Backcountry Forum
Backpacking & Hiking Gear

Backcountry Forum
Our long-time Sponsor - the leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear
 
 
 

Amazon.com
Backpacking Forums
---- Our Gear Store ----
The Lightweight Gear Store
 
 WINTER CAMPING 

Shelters
Bivy Bags
Sleeping Bags
Sleeping Pads
Snow Sports
Winter Kitchen

 SNOWSPORTS 

Snowshoes
Avalanche Gear
Skins
Hats, Gloves, & Gaiters
Accessories

 ULTRA-LIGHT 

Ultralight Backpacks
Ultralight Bivy Sacks
Ultralight Shelters
Ultralight Tarps
Ultralight Tents
Ultralight Raingear
Ultralight Stoves & Cookware
Ultralight Down Sleeping Bags
Ultralight Synthetic Sleep Bags
Ultralight Apparel


the Titanium Page
WM Extremelite Sleeping Bags

 CAMPING & HIKING 

Backpacks
Tents
Sleeping Bags
Hydration
Kitchen
Accessories

 CLIMBING 

Ropes & Cordage
Protection & Hardware
Carabiners & Quickdraws
Climbing Packs & Bags
Big Wall
Rescue & Industrial

 MEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 WOMEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 FOOTWEAR 

Men's Footwear
Women's Footwear

 CLEARANCE 

Backpacks
Mens Apparel
Womens Apparel
Climbing
Footwear
Accessories

 BRANDS 

Black Diamond
Granite Gear
La Sportiva
Osprey
Smartwool

 WAYS TO SHOP 

Sale
Clearance
Top Brands
All Brands

 Backpacking Equipment 

Shelters
BackPacks
Sleeping Bags
Water Treatment
Kitchen
Hydration
Climbing


 Backcountry Gear Clearance

Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#155473 - 10/06/11 02:24 PM Primus EtaPack Lite Stove Questions...
Diabetic4Life Offline
newbie

Registered: 10/06/11
Posts: 3
Loc: Wisconsin
I recently purchased the Primus EtaPack Lite stove online (should arrive tomorrow) and have a few questions for people who have used theirs.

1. What are your recommendations for cleaning the titanium coated pots? I don't want to scratch off the coating and will be using wood or plastic utensils on it exclusively but am curious about what you use to clean the pots. I could only assume cloth or a sponge would be the best thing but what about a sponge with a scratchpad on one side?

2. What brand fuel canisters do you use? Does it make a difference? I know most stove manufacturers recommend using their own brand canisters but from what I gather, this doesn't really make any difference.

3. Have any of you used your fuel canister upside down? Some research I have come across suggests that as long as the stove has some sort of coil to warm the fuel up before it is burned then you should be able to use the canister upside down for use in colder environments. For those of you who have this stove and do not use it upside down how well does this stove seem to work in colder environments?

4. The liners that come for the pots to protect the titanium coating, I read, can also be used as a bowl or plate for eating. I have also read that they are flimsy or break and that you shouldn't. What do you do? Also a side question with regards to these liners, and I know this will probably be a stupid question as I can assume the answer but... could you use the liner in the pot to cook with or would the heat melt the liner?

5. Any tips/tricks/thoughts you have regarding your Primus EtaPack Lite stove would be greatly appreciated.

Top
#155478 - 10/06/11 05:32 PM Re: Primus EtaPack Lite Stove Questions... [Re: Diabetic4Life]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
I'm not familiar with this particular system. The following apply to pretty much any canister stove.

(1) I don't cook in my Ti pot, just boil water to rehydrate dried food (which I do in a freezer bag). I also brew tea in my pot. A quick rinse is sufficient. Do note that if you're doing real cooking, titanium has very poor conductivity--there will be hot spots that burn your food and cold spots. You can overcome this to some extent by constant stirring and moving the pan around on the burner. However, if you want to do real cooking, you're far better off with aluminum pans.

(2) As long as stove and canister both work with a Lindahl valve, it makes no difference what brand you use.

(3) You need a special setup to use a canister upside down. For safety, there needs to be a shutoff valve at both the canister end and the stove end of the tube. In your case you evidently already have the remote canister setup but you need to find out if you can use it with the canister inverted. I definitely would contact Primus about this before trying it. Some say it's OK without the extra valve if the canister is kept lower than the burner. Yes, the inverted canister is much better in below-freezing weather because the propane in the mix doesn't evaporate off. If you don't use the upside down canister, you need to warm up the canister before use. I put mine under my jacket in my armpit for about 20 minutes (a really good waker-upper). You have to keep the canister warm during use, too. There are some BackpackingLight articles about this, but you have to pay for membership to read them.

(4) Per the Primus website, the liner is polypropylene, a form of plastic. You definitely don't want to cook in it--you'll melt it! If you're going to eat out of your pot or out of a freezer bag (what I do), leave the liner at home. Just pad whatever you pack in the pot.
_________________________
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

Top
#155479 - 10/06/11 05:46 PM Re: Primus EtaPack Lite Stove Questions... [Re: OregonMouse]
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
A couple additional comments:

The pot is aluminum and the coating is called "titanium nonstick." I'd treat it just like any teflon coating by using non-metallic utensils, protecting it in transport and guarding against scorching. If it's anything like the Primus Express burner it will create a really hot center spot, so expect to stir a lot.

The burner has a generator tube so inverted canister operation will be possible. Hopefully there's either a rotating connector or the hose isn't too short or stiff to accommodate this. It's a big help in getting the stove to work in cold weather.

I agree the brand of fuel matters very little, especially for inverted use. For non-inverted use, avoid fuel with lots of plain butane.

Primus pic

Enjoy your new stove!
_________________________
--Rick

Top
#155480 - 10/06/11 05:47 PM Re: Primus EtaPack Lite Stove Questions... [Re: Diabetic4Life]
lori Offline
member

Registered: 01/22/08
Posts: 2801
Originally Posted By Diabetic4Life

1. What are your recommendations for cleaning the titanium coated pots? I don't want to scratch off the coating and will be using wood or plastic utensils on it exclusively but am curious about what you use to clean the pots. I could only assume cloth or a sponge would be the best thing but what about a sponge with a scratchpad on one side?


I would only use a scratchpad specifically for nonstick coatings.

Quote:
2. What brand fuel canisters do you use? Does it make a difference? I know most stove manufacturers recommend using their own brand canisters but from what I gather, this doesn't really make any difference.


Use whichever brand you like, doesn't make a difference, but stay away from no name cheap brands. MSR, Snow Peak, JetBoil, or Primus work okay.

Quote:
3. Have any of you used your fuel canister upside down? Some research I have come across suggests that as long as the stove has some sort of coil to warm the fuel up before it is burned then you should be able to use the canister upside down for use in colder environments. For those of you who have this stove and do not use it upside down how well does this stove seem to work in colder environments?


Efficiency will drop a lot but either putting the canister in a pan of water or on a foam pad to insulate it from cold ground/snow helps. You will need a stand of some sort to invert a canister with the Packlite.

Quote:
4. The liners that come for the pots to protect the titanium coating, I read, can also be used as a bowl or plate for eating. I have also read that they are flimsy or break and that you shouldn't. What do you do? Also a side question with regards to these liners, and I know this will probably be a stupid question as I can assume the answer but... could you use the liner in the pot to cook with or would the heat melt the liner?


They are anything but flimsy. You do not want to use the liner in the pot, it will melt. It's plain old food grade plastic.

Quote:
5. Any tips/tricks/thoughts you have regarding your Primus EtaPack Lite stove would be greatly appreciated.


Three objective reviews
_________________________
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few." Shunryu Suzuki

http://hikeandbackpack.com

Top

Shout Box

Highest Quality Lightweight Down Sleeping Bags
 
Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags
 
Lite Gear Talk - Featured Topics
Backcountry Discussion - Featured Topics
Make Your Own Gear - Featured Topics
Featured Photos
Spiderco Chaparral Pocketknife
David & Goliath
Also Testing
Trip Report with Photos
Seven Devils, Idaho
Oat Hill Mine Trail 2012
Dark Canyon - Utah
Who's Online
0 registered (), 241 Guests and 0 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Noodles, McCrary, DanyBacky, Rashy Willia, WanderBison
13240 Registered Users
Forum Links
Disclaimer
Policies
Site Links
Backpacking.net
Lightweight Gear Store
Backpacking Book Store
Lightweight Zone
Hiking Essentials

Our long-time Sponsor, BackcountryGear.com - The leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear:

Backcountry Forum
 

Affiliate Disclaimer: This forum is an affiliate of BackcountryGear.com, Amazon.com, R.E.I. and others. The product links herein are linked to their sites. If you follow these links to make a purchase, we may get a small commission. This is our only source of support for these forums. Thanks.!
 
 

Since 1996 - the Original Backcountry Forum
Copyright © The Lightweight Backpacker & BackcountryForum