Camping stove accidents

[paul ron]

I'm curious to see how many stove accidents there have been and which type of stove it was

1.Alcohol Stove
2.White gas
3.Canister
4.Wood fire

 

[daxs]

My accident could have been worse. all I did was burn off my eyebrows and some of my hair....

 

[DSettahr]

My accident wasn't really an accident. It was with a white gas stove (MSR Whisperlite). During a winter trip in the Adirondacks, it started leaking white gas after I had lit it to prime it, resulting in a pool of burning white gas spreading across the floor of the lean-to. Fortunately, I was able to remove the offending stove and toss it into a snowbank before the fire spread to any of our gear or caused any damage to the lean-to.

The stove worked fine after it went out- I think it may have been pumped up a bit too much, and the cold temperatures combined with the sudden warming of the stove and fuel bottle due to the priming process were responsible.

 

[Jason Berard]

My accident wasn't really an accident. It was with a white gas stove (MSR Whisperlite). During a winter trip in the Adirondacks, it started leaking white gas after I had lit it to prime it, resulting in a pool of burning white gas spreading across the floor of the lean-to. Fortunately, I was able to remove the offending stove and toss it into a snowbank before the fire spread to any of our gear or caused any damage to the lean-to.

The stove worked fine after it went out- I think it may have been pumped up a bit too much, and the cold temperatures combined with the sudden warming of the stove and fuel bottle due to the priming process were responsible.

I did basically the same thing, but it was testing my stove out at home before a backpacking trip in 1995. I put a decent sized char mark on our kitchen table.

 

[TCD]

Never test that stuff indoors!

My old Coleman white gas stove started leaking fuel from somewhere after it had been burning fine for a few minutes, in 45F air temp, normal pumping. Fortunately it was outdoors on a picnic table near the Loj...I just swatted in into a nearby snowbank, and it went out.

I voted twice; my other accident was with a wood fire (in college, in the fire pit behind the house). But that was probably due to the quart of gasoline, and the 2 minute delay in finding the matches...

TCD

 

[DSettahr]

Of course, statistically speaking, the results of this poll don't accurately portray the safety (or lack thereof) of various cooking systems at all without a matching poll determining how many people use each method of cooking.

 

[moonrock]

I had one of the old Bluet Gaz stoves - unlit - spew cryogenic fuel on my hands (and in my kitchen !) following a bad Ice Storm /power outage here in NC. I pitched it off my deck, then recovered it later.
It was a stiff O-ring. Now it works fine but I use it only for car camping.

I have hiked enough Appalachian Trail segments to note that the picnic table surface at each AT shelter has a "burn-moat", presumably from repeat liquid-fuel stove use...

MR

 

[rhihn]

Never test that stuff indoors!

My old Coleman white gas stove started leaking fuel from somewhere after it had been burning fine for a few minutes, in 45F air temp, normal pumping. Fortunately it was outdoors on a picnic table near the Loj...I just swatted in into a nearby snowbank, and it went out.

I voted twice; my other accident was with a wood fire (in college, in the fire pit behind the house). But that was probably due to the quart of gasoline, and the 2 minute delay in finding the matches...

TCD

Mine is similar. An old Coleman Apex II stove (no longer made) suddenly flared up while lighting. It was sitting at the edge of a lean-to. A friend managed to grab it (dangerous!) and quickly took it from the lean-to to a rock nearby, turned it off, and it burned itself out. We tried a second light (wise??) and it was fine.

I also voted twice. Wood fires: I generally don't build them, but on different occations I got too close to some camp fires with a Boy Scout troop and melted parts of a vest, shoes, pants, etc.

 

[Chip]

Unless you knock over the wood or alcohol, you can't really have an accident with them. Canisters are pressurized, so no priming is needed and so no leaking fuel. I've never heard of a catastrophic canister failure. There's no "never had an accident" choice, so I guess the poll will indicate there's way more accidents with white gas. I only have ever and probably will ever use white gas, though, because of it's dependabilty, low cost of operation, ease of operation and eco-friendliness.

 

[--M.]

It was a stiff O-ring.

MR

O-ring?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qAi_9quzUY
I'll never forget where I was when i was introduced to Richard Feynman! I'd bet there was a brass band at St. Peter's gate when he arrived; truly one of the greats.

I used an Optimus 8R with an aluminum-foil wind screen (breezy at The Perch) and experienced an adequate test of the gas-tank pressure relief valve. It was most dramatic, but we were able to snuff the jet of burning fuel and calm things down. Worked fine after that. Have always been careful with that technique since.

 

[MadRiver]

My first year at Baxter I set the lawn on fire with my white gas Coleman double burner.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I think I'm worried. 40 years and I've never had an accident. I guess that means I'm due for a big one?

Of course, my Svea flames up like crazy when I'm priming it, but that's SOP.

 

[weatherman]

The second most stupid thing I ever did hiking was volunteering to light my brother's MSR Whisperlite and start cooking dinner, without ever having used it before. Of course, I attached the fuel bottle upside down, and promptly set a corner of a Guyot Shelter platform on fire, as the gas spread toward our tent. What did I do? Yell and run, of course...

Guess I turned too many brain cells into muscle cells on the hike in.

My brother managed to find the valve and shut it off without burning himself. I, um, refrained from using anything else flammable for the duration of the trip. Now I stick to stoves I have actually tried out before.

Weatherman

 

[erugs]

About five years ago I was trying out my new canister stove (er, against ALL RULES) in my kitchen. I leaned over to see what the flame looked like and my then-long hair caught on fire briefly. (I was near the sink.) The smell was awful, but not much actually burned. It was to be a quick test, and was a memorable one.

This summer we had a canister continue to release fuel after we removed it from the stove. Again, probably not a fault of the stove.

I also use an alcohol stove. Because of hearing loss, I don't always hear it come to blossom, and can't see it light when in daylight. That could be an accident, but what I've learned to do is hold a match next to the holes and when it lights, I know I can add my kettle.

 

[peakbagger]

I havent had a classic accident but have had a couple of near misses with white gas. I managed to soak a picnic table pretty well with white gas on two occasions due to the classic "didnt grease the O ring on a whisperlight" gambit, luckilly both times I hand not lit the match. I did observe a fuel pressure relief valve open up on an older SVEA due to the use of a heat shield. That was one of those kick the stove into the snow bank events.

MSR also had a run of poor brazing on the primer cup studs one year, so fuel leaked out of the cup slowly onto the underlying deck. Took me a couple of interesting events until I figured out that one.

 

[Chip]

Because of hearing loss, I don't always hear it come to blossom, and can't see it light when in daylight.

You would have NO problem hearing my Primus Varifuel, a decendant of my Optimus 8R. They are LOUD and I consider this minor annoyance a safety feature. It's impossible to not know they are on.

 

[erugs]

Chip: I think I've heard your stove before (just kidding). Loud can be annoying but, as you say, helpful. Your stove isn't as light-weight as my alcohol stove (White Box) but I bet is has other benefits that outweigh the weight.

 

[DougPaul]

One advantage of alcohol over other liquid fuels is that you can fight an alcohol fire with water. Alcohol dissolves in water while gasoline, kerosene, etc float on water and can keep burning.

Never had a stove get out of control (so far).


BTW, another reason for not testing/using camping stoves indoors (or in one's tent) is that many of them emit carbon monoxide.

Doug

 

[Chip]

I'm curious to see how many stove accidents there have been and which type of stove it was

1.Alcohol Stove
2.White gas
3.Canister
4.Wood fire

I wonder if you are more interested in "operator error" or stove component failure. But then I suppose we'd need to define if poor maintenance, lack of knowledge regarding proper use and extreme operating conditions were the stoves fault or the operators.

 

[DougPaul]

Of course, statistically speaking, the results of this poll don't accurately portray the safety (or lack thereof) of various cooking systems at all without a matching poll determining how many people use each method of cooking.

Strike 1: (above)

Strike 2: self-selected poll.

Strike 3: no "none" category

Doug