soooo you've got a lot of partially filled iso-butane fuel canisters.......

[PHo]

I just bought one of these things, but now I’m a little afraid to use it...has anyone actually blown one up firsthand?

 

[mtwarden]

I've filled a couple of dozen canisters so far, but no experience with blowing one up

 

[Mosby]

I take my partially filled canisters and use them up on my scouting trips. Between a small lantern and my stove, I go through them. I only take new canisters on hunting trips.

 

[Mike Islander]

After all the warnings and cautionary tales I'm getting one of these before they are outlawed.

 

[ElkArcher918]

yeah me too, pain in the a$$

enter the gadget that lets you fill partially filled canisters from other partially filled canisters- letting you have fully filled (or otherwise) canisters

simply put the canister you want to fill in the freezer for 20-30 minutes, pick which canister is going donate fuel and voila!

this is just a sample of the ones I have (have a bunch of 8 oz ones too)

ready to go, turn the petcock and fill

gadget can be found here (probably elsewhere too)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U2EE6M2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is there a potential of overfilling the receiving cannister and causing an unintended discharge or explosion?

 

[mtwarden]

I think it would be very hard to overfill one, in my experience it simply quits filling when close to full- I always weigh the filled canister when done; if it were somehow over the weight- you can bleed it off with the device

I've yet to have one that was overweight, they are almost always a little less than full

 

[Hackleback]

I normally use the partials at the truck for making coffee or pot noodles when I don't want to pack my larger cook kit.

 

[jbane9]

Definitely picking one up. Thanks!

 

[Z71&Gun]

For those who are worried about pressure, how could one tin can hold and then transfer enough pressure to make the other explode? No way. There’s just no physical way. No pump mechanism, no added pressure, just gravity and available space. There won’t be any more pressure than was in the cans to begin with and any pressure that the bottom can can’t hold will just stay in the top one. The only risk is from filling with cold gas that will expand when it warms up. Relieving some pressure as the can returns to room temp would solve that problem but I bet it’s not necessary.

 

[Tbuckus]

Regarding overfilling
I’ve been refilling iso canisters for years, and 16oz propane bottles for more than I can remember. I have overfilled them, but never have one explode. Usually it is performance issues when overfilled along with the uneasiness of know that there is too much fuel in there.
Not sure why, but the iso canisters when overfilled can have sub optimal flames.
Some tips on reducing the chance of overfilling from my experience.

Do not put in freezer overnight. I usually do 30 min max. Use same freezer (fridge/freezer is 0 degrees, solo freezer is -10 at my house). Some will argue that it shouldn’t matter, but I’ve noticed problems when I change things up. Also, do not partially fill, then freeze again to refill. Did that once and had everyone overfill (16oz propane)

Weigh and mark you weight of the full canister. THis is a hard one because you need to remember this before you use it. If you remember, this will give you confidence that you didnt overfill it. I’ve also weighed multiple new canisters and they do vary a small amount. Yes, I admit this is a little OCD.

Don’t try or worry about getting it filled to max capacity. If I really want a full canister, I buy one. I usually run into the issue with 1/4 full canisters and don‘t want to pack two. 3/4 full usually works great for trips.

16oz propane bottles. When filling these, use the little pressure relief valve when filling. If using that, you really don‘t have to freeze them. There is a YouTube on this that shows it better than I can explain.

 

[Mike Islander]

For those who are worried about pressure, how could one tin can hold and then transfer enough pressure to make the other explode? No way. There’s just no physical way. No pump mechanism, no added pressure, just gravity and available space. There won’t be any more pressure than was in the cans to begin with and any pressure that the bottom can can’t hold will just stay in the top one. The only risk is from filling with cold gas that will expand when it warms up. Relieving some pressure as the can returns to room temp would solve that problem but I bet it’s not necessary.

The small amount of gas in the vacant portion of the can will only expand to the point that the rest is liquid. It is the pressure in the can that keep most of the gas liquid in the first place. So the gas volume cannot exceed the volume of the empty space, and the pressure cannot go high enough from the gas to pop the can. In other words, the can is made strong enough to take the pressure that is required to keep almost all the gas in liquid form.

 

[Newtosavage]

What kind of sorcery is this ???

I love it. Thanks!

 

[NDGuy]

Allows the gases to cool. The temperature difference between the canisters is what causes the transfer from one to the other.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[MrMarc]

Cool find. I usually use partial cans for cooking at the truck. Coffee before a pack in etc. then take a full one in the pack.