Moulder Strip Directions

[Roger Caffin]

If you buy ‘copper’ from China thru eBay it could be either copper or brass. I have no idea why they can’t get that one straight.
If you buy ‘copper’ from Amazon it should be copper.

Cheers

[Jerry Adams]

That looks like the copper I got from Amazon which worked good

That looks like a BRS 3000 on the left?  That should work good.  The length of the strip is about 5 inches (with a 4 ounce canister).

That looks like a taller stove on the right.  When I used a Soto which is taller, and an 8 ounce canister, the strip was about 7 inches (with an 8 ounce canister).  That never worked very good.  I claim the length of the strip is important.

Maybe try it ahead of time to verify it works good.  Or have an alternate method ready, like a bowl to put water in or you can warm it with body heat before using.

[Roger Caffin]

Or use all three techniques together.

Cheers

[Brad W]

15 F – use MSR Isopro or other fuel that is mostly isobutane and you don’t need anything else

Has the MSR Isopro formula or quality changed? I am seeing low output at 20-23F with these cans. I was able to boil water, but with the Soto Amicus wide open it took quite a long time. Compared to a warm can I would guesstimate the output at 20%?

[Jerry Adams]

I just used some msr isopro at 14 F.  I used a reflector to keep it going, but it was warm enough initially to start.  Without the reflector it would have slowed down pretty bad.

But, this was fairly old MSR isopro.  I found it a couple years ago left at a campsite.

[Brad W]

I just used some msr isopro at 14 F.  I used a reflector to keep it going, but it was warm enough initially to start.  Without the reflector it would have slowed down pretty bad.

Could you guestimate the output(vs. a warm can) Jerry when you started it?

[Roger Caffin]

Once an upright stove is burning and using vapour from the canister, the contents of the canister will cool down, and if the canister is half empty, it will cool down even faster. Eventually the fuel will get so cold it won’t evaporate.

That’s why we use remote inverted canister stoves: that whole cooling process does not happen.

Cheers

[Jerry Adams]

I used a pocket rocket deluxe

At 14F I was able to turn it up to regular output.  Which is fairly low, which is what i do normally.

I had an aluminum windscreen and a piece of aluminum below which reflects heat from stove to the canister.  This cancels out the evaporative cooling you get with an upright stove.  That roger mentioned.

As has been discussed ad nauseum, you can cancel out evaporative cooling with a moulder strip, an inverted stove like Roger’s, a reflector like mine, or a bowl of water to set the canister in.

If I had operated an upright canister stove normally, with msr isopro, at 14F, it would have started normally but slowed way down as it operated.  It’s not as bad with a full canister.

[Kevin Babione]

This thread makes me sad because I realized that this is the thread that made Bob leave our community.  He explained why one night around a fire while we were on a hike…He was frustrated because of all of the “Bob, the Moulder strip is great but it would be better if…” comments.  He was trying to help people by explaining what worked for him and he went through a lot of iterations (with help from a number of people on this forum) to test and simplify his design.  He never insisted that his was the only way to do it, and he could care less if you used aluminum, titanium, or unobtainium for your heat shunt or how you attached it to your canister.

Yes, perhaps it was an overreaction on his part, but that’s Bob’s way.  He didn’t feel the need to defend what works for him so he simply stopped coming to BPL.  It’s a shame because we’re missing out on some of his other innovations.  I benefited, for example, from his UL block & tackle bear bag system where he rather effortlessly hoisted seven stuffed food bags 20 feet into the air.

I just miss his contributions here…

[Brad W]

That’s too bad about Bob. I would welcome more of his ideas, especially the bear bag system. That’s social media though, while discussing good even great ideas, criticisms and improvements come up and some are more sensitive to the feedback.

FWIW I just got my copper strips and and excited to give them a try. Just need to locate a suitable band to attach it to the can.

 

[Jerry Adams]

That’s what I thought, it makes me sad too.  I was probably the worst.

Engineers just can’t stop screwing with stuff, figuring out how it works, trying changes even if it doesn’t improve significantly.

What bugs me especially is when it gets personal and people argue I’m right, you’re wrong, and when the other person doesn’t concede defeat then call them a fxxxing idiot…

[Roger Caffin]

FWIW I just got my copper strips and and excited to give them a try. Just need to locate a suitable band to attach it to the can.
I had some thoughts about that.
Obviously, forming the strips to a good contact with the canister is essential. But how to hold them against the canister? Many ways have been proposed, including magnets, but then I began to wonder.
The aim of the strips is to pump energy into the fuel in the canister. The fuel has only to get to, say, +10 C to be vaporising more than enough. So the strip on the outside does not need to get much hotter than, say, +30 C (+40 C if you must). What can be very simple, very cheap, very light, and yet hold the strips against the canister at +30 C ?
It came to me: large rubber bands! Use a couple of them for better results.
OK, maybe they won’t last more than one trip – so what? They weigh almost nothing, and a box of them is cheap. You could even – gasp – carry spares!

PS: High tech version: loops of bungee cord.
PPS: ultra-high-tech version: large Viton O-rings (rated to 240 C)

Cheers

[Brad W]

I do have some rubber bands. The silicone bracelets look nice but I have none and am not paying $5 for some. I have velcro as well, just need to insulate the backside of the strip like Bob did.

[John K]

Hiking through the snows of GA and NC this week on the AT…so glad I brought the moulder strip setup! I’m a fan of the silicone bracelet. Surely there’s a high school kid around you could bum one off.

[Paul S]

I use some heat-resistant silicon rubber ( I think, if I remember correctly, from McMaster Carr) and a  velcro strap. The silicon prevents the velcro from melting

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Paul

Have you checked how hot the metal gets when in contact with the canister? I suspect it may be well within the temperature range of the Velcro (at least, if it is nylon).

Cheers

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