Companion forum thread to:

Coleman Xtreme Stove REVIEW

Another reason to buy this great stove: it easily cooked for five in mild weather (with a windscreen of course), and probably could do the same in cold weather.

One minor problem: One of the fuel containers stopped delivering fuel when less than half used up. The o-ring looks a little chewed up...perhaps a bit of it got logded in the feed mechanism somehow. I complained to customer service, and even sent in pictures, but got no action. I guess I should bring it back to where I bought it.

Otherwise I'm very happy with the stove, both for winter and for cooking for a large group. For really large groups they make a fairly heavy two-burner model, the Expedition if I recall.

Another excellent review article Roger, I have just ordered a Powermax Extreme to add to my fast growing collection, this addiction to backpacking stoves is sending me broke.

About you comment: “The Powermax canister is included in this review because you can't run the Xtreme stove without one;”

I found this screw thread canister adaptor when researching the Powermax stove on the Coleman site. I have ordered one to try.

Tony

I love the idea of not having to mess with petrol, especially when my fingers are cold. Given the difficulty of finding the powermax canisters, I have two questions:
Are there any fuel canisters that will work nearly well as the Powermax canisters in cold weather, assuming the cartriges are inverted?

Is there any mail order shop that sells the Powermax canisters? I can't seem to find any locally.The one mail order shop I was able to find wanted an extra $20 as they say UPS will charge extra for handing hazardous materials.

Thanks much.

Eric Douglas

Edited by 1ekdouglas on 06/26/2007 21:00:41 MDT.

Roger, it is getting very hard to find this stove in the states anymore. REI doesn't list it on its site, and I rarely see it in the other outdoor stores where I live (Sacramento, CA.) There is one store close to me that still has the fuel, but not the stove. I suspect that Coleman might be phasing out this stove, which is a shame.

Hi Eric and Roger,

“Are there any fuel canisters that will work nearly well as the Powermax canisters in cold weather, assuming the cartriges are inverted?”

Any of the 30% propane mix canisters should work nearly as well Powermax is supposed to be 40% propane mix. I have tested a 30/70 inverted canister at -20C with no problems. Roger Caffin’s web site has some PT curves on it that you can look at. (http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_Mixtures.htm)


I purchased a Powermax Extreme last week from Moontrail (http://moontrail.com/stoves/colemanexponent_xtreme.php) US$59 free delivery in continental USA, was delivered to my friend yesterday hope to have in OZ soon can’t wait to try it. Powermax canisters are hard to get in OZ so I also purchased a screw canister adaptor from REI.

Tony

I'm sure if they changed the "Coleman" label to North Face, or MSR, and doubled the price, these stoves would sell like hotcakes. And I think you can order them direct from Coleman. At a discount if you have a non-profit connection.

Edited by skinewmexico on 06/27/2007 17:46:54 MDT.

50 bucks at campmor

"50 bucks at campmor"

Plus $7 shipping costs

Hi Tony

> I found this screw thread canister adaptor when researching the Powermax stove on the Coleman site. I have ordered one to try.

Snuffle - they promised to send me one when it became available, but I have yet to see it...
Hum - but as I write this all our mail for the three months we have been away is still at the local mail delivery centre, so maybe a parcel awaits ...
Thanks for pic. I will pursue and review.

Hi Eric

> Are there any fuel canisters that will work nearly well as the Powermax canisters in cold weather, assuming the cartriges are inverted?
Coleman say the Powermax stoves will stay on the market, but I agree the canisters are increasingly hard to find in many areas. A Shame!
But they now have an alternative: the Coleman Fyrestorm (Ti). This uses conventional screw-thread canisters. You should look at the Fyrestorm seriously as an alternative if you can't get the Powermax canisters. It works just as as well and has low CO emissions too.
The adapter Tony Beasley shows is an neat alternative if you already have an Xtreme.

Hi Roger,

Welcome back, I received my Coleman Xtreme stove and adaptor last Saturday, I have fired it up but not tested it properly yet, although it is heavy I like what I see.

Tony

Regarding the Powermax fuel adapter, does anyone have any field experience at sub zero Fahrenheit (-18C) temperatures?

Standard canisters have a lower percentage of propane in them. I would expect some diminuation of performance at the lower end of an Xtreme's temperature range, but I wonder however if it's appreciable. Anyone done any really cold wx tests with an adapter?

Thanks,

HJ

What matters is not the canister but the fuel - and whether you operate the canister in liquid feed mode or not.

Cheers

Thank you, Roger.

From what you're saying, even at very cold temperatures, the stoves will show no performance differences between Powemax and standard canisters.

I was thinking that the vapor pressure might fall low enough inside a standard canister (with less propane) that it couldn't continue to force out liquid.

Thanks,

HJ

Roger,

I'm wondering if you might have an estimate as to how many ml a 300g Powermax canister might be able to hold. I'm doing some write ups right now on stoves, and I'm trying to compare the weight of a Simmerlite to the weight of an Xtreme. The Simmerlite of course can't function without a bottle, so I want to include the weight of the bottle. The question is, which size bottle would make a fair comparison? I'm thinking the 22oz (~0.6 l) is about the same size as a 300g Powermax canister, but I'm not sure.

I'm wondering if you have an old 300g sized Powermax canister laying around that you could pop the top off of and pour some water into and see how much water fits.

Why, yes, I am crazy. Why ever do you ask? lol.

Thank you,

HJ

Hey Jim, 300g is about 11oz (10.5821oz.) Gram is mass, Liter is volume.

Edited by jamesdmarco on 01/28/2011 03:27:20 MST.

@James

Since Jim asked for mL, we need to know the density. A very quick look shows the density to be about 60% of water, so 300 grams would be ~420 mL.

about 15oz for 420gram. Soo, basically he is stuck with a 22oz bottle.
As far as I know, the only certified fuel bottles for a presurized stove are the 11oz and 22oz bottles. I may be out of touch, though.

I haven't used my Simmerlite for many years except for base camping...just too innefficient. One of the worst stoves out there for fuel consumprion. I could never get it to do better than ~.45oz/qt.

Edited by jamesdmarco on 01/28/2011 04:03:18 MST.

Measure the can and fudge a bit for the domed end and the thickness of the shell. The rest is just calculating the area of a cylinder.

REI lists the size of the canister as 2.6 x 5.3 inches.
http://www.rei.com/product/618124

The volume of a cylinder is pi x radius squared x height. The radius of 2.6 is 1.3, and squared is 1.69, soooo, 3.14 x 1.69 x 5.3 = 28.12498 cubic inches. According to the Google converter, that is 460.885847 ml. I would take 10%-15% for the dome shape and the thickness of the walls, so it is about 400ml.