Exploding Stoves Etc.

[zelph]

Over the last 6 months or so I have come across some statements on different forums concerning homemade stoves blowing up and some overflowing into a ball of flames.
I had a home made pressurized one blow up because I forgot to put the fuel port screw back in. Only had 1/2 ounce of fuel in it to do a test, blew the top half off, it went straight up into the rafters of my garage The little bit of alcohol was blown out for about a 5 foot radius, some small patches of fire here and there, 2 or 3 on the front of my chest the size of quarters, they quickly extinguished. I was not hurt luckily I walked away shaken but not detered. I also had a small prototype T candle side burner blow up in my kitchen because holes were too large.

I’d like all of you to post your experiences in regards to stove blowup or fuel overflowing in a ball of flame because of over filling the stove.

I hope this thread sheds some light on how we need to be more aware of stove safety on and off the trails.

Most recently in this forum Jazilla inquired : Any one have a problem with small explosions with the penny stove. I had the al bottle penny stove pop twice and I had my Sunkist penny pop on first use. Wondering what would cause this problem or is it just the operator.

I actually had the burner pop out when I first lit my Sunkist penny. It Blows up kind of when I first light the primer in the top of the burner with the penny in place

I had 3 stoves pop like this on the first test. After that they pop no more. When I say pop I mean hop up like a small explosion. The first time this happened to me it blew the burner out of the cup.

ppereira007 wrote:
My first homemade stoves were photons. When you forget to put the filler screw back in, they "POP" when you light them. Happened to me twice, both times when too tired to think straight!

Spock wrote:
Yep, I had a penny stove pop and spray flaming alcohol around the kitchen. Melted the front of my microwave. Unfun. The reason was the holes were too large and the flame was able to ignite the air/fuel mixture remaining in the stove. Smaller holes fixed it.

Knightwalker (WB)
Build a Photon and light it with the screw out of the fill hole. You'll get yer explosion. They pop really good with alcohol when missing the fill screw. Gas oughtta be a real hoot.
Use a VERY long lighter!

Tinney(MBD)
The latest test is up on my adventure site which is a daily blog of my life at ww.minibulldesign.com ---The squirting fuel was caused by a gross over fueling of the SST to the point that there was no room for gas to build up so it pushed out solid fuel.

Tinney(MBD)
Bug bags--Catchup and Exploding stoves
I had an email from a customer who says his TREK exploded and set him on fire. I think he may have filled it to the brim with fuel and then got in real close and lit it.


Salvelinus(HHQ)
Yep, I've had it happen, too. On a pressurized model that wasn't epoxied, I stupidly forgot to replace the screw on the fill port--realized it as soon as I lit it, and just had time to get my hand back when the top of the burner popped off of the bottom. Fortunately I was setup on a fire-resistant surface so I just let the flames burn out.
Gotta be careful with those things, but they sure are fun to play with!

Fireboy(WB) I had one blow up also, left the screw out of the fill hole. Also had one that the fuel expanded while the stove heated up and overflowed into a ball of fire. These little things can be hazardous to your health and equipment. Be cautious

Patrick(WB)
That's interesting. The stove that blew up on me was a wedding tin with only a very small hole in the top.
It's the very small hole. Same with the un-closed Photon. Huge, fast vapor pressure spike. BOOM!

Patrick: (WB)
I had an alcohol one blow up once, so I figured this was a lock. I feel like I really let the team down.


Tinney(MBD)
I probably play with more stoves on a daily basis than the average person. I do a test burn on every new design and also on a few every day just to check my work. After being burned several times ,once quite badly. I now wear a thin pair of leather gloves that weigh almost nothing and are worth their weight in gold. you can also use them for any project that may damage your hands. I would highly recommend that anybody using any backpacking stove wear a pair of gloves. A burn on your hand can really mess up your trip and even cut it short if it is bad enough. Why take a chance. I don't anymore!!! Next time you burn yourself on a stove give this a thought.

[Skidsteer]

Congratulations. You've 'seen the elephant'.

Assume a proud place among other Stovies.

[SGT Rock]

That is one reason I prefer low pressure stoves.

[saimyoji]

Occaisionally I'd get a POP sound when I first lit the primer pan, but solved this by sticking a piece of Al foil under the can to prop it up.

[Tha Wookie]

I've heard sme stories about whisperlites blowing up, and other commercial stoves, but this is a first for homemade ones...

sounds like your references above are all from one stove type. It's hard to fudge a basic pepsi can stove.

Interesting first post.... you don't work for a backpacking mag or stove company do you?

[Erro]

My Sgt. Rock version stove has never popped. My penny stove has popped twice - both times were when I re-filled and lit the stove while it was hot. Nothing flew into the rafters mind you - the penny just flew up a few inches and a few spots of burning alcohal were spatered around...

-Erro

[zelph]

mn Backpacker(PBP) wrote this:
My whisperlite, on the other hand, almost removed my eyebrows multiple times before I learned the beauty of alcohol

Big Load (PBP) wrote this :
No explosions, but I have had the misfortune to overturn a lit alcohol stove. My response was a little slow because I was transfixed by the beauty of the spreading blue flame, but no harm was done.
While I agree that white gas stoves aren't risk-free, they aren't quite as prone to this sort of mishap. Even so, I find that the benefits of using an alcohol stove outweigh the risks.

I made a couple of Super Cat stoves , followed directions to the letter, observed the warnings that went with it. One of the warnings was that the stove can stick to the bottom of your pot if it is a little dirty. It did exactly like it had said. I had prepared for it by having stove in the middle of a large 2 foot by three foot commercial oven tray(heavy aluminum). I lifted the pot of boiling water to remove it from the stove and sure enough it stuck to the pot and within a few seconds it released and fell about a foot and a half to the tray, splashing burning fuel into the tray. Had I not read the instructions and not been prepared, I'd have been in a world of hurt or somthin . Because of the possibility of this happening on the trail when least expected I opted not to persue this style as my stove of choice. The stove also has a tendency to have alcohol condense on the bottom of the pot and when lifted off the stove the bottom of the pot is onfire. This surely would startle the livin daylights out of you, maybe even cause you to drop your precious 2 cups of dinner water.

This is what Jim Wood says(designer of the Super Cat)
If the bottom of your pot or the top rim of the stove becomes gummy with cooking residues, the stove could (because it’s so lightweight) actually stick to the pot bottom. When you then lift the pot, the stove could lift along with it. A moment later, it could also “un-stick” and fall, spilling flaming alcohol everywhere. To avoid this problem, always keep the pot bottom and top stove rim free of sticky substances.

Tha Wookie--- No I don't work for a backpacking magazine or stove manufacture. I'm just a plain ole 'STOVIE' born on the HHQ Campfire .

I'm like Sgt Rock, I now prefer open flame stoves.

If any of you see a post thats related to this topic please copy it and post it here so we can have this thread as a reminder of stove safety

Thank You
Zelph

[Skidsteer]

Duh huh. Now I know who you you are. Guess you got a big grin from the 'seen the elephant' remark.

[Doctari]

Wow, scary stuff.

I have made quite a few "high pressure" alcohol stoves, have never had any of them: pop, explode or whatever. Am I just lucky, or are my stoves just made with incredable care & precision

Doctari.

[Seeker]

i've made just one that was pressurized. it worked as planned, but it used too much fuel, so i quit while i was ahead and still had all my limbs and fingers. i went back to the standard pepsi can stove for awhile. now i use Rock's Ion stove. slow, but efficient, light, reliable, and safe.

i think the whole pressurized thing is mostly about trying to get alcohol to cook something as fast as a white gas stove. i'm not in that big a hurry in the woods.

[jlb2012]

Wow, scary stuff.

I have made quite a few "high pressure" alcohol stoves, have never had any of them: pop, explode or whatever. Am I just lucky, or are my stoves just made with incredable care & precision

Doctari.

either that or you are just not pushing the envelope far enough - ex try getting a clean burning isopro alcohol stove - this was the one that made me give up on the high pressure stoves (yes it is possible to get a nice blue flame out of isopro - it just takes a rather high pressure stove and small jets)

[jazilla]

Wow a thread I started was kind of responsible to start all this. Any one know the efficiency difference between Low pressure and High pressure stoves. Thanks zelph, its alway nice to know a voice in the dark is heard. Any one see my melted penny pictures?

[zelph]

Skidsteer---- That elephant was the first thing I thought about when I read your post. I'll have to settle for these .

Doctari----I don't think you're Lucky, I think you must function with incredible care & precision

Seeker----How did you only make just one pressurized stove. You are really in control, I'm impressed!!!!

i think the whole pressurized thing is mostly about trying to get alcohol to cook something as fast as a white gas stove. i'm not in that big a hurry in the woods.

I'm not in a big hurry either when I'm on the trails. I smell the flowers, watch the birds and the bees and try not to step in the dog poop (I'll make friends with that one)

I recently did some tests using a whisperlite and a small open flame stove that I designed. Both stoves boiled 8 cups of water in 10 min. Who would a thunk it?

HOI----The use of T candle stoves suits you well, from pressurised to mini open flame, thats quite a change. (and no addiction, I'm impressed again)

Jazzila----I saw your burnt penny, made me take my glasses off and clean them, did'nt help Your voice has been heard and acted upon, thanks for inspiring the heads up on stove safety.

[Seeker]

Seeker----How did you only make just one pressurized stove. You are really in control, I'm impressed!!!!

it scared the bejeezus out of my daughter, and i wasn't impressed with it... loud, bright, complicated. it was one of those you epoxied a nut onto the top off, from underneath, under the filler hole, so you could close it off with a short bolt... nice flash/bang/glitz, but not as effecient as the ion.

however, i've made quite a few others... i can stop. really...

(psst. hey, buddy... can i have that can when you're done with it?)

[zelph]

This one comes from HHQ recently.

Posted by Turk - The Canuk

Nah, it wasn't anything too dreadful. Just surprised me. I am sure
a veteran stovie like yourself has experienced the problems with
pressurized stoves when you get a tin can design that allows too
much volume of trapped vapor with too large an orfice. It lit for
about 2 seconds before flashing back into the stove and blowing the JB
welded walls out. Surprised me more than anything. Luckily didn't get
any burning fuel on my new down vest. Was able to put the fire out
quickly enough. Only item I couldnt save in the aftermath was the funnel
which melted, the stove itself, and some burnt paint on the picnic table.
If I had double checked that the filler port cap was tight, could have
avoided the accident. I ended up boiling nearly 2 litres of water on my
vargo stove. Used alot of fuel though. Was hoping to get some
burn test comparisons between the two.
__________________
Turk - The Canuk

[zelph]

Thought I should add this to the list of stove dangers.

More the reason to switch to non-pressurised alcohol stoves

The wick style being the safest!!!!!!!!

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...53&postcount=1

[nutlub]

Yesterday I filled my SVEA 123 with some white gas for a test run and forgot to screw the stove fuel cap back on. Well as I was priming the stove I thought to myself...

"Hmmm...that looks like a little more flame then normal. Why are there flames comming out the side...Yikes!! the fuel cap is off!!"

Frantically I blew out all of the flames...Man I was sure that thing was gonna blow but it was snuffed out with no trouble.

Awesome stove imho.

[jazilla]

Skid you seem a little skeptical. Try making a penny stove. Fill it then light it with the penny removed. POP

[rockrat]

I had my MSR Dragonfly flare up once and burn all the hair off my leg. No problems with my alcohol stove, though.

[Gaiter]

my only problems with stoves have been operator error. me being the operator. and the error had nothing to do with the stove blowing up, just being already lit. And no that wasn't a nalgene with water it was my nalgene with alcohol.
ha. ha. I laugh now, but i wasn't laughing when my leg was on fire! I did laugh at myself as soon as my leg was out.