Companion forum thread to:

Hot Stoves (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2008)

Mike and Will. Much respect for giving the MYOG'ers credit for their ultralight modified canister stoves. All in all a concise article of the new and the hot. Thanks.

Originally, I tried out the Lite Max on an MSR canister (partially used) and it did not work on first attempt. On the trail, using a 110 snow peak canister, the stove worked for about a minute, then sputtered out. It did this several times and I had to "crank" the stove down onto the canister to get it to work. I'm returning it, possibly exchanging it depending upon an email from Snow Peak, presenting them with the whole issue.

Any thoughts or similar experiences??

i found the lite max to be reliable and easy to use. i have used it for about 17 trail days and numerous home trials. it does seem to need a little more torque to engage the lyndal valve, i was a little worried about it at first, but it loosened up a bit and doesn't show any signs of damage. i have had good luck with the snow peak and msr canisters (110g and 220g.)
best of luck :)

With all of the drive to lighten the weight of stoves has any of the manufacturers looked into making canisters specifically for bottom fuel draw. Weight-wise I always think of the weight of the empty vs that of the fuel itself so that how much mass am I carrying once the fuel runs out.

Why not a spherical canister made of aluminum designed only for inverted fuel stoves?

Randy

Hi Randy,

Exactly! And that's precisely what the Coleman Powermax stoves had- special canisters made of aluminum and specifically designed for that purpose. That's why we're so sad to see them go.

Doug

Doug,

PowerMax is gone, Wow. I personally do not use them, but I have many friends that do.

I like the idea of Brunton Vesta Stove, but has anyone inverted it yet? How does it compare to the modified canister stove stand by Brunton featured in previous BPL articles?

Dave

Edited by dschill on 08/12/2008 13:09:03 MDT.

Yup, it's a darn shame about the Max lineup, although no surprise. Reminds me of another Max--Betamax--which was a superior system that lacked industry-wide adoption as a standard so eventually faded into obscurity. Although I don't know whether Coleman ever tried licensing its use to other companies or not.

So, what kind of magic heatproof plastic are they using for that Jetboil windscreen?

At 29oz. does it matter? When is JetBoil going to lighten the weight. I love the concept, but it is too heavy. My old white gas stove is lighter, with less breakable parts. It is messy and for the past few years I have been trying to modify my canister stoves for better winter use, but I would rather use the lighter white gas stove then go with this new JetBoil system...

As a long time devotee of the Caldera Religion I am once again looking to add to my collection. But does anyone have the measurements for the protective container into which you place the whole kit? How many ounces for the "mug" portion and how many ounces for the "bowl"? Any idea how long it takes to boil the usual 16oz of water and how much alcohol is used to do so? I undertand that the TD added ridge in the Forster's Can is right at 16oz and that all of that is inside the cone. What a great concept!

I've got a Caldera keg (I think I ordered it the first day it was available), and I was wondering what the individual weights were too. My kitchen scale is accurate (hopefully) to the 1/8 oz, but here's what I measured (ounces):

6 7/8 Total weight, with everything

1/2 Stove
1 Windscreen/support
3/4 Fuel bottle + measuring cup
1/8 Instructions
1 Pot, with lip guard
1/4 Pot lid
1/4 Pot cozy
1 3/4 Carry case bottom
7/8 Carry case top

BTW, Trail Designs flattens the bottom of the pot. Does anybody know why, other than to make it seem more potlike? Does that make it heat more efficiently? I guess it improves capacity slightly...

(Sorry - double post. Was getting an error page when saving.)

Edited by efredricksen on 08/13/2008 15:03:16 MDT.

I guess I was not clear. I am interested in the amount of liquid that the protective container parts each hold. Since TD says that the top can be used as a cup and the bottom as a bowl, exactly how much does each hold.
But thanks for the weights on each component. That's tremendously helpful as well. Right now when I weigh in the whole of my Calera kit including 8oz of fuel and cozies that I made and the protective container I use as well as various items like matches, pot lifter, etc., I am at about 18oz for the lot.

IF I remember, I will measure the volumes of the Caldera Caddy's components and post tomorrow. The combined total will certainly be more than the 750ml of the Fosters can since the threads of the caddy overlap quite a bit but still nestle the can.

Mitchell,
My Caddy is for the Braslite 550. It is 7" tall x 3.7" dia, with the "mug" screwed down.

The "bowl" will hold about 23 oz to the bottom of the threads and 33 oz to the top of the top thread - I'm able to hold and move it without spilling.

The mug will hold 16 oz - again, carefully holding and moving without spilling.

I find the bowl depth OK, as I am able to reach the bottom with my standard lexan tablespoon.

Hope this helps.

Very cool! Thanks for the info. SO, we have a bowl which can really hold a meal and a cup that can really hold a drink. Thats what I wanted to know. Looks as if I am going to be buying the Caldera kit. Thanks again.

I have already tried it out with both alky and esbit tabs. The alcohol version boils 16oz of water at room temp in about 6 minutes for about .75oz of fuel. The esbit tab approach uses their little "cracker" design titanium holder and boils 16oz of water in about 8 minutes. The cracker has one problem. The esbit tab tends to slide off the top of the cracker because of the liqification of the tab as it burns. When one uses the cracker's two side shields which are designed to extend the burn time of the tab at reduced temperture, this is not so much of a problem.

I measured the weight of the entire kit at 6.625oz (including a book of matches). And when you add the included filled 4oz fuel bottle, the total weight is 11.25oz.
A bit heavier than I thought it would be, but still a very impressive kit to which you only need to add a spoon and you are done!

The smaller top half of the case which holds the whole kit will hold 16 oz of liquid up to the thread line and 20oz to the top edge. The larger bottom half will hold more than 28oz of liquid to within an inch of the top of the container.
The Foster can itself has a extruded bulge at exactly 16oz to allow the can to rest inside the cone up to that mark.

Overall, a very cleverly designed product!

Edited by mitchellkeil on 09/10/2008 15:23:35 MDT.