in a lighter tank but MSR/Snowpeak can't. Seems somebody could make a lighter cartridge, no?

Is there anything like the CV360 with a Lindal valve? BTW – I just picked up a few CV360 at a store in Seattle. I don't know what uses them and they're hard to find, but they are still for sale at at least one place :)

Thanks again for the responses.

-Curt

Hi Curt

Yes, the CV360 is still available in some places. Believe it or not, they are used by little flame-throwers sold for crisping the tops of meringues and souffles. Blimey!

Yes, you are right about the weight of the canisters. They have to meet the requirements of the Department of Transport (DOT) of all things – because they are a hazardous goods being transported! These regulations require that the canister withstand 50 C indefinitely, and a higher pressure under some conditions. Think back seat of a car on a hot summer day … See my article on
Exploding canisters for more details. And they have to be made as cheaply as possible for marketing reasons.

The conventional steel can is made in Asia in volume but specifically for this use. The Powermax canister is just a hair-spray can, also made in huge volume for the hairspray companies. (At least one USA company is in the market. Since these hairspray cans have often used butane or propane as the propellant, they were already rated.

Why can’t MSR make a Powermax canister? Well, for a start, MSR don’t make any canisters. The ones with the MSR brand on them are made in Korea through the Kovea company, although I think it’s Dae Ryuk Can Co (spelling?) who actually makes the can. Kovea make many of the MSR stoves too.

Secondly, the tall thin hair-spray can is not suited to use on an upright stove, is it? It would fall over far too easily. Risky business.

Thirdly, MSR seem to be restricted by utterly paranoid lawyers, or so it sometimes seems, and this seems to make them a bit nervous of being innovative in the area of cans.

Chase through some posting by Tony Beasley: he has been using some little plastic cans with Lindal valves, refilling them himself. However, please note that BPL does NOT advocate refilling canisters – we too have lawyers! And refilling requires equipment and some skill.

Cheers

The MSR canisters are made by the Dae Ryuk Can Co. And I believe the only stove with the MSR brand name that is made outside the USA is the Pocket Rocket.

The weight probably has as much to do with the dimensions of the canister as anything else, and the ability to use a reasonable thickness aluminum instead of steel with the X-canisters. The larger the diameter, the thicker the material has to be to withstand the pressure. Plus, the weakest part is the bottom, which has to be concave to hold the pressure.

The X-canisters have a significantly smaller diameter, which gets them to the point where they can use an economical thickness of aluminum to hold the pressure.

This is speculation on my part (the reason why they use aluminum), but the required wall thickness part is factual.

Hi Don

Yes, the thickness of the steel has to go up as the diameter increases – or they have to use a stronger (=dearer) steel. That said, Primus used to make an aluminium canister with a steel base, and it was lighter than any of the others. But they phased it out, replacing it with steel ones, possibly again from Korea. They said they had changed supplier.

Personally, I think the reason Coleman use aluminium canisters for the Powermax series is because they can get them very cheaply from Exal (international company, American office), who make many hairspray cans and alumium drink bottles. I would imagine that hairspray cans outsell Powermax by … 100:1? Or more!

Cheers