Jetboil

“I just got a Jetboil yesterday. Haven't even had a chance to paly with it yet. Conceptually I love it. Small, light, compact.

Eliminates carrying separate stove, fuel bottle, cooking pot, and lid (i have used a whisperlite for years).


I am stoked.


Anyone else using one of these. Good experiences?? Bad????”

“I forgot a link to the stove:

http://www.jetboil.com/Products/Features”

“I'm using it. It's great.

one tip:
1. Wipe the pot portion and canister bottom dry before storing the fuel canister insideor put it in a baggie. I've had some rusting occur”

“Diane - The pot or the fuel can?”

“Great! Just the kind of insight folks here are great at providing!”

“DHutch --

Question: this could probably be answered by looking at the diagram but >..


I noticed that the wire/metal lead for the "spark start" (whatever its called) pokes up above the rim of the burner unit. I was concerned when sliding it into the boil container for packing that either it would be bent/snapped by being jammed into the bottom of the container or, if put in rightside up, be bent/broken by having the fuel canister resting on top of it.

any thoughts?”

“i love mine. problem with the rust is that with the cup being insulated and pretty deep it's tough to dry out the mug completely. then when you put the fuel cannister back in the cup the bottom ring of the fuel cannister rusts and forms a rust stain on the bottom of the mug.

i found that putting that the easiest way to completely dry out the mug is to turn on the stove for just a couple a seconds with it empty.

then, when i pack it up i put the fuel cannister back upsidedown so that just the plastic tab is touching the bottom of the cup.

hope this makes sense.”

“Great tips...thanks!”

“I'm waiting for the 2.0 version.”

“Seems like a gimmick. Not that I've tried it.”

“lee, the burner goes on top of the fuel cannister, right side up. your piezo should be fine this way.”

“Someone at TC 4 had the JetBoil - I think it was "Mrs. Enertia", but I could be wrong. She also had the rusting problem, but solved it by setting the fuel cannister upside down in the cup.”

“What is the coldest someone has tried to run this in?

My understanding is that propane is kind of sluggish in cold weather.


Warm ounderjacket for a bit . .. is that sufficient.



I would want to have secure fire at 0 degrees.”

“Butane boils at 31*F, isobutane at 11*F, propane -43* (thats a negative sign there). You'll have big problems with either version of butane at 0 degrees, but none with propane. I have personally used a propane-only stove at 19*F and didn't have any problems. I use propane for heat at home, too, and a little bit of research shows that only homes in very subfreezing climates have to go to special lengths to protect above-ground tanks.

Article on the subject: http://www.adventurenetwork.com/cgi-bin/adventurenetwork/Propane_Butane.html
last edited: 10/25/04 12:47:24 PM”

“aWw.. you bunch of water-boilers.. lol.. aren't there any REAL cooks in the crowd??

;P”

“the jetboil fuel is a propane-isobutante mixture.

this will be my first winter with mine. (fingers crossed)”

““aWw.. you bunch of water-boilers.. lol.. aren't there any REAL cooks in the crowd??

;P”
SecretDisorder
1:47:10 PM
10/25/04
ignore this user

Why waste time cooking when you could be doing something else.
:D”

“zac, when are you gonna get a jetboil?”

“lol..”

“Actually I was thinking of getting the Brunton Crux. With my teakettle and an 8oz fuel bottle it's actually lighter than the Jetboil.”

“that's that little 3 pronged head that sits on the small butane cannisters, right?

i was thinking of getting that in addition to my jetboil for when i go canoe camping or sometime when i want to use a pan.”

“That's the one. Though I won't be getting any new gear for a while. Maybe by spring I'll have one.”

“SacO - read that article I linked to about what happens to the propane in mixed canisters. The propane burns off in the colder temps leaving the butane at the end of the cylinder's life. Something to keep in mind.”

“i like mine too, but don't think it's that much lighter. I think it's the fuelcan that's building up the rust. I had some problems too.”

“interesting tnt.

so below 0* i'll have to keep the canister warmed.

thanks”

“There was a woman at TC4 that had one, and it WAS Mrs. Enertia...she had an interesting conversation with Mother Goose, the Yo-Yo hiker from the AT...about using the boil burner as a stove with another pot...
Mother Goose had her remove the pot support for the jetboil cup, which left the burner exposed and without a pot stand...Mother Goose then placed the pot stand from her stove on top of the jetboil burner, it was round, and had holes in it, it fit on top of a can of jelled fuel...anyhow, it fit the bottom rim of the jetboil burner perfectly, and converted the burner for use with other pots....

I bet Stovie or one of the others here could rig one up as a prototype..kinda like a miniature wind screen...”

“Be happy to if I had a jetboil to play with. ;-)”

“I've been using my Jetboil all summer. I love it. If I am actually cooking something though (like rehydrating chili on a low simmer), I have to watch it for boilovers. It boils VERY fast, but doesn't simmer quite as well as some other stoves.

As far as cold weather, mine is retired until spring. It's sluggish in the cold, and I'll be white-gassing it until spring.”

“pennsy, it's still sluggish even if you warm up the canister a bit before?

how bad is it?

i don't like dealing with white gas.”

“I used it last week with the temps in the 40's. Keeping it warm beforehand got it started with no problem, but it still took several minutes longer to bring water to a boil. I'm sure there are tricks to make iso-butane more manageable in the cold, but for me, it's easier to go with white gas. When it's warm though, the Jetboil really kicks butt. Nice system.”

“Under 40 Really???? holy cow.


I rarely go out above 40 for overnights . .. .hpmph.


well. . .I will try it on a cold night at home before staking my dinner in the Whites or ADK on it.




Question. It specifically says not to use a wind/heat shield (a la Whisperlite) because the tank will overheat and flare up.

What about in cold conditions? maybe that extra retained heat would help the situation?”

“lee, that have to say that or some idiot will make a shield that is too tight and blow themselves up.”

“stick with my simmer lite for the cooler months, and pocket rocket for the warmer season.”

“I got mine from Bink's Outfitters. I've only used it on one trip so far. It is VERY fast at boiling!”

“I wonder if sticking it in the shallow pan of water trick works well with this stove too in winter?”

“Lee - perhaps a wind screen would help, but leave one end open. I have heard, but not seen for myself, that totally enclosing the canister can cause a big problem.

Don't take my word as gospel on it being sluggish at 40 degrees and less. Try it out for yourself and make your own conclusion. I'm only speaking from my personal experiences. Last week, Gemini and I were both using Jetboils in chilly NC, and we both remarked how long it was taking. I'm guessing the temp was around 40.

Nigal - yeah, that's one of the tricks I hear that works. There are more, like keeping the canister in a sock in the sleeping bag over night, but I still love white gas in winter. I do the sleeping bag thing - when the winter bag comes out, so does the white gas stove. When the summer bag comes out in the spring, so will the jetboil.
last edited: 10/25/04 8:57:49 PM”

“I was camped up on the mountain and my Jetboil did just fine. I know it was alot colder and windyer where we were.”

“Dang, dude. You guys had a zero degree wind chill up there, and it worked well? That's impressive. I'm glad I covered myself with the "don't take my word as gospel" statement. ;o) Go figure.”

“You da Man Pennsy!”

“"Don't take my word as gospel "


All my illusions are shattered. I no longer have direction in my life.


Pennsy, I have followed your every word . . .as gospel. I have so much f-ing gear around my house now. . . .

Cameras . . .where to start . . .I have a least 25 different cameras . .thousands and thousands of dollars down the tubes . . .and now .. and now .. .

"Don't take my word as gospel"


Aghhghhghghghhhhhghhghghghhhgh


Must go drinking.


"You da Man Pennsy"


No Walkingdude. He's not THE MAN .. . .just a man. .. .”

“iffin I'm da man, you guys need to raise your standards. ;o) I wish everyone would take my word as gospel. Then I wouldn't be the only one in credit card hell. Last night, I advised a guy on the "Bibler or Hilleberg" thread do buy BOTH. I wonder if he'll listen.”

“You heard it here, Pennsy is the devil and is trying to send everyone to credit card HELL.
last edited: 10/26/04 2:10:21 PM”

“Ran some tests last night.

Air temp 15*
water temp 40*
no wind

shook and rewarmed canister in between trials.

Cozy is made from reflectex insulation.
Hand warmer was a “hothands” that was placed in the convex bottom of the canister, inside the cozy.
Cup used is the black plastic one that comes with the stove. The canister fits inside it nicely.


Times to boil 2 cups:

bare canister - 4:45
w/ cozy - 5:00
w/ hand warmer - 3:45
canister set inside cup w/ 2 oz. cold (40*) water - 4:45
canister set inside cup w/ 2 oz. just boiled water - 2:15
(took 20 seconds to boil the 2 oz.)


Conclusion:

ye haw! In your face white gas!


recommendation:

use that jetboil all winter long. No cozy needed either. Takes 20 seconds to boil the 2 oz with a bare canister set on the ground. With 2 oz. of hot water surrounding the canister the stove should work fine for you all winter. (Don’t know about high elevations though)”

“Thanks for the info.”

“sacco, since the jetboil works so well and you are finished eating, could you gather up more firewood for the rest of us while we are waiting on our stoves then the prep work/waiting time for our enertia meals. Thanks :)”

“I dunno, Sacco, 15°F isn't that cold. We get far colder than that just at FYAO where the other canister stoves just didn't work.

Maybe (let's) put them to the test on the ski trip from Long Lake to Placid.”

“i know 15* ain't all that grem, but i think it should still be fine.

1] if you warm up the canister in your coat before

2] even if it's really cold out, it shouldn't take that long heat up just a couple oz. especially if (see point 1)

3] even if it's really cold out, the boiled water around the canister should keep it warm enough to boil effectively for the req'd couple minutes

the santas in mid january should be a decent test also.”

“Oooooo, a REAL hard-core gear thread, with test results. Droool. ;-)

Cool to see this info. I may need to try similar tests with my pepsi stove.”

“Oh, and thanks for getting the extra firewood.”

“what do i need firewood for?

while you bassturds are freezin your butts off while you slow roast your dinner - i'll be fed, warm, and in the sack.

-- eh, who am i kiddin... i'll be gettin wood.
last edited: 12/15/04 10:12:45 AM”