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Re: [pct-l] Butane stove achellies heel and Snow Conditions in Big Bear



The other potential problem with butane stoves is that below a certain
temperature the butane will not combust, somewhere around 0 degrees F, I'm
not sure exactly.  My fuel reference says that the boiling point of butane
is  at 31 degrees F.  This can lead to extremely dangerous situations.  

I found this out first hand in the Sierras at Whitney Creek one morning
when my tiny thermometer read somewhere around 3 or 4 below zero.  I tried
to light my stove and could hear the gas escaping but not lighting.  Then
suddenly it lit, as I assume the match heated the immediate atmosphere
around it to a sufficient temperature to combust.  It fireballed on me,
however, fortunately not enough to catch me or my tent on fire but did fry
a hole in the mosquito netting on the door of my tent.  I prevented this
from happening later by warming the fuel container in my sleeping bag first.

Butane, propane and butane/propane mix fueled stoves are designed to feed
the burner with a gaseous fuel.  Other stoves, that use liquid fuels, ie:
those that have higher boiling points (white gas, etc.), have pre-heating
arrangements to vaporize the incoming liquid fuel into a gaseous fuel (as
in the Svea stoves where the fuel line passes thru the burner before
feeding the burner).  Butane's boiling point is unique in that it is within
the likely ambient conditions you may encounter on the PCT and, therefor,
may cause problems like I experienced.  Propane has a much lower boiling
point, -44 degrees F.  Ethane and methane (natural gas is mostly methane)
have even lower boiling points.  

I never had any problem with the butane connection on my stove even though
I disconnected it after every use.

I was skiing up in Big Bear this weekend.  It felt like late spring!  65
degrees high and mid 30's at night.  No snow outside of the ski areas
except high on the ridge tops and only patchy there!  No new storms in
sight.  The ski areas are hurting bad.  I had fun though!

FWIW,

Greg "Strider" Hummel
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