How often do gas canister stoves break, and what would be a good backup?

Ouch!
If you light the Bic first, before cracking the valve open, much of that is usually prevented.
But I never did like white gas stoves anyhow. Too many ways to go whoomp.

Cheers

After singing my eyebrows the first time I remembered to let it cool before re-lighting

Maybe it took two times : )

Plus, the fuel is smelly.

Plus, the fuel is smelly.

So is Esbit

Jerry, how did the bend on the BRS support ring occur? This is an enlargement of your photo:

You think white gas is smelly? You should try kero! It is far worse, especially in the confined space of a tent in a storm.

Cheers

I used kerosine in my white gas stove once because it’s not so flammable.

Bad idea – even smellier than white gas

“how did the bend on the BRS support ring occur? ”

hmmm…  never noticed that before

arm about half rotated into position:

There’s a little dimple that goes out from the side of the arm

Arm further rotated into position:

The dimple is pushing the arm away from the side

Arm fully rotated into position:

hmmm…  out of focus

anyway, now there’s a gap between arm and side

my guess is this is to keep the arm in position so it doesn’t rotate back

Thanks Jerry. Your new photos look fine. The bend disappeared…..back to normal. Good things just happen! 

I wouldn’t bring a backup.  Stoves rarely ever fail, obviously they could, but there are lot of other things that I feel are more likely to fail than a canister stove.  I use alcohol stoves (Caldera Cone) most of the time nowadays, but did take a BRS3000T and Jetboil Sol Ti pot on a 14 day trip to Alaska because I calculated that it would weigh slightly less due to the amount of alcohol I’d have to take.  I almost took a backup then as I’d heard they can fail, but after running some tests at home I decided to risk it.  I wasn’t solo on that trip, otherwise I might have brought an extra BRS3000.  And though it would suck, you can live on cold soaked food if you had to.

A good backup stove would be an Etekcity Ultralight Backpacking Camping Stove with Piezo Ignition

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/etekcity-ultralight-backpacking-camping-stoves-piezo-ignition/

Carry a backup stove?  Good God, no.

The most common failure on these stoves in the piezo igniter.  Carry some matches or a cigarette lighter as a backup.  Because, seriously, this is VERY common.  Plus you’ll have a backup fire starter for emergencies when you might actually be willing to build a campfire.

The next most common failures are either crud gumming up the Lindal valve, or an o-ring failure causing a leak.  So, carry a spare o-ring if such possibilities distress you, and don’t leave the threads of the canister uncapped when it’s off the stove.  Usually a clogged valve can just be blown free with a puff of aid from your cheeks, or wiggled a bit, or whatever, but again if you really worry about such things 1) disassemble and clean your valves a couple of times a year, and 2) carry a mini multi-tool to do it in the field if you must (multi-use).

But really, catastrophic stove failures are rare enough that I’d just plan to endure eating cold food for a while if I had to.

For solo use or very small group, +1 to what Dean says above.
If someone else has been using the stove, be sure to inspect the threads on the stove. Know how to build a small leave no trace cooking fire.

If it is a large group, say perhaps 12 people snow camping, I would argue for the prudence of a second stove.

Cheers

I use the titanium outer portion of a woodburning stove for a windscreen–and yes, I touch the canister frequently to test if it’s overheating. As a benefit, it has holes in the top to accept tent stakes, so I could use it with wood chips if my Pocket Rocket fails. None of this has ever happened.

If someone else has been using the stove, be sure to inspect the threads on the stove.
Just so.

Brass threads on stove, hard steel threads very badly formed on canister, much use. It would no longer ‘attach’ properly. No danger, just no gas!

a large group, say perhaps 12 people snow camping
I would be arguing for at least 3 stoves and preferably 4: one stove per group of three people. Otherwise you would be overloading the pot supports (damage and stability).

Piezos are nice, but I ALWAYS carry a Bic.

Cheers

I’ve had a Snow Peak Ti canister stove longer than I remember, and it has never given me any problem, unlike some of the older stoves.  It weighs around 2 oz.  Plus when SP came out with a heavy alloy wind screen that inserted over the burner and under the pot, I reproduced one in Ti.  It is under an oz, and takes a lot less space than the large cylindrical ones I’ve seen.

Due to clogging with the older canister stoves, carried a whisker to clean out the jets, but have never had to use it on the SP. Use Coleman canisters because they are cheaper at Walmart, and last longer – a week with two boils a day plus simmers for dinners.

Here’s what it looks like, with the factory alloy windscreen and the DIY Ti one pictured below:

Hmmm.. “backup”? MSR Pocket Rocket 2 or Trail Designs Caldera Cone with ESBIT fuel tablets.

Don’t laugh about ESBIT fuel tabs. I’ve backpacked the Grand Canyon twice using them and the Caldera  Cone Sidewinder with mating 3 cup pot. Always worked well in any weather.

Rather than carry a back-up stove, I carry a stove tool kit: a tiny spanner to get the jet out and a pricker to clear any blockage (total wt 1.8 g). Depending on the stove, I may carry a spare O-ring as well.

Cheers

As stated, fuel canisters fail too. With this in mind, I would opt for a Trail Designs Sidewinder (preferably Inferno) as a back up for your fuel canister AND stove. Why not kill two birds with one stone? This is what I plan on doing for my winter trips, when melting snow is paramount.

@Garrett
Are you packing your fears?
We do not carry a backup even on XC ski tours.

Cheers

If you’re just heating food, backup not really needed.  Just eat food cold.  Maybe some of your food will go uneaten.  You can survive days with no food.

If you’re melting snow for water maybe a backup would be good?  Would having no water be a survival issue?  Maybe if you were close enough to safety it wouldn’t be so much a problem.  And if the risk of being snowed in was small.

“are you packing your fears”

Admittedly I am. Solo backpacking is my preference, so the reassurance is nice. I’ve had some pretty close calls, which have made me overly cautious about certain things (water in particular). The 4oz penalty isn’t too bad though. That said, if I had a hiking partner I would most certainly leave it behind.

+1 to Jerry’s response, which must have been while I was typing. I don’t even bring a stove on my summer trips.

Ah, solo. I understand.

Cheers

If the trip is long, might you need two canisters anyhow? I know that on XC trips with my wife I quite often do need a 2nd one.
If so, could I suggest taking a BRS-3000T as the backup? 29 g.

Cheers

I have a BRS-3000 as a backup, but I don’t carry it backpacking

Make sure and test it first.  Boil more water than you’d use on a actual trip.

Maybe you want a more reliable backup?  Given that BRS-3000 has reported reliability issues.  But maybe if you use it first to make sure it works the reliability is good enough.

The combined risk is the probability of your main stove failure * the probability of a BRS-3000 failure.  A small number * another small number = a very small number.