• We apologize for the somewhat convoluted sign-up process. Due to ever-more sophisticated attacks by chatbots, we had to increase our filtering in order to weed out AI while letting humans through. It's a nuisance, but a necessary one in order to keep the level of discourse on the forums authentic and useful. From the actual humans using WCP, thanks for your understanding!

Which stoves are 100% stainless steel?

pryaker

Paddler
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
295
Location
Powell River BC
Just got back from a quick overnight and cooking dinner reminded me that my stove is about dead and I need a new one. I have one of these cheapie primus stoves;



which i use with a brunton stove base so that I can put it under my outback oven. The problem is that the stove burner has been steadily rusting out frim day one. the burner has gotten to the point where the rust flakes inside have filled up about half the burner holes and the stove no longer heats the way it should.

I originally went with this combination because it was cheaper than buying a MSR windpro but now I think I'd rather pay a bit more if I could find a stove that won't rust. I've done a bit of looking at stove specs bit haven't conclusivily found one that is made from stainless, anyone out there know for sure which stoves are rustproof?

I'll be contacting MSR to see if the windpro is truely 100% "stainless & brass" as the specs say and am still considering just getting another primus and considering it disposable.
 
That's an interesting question. I'm holding a Windpro and looking carefully at it. All the burner parts, as you said, look to be stainless and brass. The fuel tube sheath looks like woven SS wire. The regulator looks like machined aluminum though - definitely not stainless.

OK, just got a magnet out. The legs, the primer cup and fuel generator tube are somewhat ferrous, but the burner is not. On the regulator, only the small stop pin that keeps the needle valve from falling out is ferrous. The valve handle is slighty ferrous.

That was educational (speaking for myself :eek: ).

Anyway, as for using the Windpro as a kayaking stove, I've been very happy with those I have serviced that come off of sea kayaking courses. Several have been dunked in sea water and continued to work fine - when I took them apart I could see some salt deposits in a few spots but nothing that compromised the performance of the stove. I would have expected more galvanic corrosion given the variety of metals in contact with eachother but I didn't see that either. My concern has been the gas fuel entry port in the regulator and the possibility that it could become clogged by sand. I haven't seen that happen yet, but I think it is a valid concern. I have seen just one stove with it's regulator threads partially stripped. I don't know how that happened but if the regulator body really is aluminum then I suppose it must be a possibility.

The Achilles Heal on these stoves has consistently been the lower leg bolt. It can loosen itself over time and once it falls out (and if lost) the stove becomes very difficult to use. However, if the user simply checks the tightness of the bolt after each use - or even each expedition - the problem is easily managed. And, in truth, I've seen this happen exactly three times (out of probably several thousand field user days).

Speaking of Galvanic action: Trangias suffer terribly from this problem. Leaving the burner (brass) sitting in the pot, causes the pot to loss integrity very quickly - like a matter of days! That little yellow bag the burner comes in? I learned the reason for that: to keep the burner from contacting the pot/kettle.
 
Martin's concern on the potential for galvanic corrosion on various stoves seems like a valid one to me. I think it likely there are no backpacking stoves available which are all stainless. In fact, it might be easier to find some which are all brass, such as the Svea 123, and similar. Unfortunately, the Svea uses gasoline, which is unacceptable to many. I wonder if there are any all brass units which would accept canisters like the one the MSR stove uses. In the event, those canisters are not brass, anyhow.
 
I mentioned this in another thread - the Solo Stove and pots are all stainless steel, and use twigs and other combustibles to fuel the fire. you can also get an alcohol insert.

Just an idea.
 
How about Titanium? I've got a couple Soto backpacking stoves that have worked great. Snow Peak makes some nice ones as well.
 
Hi Martin Z
Which Trangia pots do you have? Plain aluminum, non stick or the stainless/aluminum ones?
 
Roy said:
Hi Martin Z
Which Trangia pots do you have? Plain aluminum, non stick or the stainless/aluminum ones?

Roy, I don't care for the Non-stick pans but do have a non-stick lid for easier frying. The failure occurred in a pan. I imagine this wouldn't be a problem with the non-stick - though then you'd probably still want a bag for the burner in order to protect the non-stick coating.
 
Hmm, hadn't thought of titanium that might be a good alternative. One thing I didn't mention was that I'm looking for a stove that has well distributed heat output not just a torch to heat water. I've got a Reactor for when I just need to heat water and this stove is one I want to be able to simmer easily, the primus has a nice big burner and I mentioned the windpro because it's another with a large diameter burner. Another thing I like about it is it's fairly quiet for a gas stove. I've owned a couple stoves that made way too much racket, my old Svea and another one with the old school cup type burner were both waaaay too noisy. And yes, I know a trangia is silent, jst can't imagine it has enough oomph to cook lasagna in my outback oven. Same goes for the solo or other wood stove (I have one a Neufield that i use as a backup), don't think it would work with the oven.

anyway thanks for all the input!
 
Galvanic Crossion will occure between and 2 metals and even between the same metal of different alloys. Almost all metals are sacerficial to Stainless Steel.
So if you pack up your kitchen just a little wet & salty, all metal parts sealed in a bag or makling contact will suffer Galvanic Crossion. The sacerfical metal will dissolve and deposits the the more noble metal. Gold, graphite, and Stainless Steel are the most noble with Zinc the least nobel. Stainless Steel will do the most damange to all other metal (except Gold and carbon) parts in your Kitchen. So be sure that any S.S. parts are dry and are packed sepprate (plastic bag) from all other metal parts.

If Aluminum and Staninless Steel are packed in the same bag with moisture and any salt, the Aluminum will be destroyed.

Roy
 
Roy has it nailed. An additional caveat: different stainless alloys vary quite bit in their resistance to corrosion in salt water. Just for kicks, I tested our stainless flatware with a magnet. Yup, the magnet was attracted to knife, fork, spoon. Now I know why, after some 15 years of use, the spoons are pitting on their undersides.

My guess is an all brass stove may stand up better, in the usual conditions of use for sea paddlers. Mind, my Coleman dual fuel stoves have run maybe 10 years each before the flame disperser needed replacement. Not sure what that metal is. Heavy, bulky, run on gasoline, unleaded or white gas, but they are hard to kill, and easily serviced in the field. This is a lighter, smaller, cheaper version of what I have:

http://www.coleman.com/product/sportste ... Sk4uGjn_MI

USD 100 list, USD 70 at Wally World and similar. Knockoffs on Amazon cheaper yet.
 
Back
Top