FlipFuel

Upon closer examination, it looks like there is indeed a mechanism inside the body besides the main valve.  If you look closely in the photo above, you can see  a brass protrusion on the right side of the body next to the vent hole.   This protrusion is spring-loaded. Perhaps there is a diaphragm and second valve inside ported to the vent hole. Maybe the vent is for over-pressure relief, as if I hook up a donor canister and depress the protrusion, fuel vents out of the hole.  I suppose there might be a situation where somebody could attempt to overfill a canister at high temperature. But, all this seems like a lot of effort and complexity to mitigate an unlikely problem.

For fun and giggles, you can also see my old MYOG contraption that I’ve long been using to fill my canisters.

Cheers.

From the photo, it looks like Jon bought the Jeebel Camp G007 Butane Fuel Canister Refill Adapter, which is one of the cheaper ones available on Amazon, and there is no free return offered.

There are a couple others that appear to be a bit better engineered/manufactured ranging from Campingmoon Z15 at ~$20 to the G-Works at ~$43 both with free returns.  The G-Works appears to have brass thread inserts.

Does anyone with experience have a suggestion for a good adapter/source (not just the ones mentioned above) with the best cost/quality/performance?  My instinct leads me to the Campingmoon, but could the brass inserts be worth more that twice the cost?

Ahhh!  Vent mystery solved!  Thanks, JCH.

That CampingMoon Z15 appears identical to the FlipFuel.  From your link:

“Equipped with…a vent valve that can reduce the internal pressure of the cartridge on the bottom side (empty gas receiving canister).  When cartridge on the bottom side has a high internal pressure, press the gas release button before open [sic] the main valve can make the refilling smoothly.”

“A built-in vent valve can reduce the internal pressure of the cartridge on the bottom side for easy gas transfer. *When filling a cartridge in a low remaining amount, press the gas release button before open the main valve can make the refilling smoothly.”

Poor English aside, it appears that the “button” can be used to manually bleed fuel from the lower canister.  I think this could be useful to purge air in the device and/or recipient canister by briefly pressing the button prior to opening the transfer valve.

Cheers.

All very expensive.
You can these on ebay for under $1.50, and they work just as well for transfering butane from a flyspray can to a screw-thread. Yes, I use one myself. Butane is fine in summer.

The only ‘drawback’ is that you have to press the two canisters together. Let go and everything stops – very safe.

For screw-thread to screwthread I use something like Mike’s. Parts from ebay again.

Cheers

Thanks Roger.  I like the idea of refilling the 4oz canisters from the larger ones.  The cost savings will be nice but more so I like the idea of reducing waste. One 16oz canister has to be much less material than 4 4oz.  I suspect a canister can be reused many times with the most likely failure being the valve.

Ordered the Campingmoon Z15 from Amazon.

Hi JCH

My own opinion is that you might be an old man before the Lindal valve failed. They make them by the millions, and cannot afford to have ANY failures. The (legally-required) testing on the production line is thorough. It is cheaper all round to make them very well.

Rust around the sealing surface on top of the nipple is where I would expect problems. The plating can be very thin there. Corrosion happens – but of course the canister is empty before that happens. Or so the official story goes :)

Cheers

My own opinion is that you might be an old man before the Lindal valve failed.

Hmmm…but I am aready an old man…according to my daughter :)

Good to know about the engineered longevity of the valve.  My plan for re-using a container will include a through inspection before each re-fill.

I wrote “AUG 2020” on the canister I’m using currently.  Still working fine so no need to replace it.  A bit of rust on it and a couple dents.  I think those Lindal valves are pretty reliable.

I use the adapter Roger showed to use cheap butane cartridges.  Works fine above freezing or so.  I just did a trip down to 25 F so I used some IsoPro.

but I am aready an old man…according to my daughter :)
My grand-daughters would not dream of saying that to me!

Cheers

This thread gave me the impetus to start refilling small canisters with just enough fuel and a bit of a buffer for our trips. That was the only real nit I had with canisters, too many near empties.

I got a G-works Gas Saver plus and have used it all winter. Right after I bought it the price went way up so just under the wire for a good price. It works so well and is so well made that the higher prices are not that bad either. It is easy to use and the entire process is very fast.

when you fill up a propane tank, like on an RV, you open this valve on the side which initially vents gas.  When the propane tank is full, the valve on the side starts venting liquid, which is the queue to stop filling it

maybe that’s what that vent on the side does?

I’m no expert on this but supposedly air pressure can build up and make it harder to fill the canister to its intended limit. Then you push the button and it bleeds off surplus air. When you see actual fuel spurting out then the air has been purged. Normally I don’t even fill the canister more than half full so it’s never been an issue. I have tried it though and it’s definitely doing something. Maybe others have some insight on this.

To add I did read on this thread where someone found the “dregs” to have less power. The reason might be isobutane has a boiling point of 11°F and propane has a boiling point of-40”. If one like the more volatile propane separated, floated and burned off earlier then that could happen but I’ve found with shaking the canister before every use or before donating to a different canister it stays blended and will perform better. I use a lighter sit on top stove mostly so the stem tends to heat the canister somewhat as the decompression cools it. So the pressure of the canister should stay somewhat stable. So shake and bake.