The New “Worlds lightest cannister stove”?

[Jim Sweeney]

I think I may have fixed it. Using some smooth-jawed pliers, I applied some CTFOOI (Crush the F..Out Of It) force to the horizontal plane of the pot-support flange assembly, and bent its wings back to flat, with the result that the pot support serrations are now all in the same plane. So maybe it was shipping damage after all, and titanium is just not all that hard to bend.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Yipes. That sounds pretty darned bad. I couldn't completely visualize what you were saying. Do you have any photos?

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[Jim Sweeney]

Realized I could interpose a stainless steel washer between the upper brass nut and the underside of the ring/flange pot support holder assembly, which would help keep it from ever being bent down again.

Used a stainless washer, nominally 7/16" with a .9" OD, in which I had to grind 3 small flats to let the supports swing down freely , ~ 1/16 thick, which added .1 oz but of course didn't affect the stove's wonderful packability.

Just fired it up, and had no problems bringing 2 cups of water to a boil in fairly short order, with no flagging in the flame, even without having it completely maxed out. Pot supports were cherry red, but that's one thing that titanium is very good for–retaining its strength when very hot.

[Jim Sweeney]

Here's a photo of the stainless washer between the upper nut and the the re-flattened ring/flange with the three upwardly bent tabs, each of which carries a pot support. The ring/flange had been bent downward at each tab, causing the top/bearing-surfaces of the pot supports to lie out of plane.

A slight hassle to do the fix, but having had to take it apart, I now feel like I understand much better how the stove works.

[Roger Caffin]

> So maybe it was shipping damage after all, and titanium is just not all
> that hard to bend.

I would suspect shipping damage, like a very hard thump lengthwise.

No, some alloys of Ti are not that hard to bend. 6Al4V is almost impossible, but CP is easy enough. Given the stamping and bending the parts have, I would suspect CP myself.

Cheers

[Jim Sweeney]

Thanks for the info re titanium alloys, Roger!

Another thing about this stove, that I don't recall if I've seen mentioned, is that it simmers like a champ! The flame is very controlled over its broad range, with no sputtering.

Re reliability and field maintenance: though it goes counter to everything we've learned at BPL school, these stoves are light enough and small enough that one could simply carry two. (On longer trips, of course).

[Roger Caffin]

> If it were a blocked jet, why would the stove return to a normal flame on the
> next usage and then suffer the same problem?

Common. It means that whatever is causing the blockage is not really jammed in place. It falls back, then gets blown up to the hole again. Most annoying! Strip and clean.

Note that some recent stoves have a sintered brass filter inside the jet. This is a stupid idea, and I have told FM so. If that gets blocked there is almost no way to clean it out! At home, drill (VERY CAREFULLY!) the plug of sinter out – use a bench drill and a vice, not a pistol drill. Replace with a tiny bit of TP – a tiny bit. If that gets blocked, remove and replace the TP. Do NOT jam a lot of TP into the cavity.

Cheers

[Hikin’ Jim]

Well, not to be a Luddite with respect to new technology, but I think I'll hold off on picking up a Hornet/FMS-300t until they get the jet blockage issue resolved. I don't have access to the tools to resolve something like that, and, well, it just seems like something that fundamental ought to be taken care of before the product is shipped.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[M G]

For those of you who have pulled the trigger on one of these where is the most reliable place to buy one.

I've seen them on AliExpress for ~$44 and on Amazon for over 70$

Big difference in price, not sure why.

Any advice on where to purchase?

[Jan S]

Try eBay too. I'd say in general buying direct from Chinese sellers is a lot cheaper. Import duties and taxes are not included in that however.

[Jim Sweeney]

Purchased my FMS-300t from AliExpress. Shipping was reasonably quick (and free), given the distance involved. Item arrived damaged (see previous posts), but was able to fix it (mostly–one of the pot supports now pivots only with difficulty).

AliExpress has a dispute process, which I've initiated, more to communicate their need to use stronger shipping containers than to receive compensation (had to ask for at least .01 for dispute form to be sendable).

My guess is that AE represents a lot of firms willing to ship overseas, as an order clearing house, so there's some potential for chaos, but aside from shipping damage, process went smoothly. Will report on their response to the "dispute."

[M G]

Just pulled the trigger with Aliexpress for $44. I'll report how the shipping goes. I ordered some titanium pots from China a few years back without any problems. Hopefully this works out too.

m

[Hikin’ Jim]

The only concern I have here is that sintered brass filter in the base of the jet. If you don't drill it out, it could get blocked, and there's no way to clear it in the field (well unless you brought some carburetor cleaner with you and maybe not even then).

So, unless you're prepared to do the necessary mods, I would not take the stove to the field just yet.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Patrick O’Neil]

Just wanted to chime in and saythat i bought one these off ebay. Not sure why really when i have plenty of other things to lose ounces on. 3 bucks shipping and got to canada in a couple of weeks no duties or taxes on arrival. I put iton a cannister just to test, lit it and evrything seemed fine although i find i have to screw it on tighter than my gigapower. I havent tested it with any of my pots yet. .

[Patrick O’Neil]

Edit previous comment removed. Turns out the cannister had problems on my gigapower as well. Tried a jetboil can everything fine. I think ill bring both on a trip in early may.

[M G]

So my stove arrived yesterday. 16 days from the date of order. I had requested original packaging and that a box be used to prevent damage. As you can see in the photos the shipper complied. For $44 I am please with the experience so far. Tested the stove briefly with no issues. Obviously it needs more robust testing in the field but it's a nicely made piece of gear. Roger if you have time I would love a picture of the location of the sintered brass ball filter that you drilled out. I could not easily locate this. My work has a machinist on staff and I would like to have him look at the possibility of drilling this out for me. It would help to have picture showing where and what needs drilling out.

Comparison with my old primus crux (early model, which at the time was very light)which is still working great except the piezzo lighter does not work reliably. If this new stove is reliable it will be its replacement

[Roger Caffin]

Hi all

As requested.

.
First remove burner as shown, by unlocking the lower nut. Then remove the jet with a spanner.

The filter is the plug of very tiny sintered brass balls in the left jet.
Hold the jet in a good vice in good drill press or mill, and carefully drill out the filter plug. A 2.5 mm bit would be fine. When you get nearly all the way through the plug it will usually break up, or grab on the drill bit. Extract it. Clean out the insdie with a cotton bud – nothing harder.

Replace the jet and tighten gently – a little beyond finger tight. This prevents leaks at the side.

CAUTION: do not poke the drill bit any further in, or you will have a jet with a 2.5 mm hole. This does not work very well.

Middle jet shows no filter plug. Right jet shows a tiny bit of TP stuffed in cavity as a filter. This works just fine and can be field serviced – provided you carry TP.

Cheers

[M G]

Excellent!!! Thank you very much.

[Nick Gatel]

So why would I want to buy a stove that requires this kind of modification before I take it out?

[Mark Fowler]

The mod makes it lighter! :)

[Stuart R]

Roger – did you try running this or any other FM stove with the filter removed from the jet and NO TP?

On my FMS-116T (Gnat) the sintered filter was loose so I took it out and tried it without. The stove did not work very well – the flame was lifting off quite badly. I concluded that the filter was causeing a pressure drop that was necessary for the given jet size. I pushed the filter back in firmly and it has been fine ever since (I did not think to try TP first).

cheers

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Stuart

Um … really not sure, now you ask. So a brief diversion to the lab.

FMS-300T with .32 mm jet and no TP at all: OK, no lift-off.
FMS-116T with .32 mm jet and no TP at all: OK, no lift-off.
FMS-116T with .30 mm jet and no TP at all: OK, no lift-off.
Various other combos – no flame lift off either.
Tried with Campingaz butane/propane, MSR Isobutane, and Kovea butane/isobutane/propane.

So – dunno what was aflicting yours. Very hot day perhaps? Air temp at test 22 C.

Also tried with TP wadged in hard, and yes that does reduce the pressure a bit. Not a lot, but enough that one could experiment to get optimum tuning IF one was suffering cabin fever badly.

Cheers

[Stuart R]

Hot day? Here??? YMBJ

Strange. I think I'll leave it alone for now.
cheers

[Hikin’ Jim]

So why would I want to buy a stove that requires this kind of modification before I take it out?

Well, if one wants the lightest canister stove available, then perhaps it's worth it.

The important thing is to go in with one's eyes open, i.e. knowing that one will need to modify the stove before use.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[M G]

"The important thing is to go in with one's eyes open, i.e. knowing that one will need to modify the stove before use."

The stove works without any modification, so I'm not sure I agree with that statement. Other than the one video posted is there any other evidence of malfunction? I plan on testing it as is through the summer. If needed I will drill it out but I'm not doing anything to it yet. We'll see what happens. I'll report back.

MG

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