The Kovea Camp 5 Remote Canister Stove

Introduction
If it's cold out and your remote canister stove has a generator (a pre-heat mechanism), then you can invert (turn upside down) the canister.  Inverting the canister means that you're sucking liquid off the bottom of the canister instead of sucking vapor off the top.  Now, liquid fuel goes to the burner where the heat of the flame vaporizes fuel.

If the heat of the flame is doing the vaporization, you're far less dependent on the weather.  In fact, all you need from the weather is just enough warmth to keep a little pressure in the canister, just enough pressure to get some liquefied gas to the burner where the heat of the flame will take care of the rest.

And that pressure should be pretty easy to come by.  Unlike upright operation, the propane content of your canister does not burn off faster.  With inverted operation (liquid feed gas), your gas mix -- and thus your canister pressure for a given outside temperature -- stays fairly constant.  As a practical matter, you can run your stove inverted in weather that's about 20F/10C colder than if your ran your stove upright.

Wow, gas in colder weather? All the simmering, none of the priming, how sweet is that?  Um, but what's the catch?

Well, the "catch" is that remote canister stoves that can handle inverted operation usually weigh two or three times what an upright stove weighs.  But we're making progress. Today, we feature a guest post by Geoff R from Australia.  Geoff reviews the Kovea Camp 5 (KB-1006).  The Camp 5 weighs 142g/5.5oz.  Which, while not as light as an upright stove, is a step in the right direction, particularly when you compare the Camp 5 to other remote canister stoves like the MSR WindPro (227g/8oz) and the Primus Express Spider (198g/7oz).

The selection of lightweight remote stoves in the US is pretty limited, so I am particularly happy to welcome Geoff's contribution to Adventures In Stoving.  So, without further ado, I turn things over to Geoff...

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Since I acquired my MSR Dragonfly in 1998, I have been a firm believer in liquid-fuelled stoves.  Partly that was because of the underwhelming performance of gas stoves I had used before that – such as the Bleuet 206, especially in the wind.  Gas stoves have however advanced a lot in the intervening 14 years.  Hence I decided to investigate getting a gas stove again to enjoy benefits such as lower weight and simplicity of use again.

My criteria were to find a second stove which would be useful when two stoves are required to cook a meal, for taking with on day walks when I just want a quick cuppa, or as a more lightweight solution for longer overnight walks.  After some research I decided to take the plunge and order the Kovea Camp 5.

The Camp 5 comes in a nifty-looking plastic container

  

The Camp 5, which weighs in at 156g/5.5oz, comes with a separate piezo-igniter and is packaged in a nifty-looking brown plastic container.  I initially struggled to pack the stove back into its container.  With practise, I have now worked out how to fit everything back together properly.  The separate igniter weighs in at 14g/0.49oz and the container weighs another 60g/2.12oz, bringing the total package to 230g/8.11oz.  While not the lightest stove on the market, it is still probably one of the lightest remote canister stoves, and is a featherweight compared a packed weight of 502g/17.71oz for my Dragonfly.

The Camp 5 comes with a separate piezo-igniter.  Editor's note:  The AA sized battery is shown for scale only.  The stove does not run on batteries!

While some may take issue with the separate igniter, I prefer not to have the igniter continually being cooked all the time while the stove is on.  Also, if it breaks, I won’t have a piece of ballast attached to the stove.  In addition to the stove itself, I also purchased an adaptor from Kovea to permit the use of cheap long butane cans with the stove, as a fuel source in warm weather.  (This kind of adaptor has already been reviewed in Butane Adapter WARNING.)  Editor's note:  One must be very careful with this type of adapter.  If the canister rolls, the stove can go into liquid feed mode unexpectedly.  However, since the Camp 5 has a generator/pre-heat mechanism, use of such an adapter should be fairly safe with this stove if reasonable care is exercised.  

Initial impressions

On unpacking the stove, the overall impression is that it feels quite solid for something that weighs only 156g/5.5oz.  The legs feel quite sturdy.  My only concern was with the pot supports, which look quite flimsy, and which rotate loosely on the ends of the arms coming out of the stove body.  I don’t think the pot supports would stand up to rough handling or very heavy cookware.

The pot supports rotate loosely on the ends of arms coming from the stove body

The stove legs and the arms which run up to the pot supports feel quite securely attached to the stove body, and are articulated together by sets of teeth which ensure that the legs and stove supports lock securely in position when the stove is unfolded.

The legs and stove support arms are articulated together by sets of teeth

Another feature, which was a major in my decision to choose the Camp 5, is the fact that it has a small generator tube.  Based on my initial research on the stove it is capable of running in liquid feed mode, with an inverted gas canister.  More on this later.  The canister hose itself feels very flexible, and it rotates freely at the point where it is attached to the stove.

The burner, visually appears to be the same as that on the Kovea Flame Tornado, which is widely believed to be the same stove as the MSR MicroRocket, bar some cosmetic changes.  (One of those cosmetic changes between the MicroRocket and Flame Tornado is the burner itself.)

In Action

The first impression on firing up the stove is that it seems more like a flame-thrower than a stove.  The flame is very concentrated.  This does raise some questions about its ability to cook omelettes!

The first impression on firing the stove up is more flame-thrower than stove

After getting the stove running, one of the first tests I performed, with both a butane can and a propane-butane-isobutane mix was to invert the canister.  All the documentation I received with the stove was in Korean, so I have no idea whether inverted canister operation is officially sanctioned by Kovea.  Try this yourself at your own risk.

It is definitely advisable to turn the stove right down before inverting the canister.  The rate of fuel delivery does increase considerably on inverting the canister, especially with a propane/butane mix.  Apart from the fact that you need to be cautious of the much higher flame output, I had no issues with inverted canister operation.  I was not able to turn the valve open all the way, since the stove quickly got to a point where it could no longer suck in enough air for the amount of gas being delivered.

Inverted canister operation was no problem apart from the much higher output

Kovea seems to have erred on the conservative side when stating that the time taken to boil 1l of water is 30m30s.  During my tests, I was able to achieve a good deal less than this using a full 230g canister of propane/butane/isobutane mix from Primus.  I used the Dragonfly as a control to compare with a relatively well-known stove.

Stove	Fuel	Feed	Boil time	Fuel used
Camp 5	Butane	Vapour	4:36	16g
Camp 5	Butane	Liquid	3:47	16g
Camp 5	Propane/Butane	Vapour	3:19	14g
Camp 5	Propane/Butane	Liquid	3:18	18g
Dragonfly	Shellite	n/a	3:54	22g

Editor's note:  "Shellite" is a brand of white gas available in Australia.  Shellite is similar to Coleman Fuel.

It would appear that with a propane/butane mix, in liquid feed mode, the stove is no longer operating efficiently.  Turning the stove down a little would probably help on the efficiency front.  While I did not perform enough tests to build a statistically relevant sample, it appears that butane may be a little less efficient than a propane/butane mix.  The time quoted for the Dragonfly only includes the time from the point when the stove had reached full output and the billy of water was put on it, until the time when the water boiled.  The fuel used by the Dragonfly includes the fuel used for priming.  This test once again verifies the fact that gas stoves use less fuel than liquid-fuelled stoves.

The tests were performed at an ambient temperature of 22°C/72°F and 24°C/75°F at an altitude of approximately 7m/23ft above sea level.

Getting Out

Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get out on the trail with the Camp 5 yet, so a few tests on the gravel path in the back yard would have to do.  The small feet of the stove do have a tendency to bury themselves in a loose or soft surface.   That is however a problem I would expect any stove with small feet to have.  I didn’t have the expectation for this stove to have the same level of stability as the Dragonfly anyhow.

The feet of the Camp 5 have a tendency to bury themselves in loose gravel

While I was outside there was a nice sea breeze blowing.  The breeze was “nice” enough to blow over a potted yellowwood tree, which I have in the most sheltered corner of my back yard.  A windshield was definitely advisable under these conditions.  With the windshield, cut from a piece of aluminium flashing, in place I was still able to turn the gas right down to a low simmer.  As I turned the gas down, however, the circle of bubbles on the base of the billy became smaller and smaller – an indication that this stove may not be good at evenly cooking your simmering bolognaise.

Conclusion

I’m looking forward to getting out into the bush with this little stove.  I would hardly say it is perfect, but so far it is pretty much living up to my expectations.  I believe that every stove is a compromise of some sort.  For my purposes, I think the Camp 5 will be the right one.  It still isn’t without its disadvantages though.  In summary, here is a short list of the  Camp 5’s pros and cons from my point of view:

Pros:

·      Light weight (for a remote canister stove)

·      Ability to use cheap butane cans with an adapter

·      High power output

·      Ability to turn output down to a light simmer

·      Overall build quality feels solid

·      Generator tube makes it possible to operate the stove in liquid feed mode (I am not sure if this is officially sanctioned by Kovea.)

Cons:

·      Flimsy-looking pot supports

·      Very concentrated flame – possibly not great for simmering

·      Difficult to get the stove back into its container

·      Small feet bury themselves in loose or soft substrates

Note: I do not have any affiliation to Kovea.  All images in this post are © GM Rehmet 2012 and have been licensed to Adventures in Stoving.  No images may be reproduced without permission.  For licensing details, please refer to http://www.rehmet.alt.za/copyright/

A big thank you to Geoff for his contribution to Adventures In Stoving!

HJ


Other Kovea Related Posts
Kovea MoonWalker vs. MSR WindPro II -- Packability

Stove of the Week: Hank Roberts Mini Stove, Mark III

I happen to like my old Hank Roberts stove, a stove that dates back to the 1960's. It's in very nice condition. I have the Mark III version.

So compact! And inside, the original accoutrements that came with the package.

Unfortunately, it's been some years since either the stove or its proprietary fuel canisters have been produced (see The Hank Roberts Stove -- With a Proper Canister for information on and photos of the original canister type).  Therefore, to the original contents, I add a few "essentials," all of which are easily contained within the outer shell of the stove.

Now, you probably recognize the Bic type lighter, but what of the other items?

Well, let's take a look.

The silver colored cylinder is an adapter made by Henrik from Denmark who I met on an internet forum.  Unfortunately, I've lost touch with Henrik.  :(

The hose is a spare gas hose to a Chinese made stove that I bought on eBay. The hose screws into the threaded end of the adapter, like so:

Now, let's take a look at the stove itself. That little discus you saw earlier? Here's what it looks like assembled. Pure genius.

Here's the valve assembly.

Do you see that brass "needle" to the right? That needle fits into a "rosebud" on a proprietary canister. Such canisters are alas no longer made.

Here's where Henrik's adapter comes in.

 The adapter slips over the needle.

And voila! here we are ready to cook.

Did someone say "cook?" Now, where would we be without some flame shots?

A very nice, efficient blue flame.

The Hank Roberts Mini Stove (Mark III) really has a good strong flame.

The original proprietary canisters contained a wick. The wick conducted liquefied gas into the burner. Liquid did you say? Why then we ought to be able to invert the canister and be able to run the stove in liquid feed mode. Indeed, we can do just that.

Be sure to let the stove warm up before inverting the canister. If you don't let the stove warm up a bit first, the stove will flare.  Running a gas stove in liquid feed mode allows one to operate a gas stove in much colder temperatures than in conventional upright (vapor feed) mode.

As they say, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating," so it's time for the "tea test."  Handily passed.

And if tea test, then tea.

Delicious, I assure you.

I thank you all for joining me on another Adventure In Stoving,

HJ

The Hank Roberts Mini Stove (Mark III version)
What's good about it?
Compact
Capable of operation in colder weather than conventional (upright) gas stoves
Highly adjustable flame
Good, strong flame
Stable because of nice wide base
Good pot stability because of well designed windscreen/pot support
Some wind protection from windscreen (it really needs a separate windscreen in a stronger wind)

What's bad about it?
Canisters are no longer available (but can be operated with an adapter, if you can get one)
A little heavy (about 8 oz) by modern gas stove standards
No longer available in stores (but available on eBay and such)

Hank Roberts Mini Stove:  Highly Recommended (considering its era).


Hank Roberts Stove -- Related Blog Posts

• The Hank Roberts Stove -- With a Proper Canister
• Stove of the Week:  Hank Roberts Mini Stove, Mark III

Stove of the Week: MSR WindPro

Stove of the Week: MSR WindPro

This week's stove is the MSR WindPro.


The WindPro is a remote canister stove, meaning that the stove uses a canister of gas that is attached to the stove via fuel hose rather than being directly attached to the stove.  Here you can see the stove and the gas canister as well as the fuel hose that connects them.


What's that you say?  You think the WindPro looks just like last week's stove, the Simmerlite?  Well you're right about that (Simmerlite, top; WindPro, bottom).


But take a look at the connectors.  That's what distinguishes the two.  The Simmerlite runs on white gasoline, a liquid fuel, and the WindPro runs on canister gas.


So, what's the big deal about it being a remote canister stove?  Well, on the more common upright type of canister stove, the burner mounts directly on the canister.  In other words, you have a very hot flame very close to a very flammable gas.  If you use a windscreen around the burner, you will deflect heat toward and trap heat around the canister.  Heat + flammable gas = bad.  Very bad.  Generally it's not a good idea to use a windscreen with an upright type canister stove unless a) you really know what you're doing and b) are extremely diligent about constantly monitoring the temperature of the tank via the "ouch" test (if the canister is hot enough to make you say "ouch," that's WAY too hot; TURN IT OFF IMMEDIATELY).  If you don't have a wind screen around your stove, on a windy day you could quite literally go through an entire tank of gas without ever bringing a pot of water to boil.  

Enter the remote canister stove.  If you put a windscreen around the burner, the canister, which is some distance away, will not be affected.  In fact, since the windscreen is between the canister and the flame, it's not only OK to use a windscreen, it's actually safer to operate the stove with a windscreen.  A windscreen not only makes your stove more efficient it also protects the canister.

Note in this photo how the windscreen sits between the canister and the burner, protecting the flame AND protecting the canister.


Add to that the fact that remote canister stoves have a much lower center of gravity and tend to be much more stable.  Particularly with a larger pot on top of a small canister stove, the arrangement can be quite "tippy," and your dinner may wind up spilled.

So, why doesn't everyone just use a remote canister stove?  I mean who wants to waste gas that they've just packed up a mountainside or risk spilling their dinner?  Well, first there's the up front cost.  Remote canister stoves can often be double the price of upright canister stoves.  Second, there's the weight.  An upright canister stove uses the canister itself for support; it has no legs.  Also, an upright canister has no hose.  The hose and legs of a remote canister stove all add weight.  Upright canister stoves are typically much lighter than remote canister stoves.  Then lastly there's compactness.  The legs and hose of a remote canister stove take up space.

In short, as in much of life, which stove is the better stove is a series of trade offs.  Which stove is the better stove for a given individual or a given use depends largely on the style of that individual, the conditions (wind, weather, elevation, etc.), and on the way in which the stove will be used.

For larger groups (and therefore for larger pots), the more stable remote canister stove is the better choice.
For areas prone to wind, a remote canister stove is the better choice.
For smaller groups or soloists, an upright canister stove will work just fine.
For those on a budget, the upright canister stove is the logical choice.
For fair weather, why not just take a lightweight upright canister stove?  Why carry more than you need?

But before you make your decision, there's yet another advantage to a remote canister stove, a big advantage: liquid feed mode.  First, let me be clear:  Not all remote canister stoves can operate in liquid feed mode.  In order to function properly and safely, a gas stove must have vaporized gas (not liquefied gas like the gas in the canister).  In liquid feed mode, to turn the liquefied gas in the canister into vaporized gas, a stove must have a generator (aka a "pre heat loop").  The generator is an area where liquefied gas is exposed to high heat such that the liquefied gas vaporizes (turns from a liquid into a gas).  If your remote canister stove does not have a generator, do not attempt to feed it liquefied gas.

How do I know if my stove has a generator?  Take a look at this photo.

Note the silver colored tube that proceeds from the left side of the burner around the front of the burner and up the right hand side of the burner.  This is the generator.   
Now, take at look at the top left side of the burner in the above photo.   If you look closely, you can see the generator, and you can see that the flames from the burner are actually hitting the generator.  Needless to say, the liquefied gas flowing through the generator is being exposed to high heat and does vaporize.

Well, that's very nice, but why should I care that I can use liquid feed mode?  Answer:  Cold weather.  Your stove needs vaporized gas.  In cold weather, gas doesn't vaporize properly.  In liquid feed mode you rely not on the weather but on the flame to vaporize your gas.  In other words, you can get the vaporized gas your stove needs even in weather that is quite cold.  Depending on the design of your stove, you may be able to operate your stove in liquid feed mode in temperatures down to -10F/-23C.  By contrast, an upright canister stove isn't much good in temperatures lower than 20F/-6C.  

Well, this liquid feed mode sounds very interesting, but as a practical matter, how do I go about it?  Well, you invert (turn upside down) the canister.  After inversion, the valve is at the bottom of the canister, and the pressure in the canister forces liquefied gas out the bottom of the canister.  Before you start, it's best to put something heavy (like a pot of water) on the stove so the stove won't tip over as you invert the canister.  The recommended way to use a stove in inverted canister mode is to start the stove in normal mode, let the stove get hot, turn down the flame to low, and then invert the canister, keeping the canister low the entire time.  The stove will surge a bit when you invert the canister because of the physics of a liquid turning rapidly to gas.  Keeping the canister low and turning the flame down low help keep the surge to a minimum.  Leaning the canister against something will keep the canister inverted (see photo).


Now, here's our WindPro, happily chugging away in inverted canister mode, and, as you can clearly see, she has handily passed the "tea test."


Ah!  I see that breakfast is served, so you'll have to excuse me.



I thank you for joining me on another adventure in stoving.

HJ

Some summary information:

What's good about it?
For a remote canister stove, it is light and compact.
It has a generator (pre heat loop) so it can be used in inverted canister liquid feed mode.
The fuel hose is long and flexible which facilitates using the stove in inverted canister liquid feed mode.
It's perfectly safe with a wind screen.
In liquid feed mode, it will work well in low temperatures, perhaps even subzero temperatures.  Note:  I'm not trying to be wishy-washy.  I just haven't done the field testing needed for me to feel confident in proclaming this a viable option in subzero weather.  
It's a canister stove.  Gas is really convenient.

What's bad about it?
The WindPro uses relatively heavy steel canisters.  Lighter canisters like the Powermax canister are available.
As with all canister stoves, you have the problem of what to do with empty canisters.  In some places there are some recycling programs, but recycling is not environmentally free.  There is some cost to the environment for delivering gas in convenient little canisters.
Inverted canister mode is a little "fiddly."  There are other gas stoves specifically designed for liquid feed mode that you don't have to fiddle with as much.
The pot supports are a little slidey.  They could be a little more grippy.

Overall, the MSR WindPro is a good light weight winter capable stove.