Hard to tell if this thread is joking or serious, but for anyone curious about the Gnat - which I use as my primary stove - unscrewing requires nothing different than screwing the stove on the canister. I know some stoves are tough to take apart, some require tiny screws, some use threadlock. The Gnat is not like that at all. A very simple twist unscrews it. Not unlike taking it off the canister itself, actually. The idea that this could damage the stove is ridiculous.

So did you ever do any Gnat efficiency compared to other canister stoves?

"There's a moral here somewhere..."

Yes there is. Don't take apart other peoples things without asking. Which is what the stink is about. Not maintenance issues.

As for the stove I am sure many heads and bodies can be swapped around.

I see no reason to mix and match.

Don't see much of those Gaz cartridges around much anymore. I suspect they will fall to the roadside too.

Edited by kthompson on 01/09/2012 18:37:40 MST.

In general, using a burner with a jet from another stove does not usually work, so that this does is lucky on two counts!
Expensive tho'. A less expensive option is to use a Markill/Edelrid adaptor

>"Don't see much of those Gaz cartridges around much anymore."

I can buy fuel a fair bit cheaper in Gaz canisters locally than in MSR canisters, mostly because Gaz is stocked in 230 and 450 grams while MSR is stocked in 113 and 227 grams.

>"I suspect they will fall to the roadside too."

I'm by the roadside, but just barely - I'm at the western extreme of the North American road system. 5,000 people in town, but a lot of people come from all over the world to play with their food (hunting and fishing).

With how strong Gaz is in France and how the French patronize anything French, I suspect it will remain dominant in France, moderate in Europe, and a minor player in North America. Anyone know if that propagates out into Francophone areas around the world? Quebec, former African colonies, etc? British East African countries still are tied to British de-facto standards even while being upset at their former rulers.

I have loaned out over two thousand dollars worth of gear over the winter season to hikers around the world. If I was worried about them getting trashed I would not have sent them out. That which is most precious to me is still in my house.

"With how strong Gaz is in France and how the French patronize anything French, I suspect it will remain dominant in France, moderate in Europe, and a minor player in North America."

Guess what - CampingGaz is owned by Coleman.

Jim, That's a nice way to more fully utilize the stove. Bopping around Africa or Asia, you can find the most unexpected things available or unavailable, IME. Having twice the canister options would be sweet.

And, when you want the basic, less flexible Gnat with its lighter weight (when you know you can get threaded canisters), it is a really quick swap back.

If I loan you my Prius, would you put a battery-only button in it like the Japanese models have? There have been numerous times I've wanted that option.

Edited by hikin_jim on 01/09/2012 11:34:43 MST.

"That which is most precious to me is still in my house."

+1

Just curious, why was the stove loaned out in the first place if not to be 'tested?'

Ken Thompson wrote: > Jim is not the owner. That is the point.

I have yet to have to take apart a canister stove in over 30 years of camping. My current stove is 10 years old.

First, I would ask Bob why exactly he thought he was loaning out a stove to a guy who already owns 100's of stoves. Seems like testing and review would have been part of the deal which to me would have implied permission to disassemble parts in a manner approved of in an owners manual for maintenance.

Second, I would ask Bob why he called out Jim publicly instead of through email or pm?

Yeah, I just did that publicly.

Diego: +1 on each point.

" I own hundreds of such stoves ranging in age from over 100 years (old, classic brass kero stoves) to stoves such high tech modern stoves as the Capillary Force Vaporizer stove developed by MSR for the US military."

Any chance of a review of that Capillary stove, Jim? Or did i miss it somewhere?

M

Edited by bigfoot2 on 01/09/2012 12:32:26 MST.

"Hard to tell if this thread is joking or serious"
Thank you Curt.
If you look at my reply,11th in the first page, it should be clear that I thought Bob was winding Jim up and I went along with that.
Of course I forgot that I am in Australia and he is not...
Yesterday when I realised that Bob was indeed serious I thought better of not putting any public comment because I knew that they would not be all that polite...
(I did send Jim a PM)

For the record, I know nothing about stoves but I have taken a couple apart in the same way. A 6 year old child can do that and put them back together.
Franco

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=35809


btw

Any chance of a review of that Capillary stove, Jim? Or did i miss it somewhere?

Fred eric wrote: >http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=35809

"First, I would ask Bob why exactly he thought he was loaning out a stove to a guy who already owns 100's of stoves. Seems like testing and review would have been part of the deal which to me would have implied permission to disassemble parts in a manner approved of in an owners manual for maintenance."

Diego, I agreed to loan my favorite stove to HJ, and in his words it was for "testing." If he had asked to do "testing and disassembly," then I would have gone the other way. If he had intended to disassemble the thing, then he should have asked in advance. No way do I loan out my favorite stove so that somebody can tinker around with it and see how it looks on the inside. If HJ really wants to do that, then I suggest that he ponies up his own cash for a stove.

Diego, there is no disassembly procedure. Well, there is no owners manual for that matter. There is no recommended maintenance.

Diego, why don't you ship your favorite stove to HJ and let him put a wrench to it?

--B.G.--

" Any chance of a review of that Capillary stove, Jim? Or did i miss it somewhere?

Oh, Goodness, Matthew,

Be careful what you ask for. Do you know how many oddball and esoteric stoves I have? lol."

Jim...you didn't answer my question :)

M

Hey, if you'll disassemble and test my old XGK, I'll send it for immediate review, Jim. I can't get the durn cable thingy in the tube part to come the heck out, but I understand there's a hidden note on foil from the MSR designer in there...