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canister fuel power
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Mar 24, 2006 at 9:18 am #1218128
So curiosity got the better of me and I bought a Crux last night, along with a 16-oz Primus “4-season mix” canister for testing and practice.
I also bought some 4-oz canisters for field use. The only brand of 4-ozers in the store was Coleman, which states on the side “70% butane / 30% propane”.
The weird thing is that I get a bigger flame with the Coleman brand. The Primus does burn nice and hot, but the two Coleman canisters produced a flame that climbed up the side of a 1.5L pot, whereas the Primus flame did not.
I don’t know if the Primus brand has a lower rate of flow or a cooler-burning gas. If it’s the former, I don’t care because I’ll never run the stove over 2/3rds power anyway. If it’s the latter, though, that means that the Coleman brand (perhaps having more propane?) is producing more heat per unit mass of fuel and as such is a more efficient canister.
I feel this concerns BPLers as they frequently take a “bare minimum” amount of all resources. If your fuel needs have been assessed with a “hot” canister and you wind up buying a “cool” one, you could be eating cold oatmeal on morning 5. This could be even worse if you’re melting snow!
What are peoples’ experiences when comparing canister brands? I’d be interested in a fuel comparo by BPL: what is the true difference between a canister that makes a tall flame and one that does not?
At very least, I know now not to do my fuel-need calculations with one brand and then hike with another…
My 2 cents CAD
EDIT: PS another difference I just found between the two canister brands is that the Primus will happily run upside down! The Coleman canister, on the other hand, produces a fat yellow flame when tipped on its’ side — even before reaching 90 degrees. Perhaps the Primus has a pre-vaporizer of some kind that also mildly restricts flow? I will cut the cans apart when I’ve emptied them (it will take awhile!) and report on any apparent differences in valve design.
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