UKC

So, I've just bought one of these babies, and now am almost too short of money to buy food to put on it! My question however is....

Im going a way on a trip at the weekend, and want to try it out (with liquid fuel) before I go. However, i want to try it, then put the lid back on the bottle and stash it all away. Obviously i can run it to test it, then flip the bottle over to drain it till it sprays air out of the nozzle, and not fuel, but surely if i close all the valves and take the pump out of the bottle then, it will squirt at me (as the bottle will still be somewhat pressurised). Is there some way i can do it without just leaving it spraying air out for ages until the pressure drops off enough?

Cheers!

Tim

In reply to Green Porridge: When you flip it over and it self drains, I think it only drains the fuel and pressure from the pipe and not the pressure from the bottle... this avoids and fuel drips and the cooker stinking of fuel when you stash it away..

What I do is let it self drain the fuel and then just unscrew the pipe from the pump.. You can leave the pump head in situ in the bottle, the idea isnt that you keep removing the pump from the bottle all the time (It would stink your gear out) its supposed to remain in the bottle and is air/fuel tight... I leave mine in there all the time and it doesnt have any affect on the pump.. If you need to de-pressurise it, just gently unscrew the pump a little bit, but be careful as it can blow out if you unscrew it too much

In reply to Green Porridge: If your just testing it then you wont need much fuel in the bottle so when you unscrew the pump it shouldnt spray on you, especialy if you leave it with the bottle upright for a few minutes to let the fuel drain away from the top. I don't think its a good idea to keep the fuel presurised inside the bottle but it might be ok.

In reply to Lightweight_2005:

Hmmmmm..... I see. I might try leaving the pump in then. However, having just had a play with it (without any fuel), i think it might be the case that, when it starts spraying air, it loses bottle pressure very quickly (as the fuel is obviously non-compressible). I might try both ways.... with care! I do think that having all my gear stink would be sub-optimal, so i might try leaving the pump in. There is of course the option of not filling it right up (cheers A O, obvious, but I hadnt really thought of it!), just to make sure.

I think my main unwillingness to experiment is partly due to the cost of cocking it up and partly due to just being a recent convert from gas, and therefore mysified (and slightly scared) by the dark-art of petrol stoves!

Many thanks,

Tim

In reply to Green Porridge: Not filling it up increases the ammount of pressure required and consequently reduces the amount of fuel you are carrying...

The trick of this stove is that it burns petrol gas and not raw fuel, so when you prime it and it heats the fuel tube it vapourises the petrol.. the pressure of the bottle keeps a constant fuel feed, but when you flip the bottle over it cuts off the direct fuel and burns up the excess gas and fuel in the feeder tube, thus reducing stinky gear.. so follow these directions:

* Pump 15-20 times
* Open tap giving a Short squirt of fuel, then close again
* Light and prime till the flame nearly goes out (this is heating the fuel in the line to vapour level, the cooker will start jetting properly also though will quickly be starved of fuel).
* Once appropriate heating has taken place, turn tap on full

If the fuel has not been primed properly you will get 'flashes' as raw fuel hits the burner (kinda like a hot air balloon), if this happens, try and prime longer next time.

To switch off, simply:

* Leave tap open and flip bottle over to 'off'
* Wait 5 mins for excess fuel to burn off
* Close tap
* Unscrew pipe from pump
* Depressurise container if necessary (this is not that important as there tends not to be a great deal of pressure in the container - I live mine pressurised) - The key here is the vapourisation, that is where the main pressure comes from, the bottle pressure is just a fuel feed.

The primus is solid, kick it, abuse it, dont treat it like a baby cos its a beast, it roars like a jet engine

Give it some stick... Needs occasional cleaning to reduce carbon build up when using petrol...