This is a quick video showing what I do to get my butane canister stove to operate when it is below freezing in the winter. Canister stove fuel, especially 100% butane, does not work very well below freezing. This is because butane has a boiling point of 30.2°F. Below 30, the fuel just stays liquid in the canister. Many manufactures have a mix of fuels in the canister that contains some propane. These “winter mix’ formulas work below freezing, and some work well down into the teens. All suffer as the fuel level drops in cold weather because the propane burns off first, leaving the other fuels. To overcome this problem, this “hack” uses a copper strip (copper conducts heat very well) to divert some of the heat from the flame back down to the canister to vaporize the fuel. The strip is held to the canister using a silicone bracelet. Silicone is resistant to high temperatures and won’t melt from the hot copper strip. It’s a simple setup that brings the fuel in the area of the strip up to temperature to pressurize the stove well. There is a thread on backpackinglight that explores the method: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/98947/ There is also a thread on WhiteBlaze.Net about the method: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/115424-How-low-will-a-cannister-go!
** Warning ** This is a hack and not the intended use for canisters. Failure to monitor canister temperature and letting it get too hot may result in serious injury. Do not do this in warm weather, as there is a risk of adding too much heat to the canister making it burst, which would be very dangerous. Please subscribe to my channel and thanks for watching! Watch my other hiking videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa
Made a quick stop for a "dinner hike" rest break on the way back from WVU after the Thanksgiving Weekend. I parked at the I-66 parking at Manassas Gap (the SR 55 parking is smaller and on the other side of 66). The I-66 parking is very nice with a great trail head on the AT. I did a quick hike up to the Manassas Gap Shelter to eat dinner and check out the spring. The spring was flowing great. It was dark by the time I finished dinner and hiked back in the dark using my Zebralight H52W headlamp. Please subscribe to my channel and thanks for watching! Watch my other hiking videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdxYynz7DmRoLfGNWYRI5wsvPi-WJ_OIa
