This subject made me think of an experience I've had a couple of times with an Optimus stove I would like to pass along: I've done some backpacking in the Sierras, often travelling as high as 12,000 feet in elevation, but it wasn't until years later that I realized how these scary incidents occurred. I would usually fill up my stove with gas at home (sea level) and drive to the trailhead, usually at 8-9,000 feet, then hike a few hours and eventually make camp. Assuming there was no pressure in the stove, I would pump it vigorously for a minute or so and light it. Soon after, the stove would burst into flames, terrifying me and fellow campers. Lacking any suitable materials for smothering the flames, since practically everything laying around was nylon camping gear, we would usually follow one of two courses of action: 1) Run or 2) Pick up the flaming stove and throw it in the direction of the nearest patch of rocks and dirt. After the crisis, and after imagining the fun of one of us having to carry the other burn victim down the mountain, we would start from scratch with the stove and it would work fine. It took years to realize that what must have happened was this: The elevation gain of 10,000 feet from driving and hiking must have pressurized the full stove quite a bit, then I added more pressure by pumping, and liquid white gas instead of vapor came out and flowed all over the stove in flames. This phemenon may be well-known in the backpacking community, but I had never heard of it. Does that sound like a plausible explanation? I still have the stove, and it works fine. The plastic part are a little melted, though. Gary Hastings
- posted
20 years ago