Refilling Coleman Powermax Canisters

It's no hole-and-corner that I similar Coleman PowerMax gas canisters.  Note:  PowerMax canisters are called just evidently "Max" inward approximately locations exterior the US.

First, they're aluminum which agency they're quite light. The canister weight (tare weight) of a large 300g PowerMax canister is less than the canister weight of a small-scale 110g touchstone threaded canister.

An aluminum Coleman PowerMax canister connected to an Xtreme stove

Second, at to the lowest degree inward the U.S. market, PowerMax canisters conduct maintain the real best mutual depression temperature conditions gas mix available (35% propane/65% butane). Outside the US, I've seen Max canisters labeled 40% propane/60% butane which is amend still.  That gas mix when used inward liquid feed manner (as designed inward other words) tin run inward temperatures downward to -4F/-20C (per Coleman).

Unfortunately, PowerMax/Max didn't instruct far inward the marketplace place. Most people either didn't empathise the departure or weren't willing to commit to a proprietary, non-standard canister. Much similar superior BetaMax lost out to inferior VHS, PowerMax lost out touchstone threaded canisters.

For those of us amongst PowerMax appliances, what to do? Well, of course of report you lot tin purpose an adapter, but that's extra weight, extra bulk, together with extra fiddle. Wouldn't it endure dainty if you lot could exactly refill the PowerMax canisters? Of course of report it would. But how?

Well, I don't conduct maintain all the answers, but I conduct maintain a couplet of ideas that I sentiment I'd throw out at that spot together with come across where they go.

First a elementary idea. Take a Brunton Fuel Tool or the similar (Snow Peak together with Primus sell something similar).

A Brunton Fuel Tool

Attach it past times approximately agency to an appropriate fuel source.

A Brunton Fuel Tool attached to a donor 100% butane canister via an angled adapter

Then insert the fuel tool into the PowerMax canister.

A Brunton Fuel Tool inserted into a Coleman PowerMax canister

I've had practiced success amongst this technique amongst refilling Rando 360 cartridges.

CV360 cartridges refilled past times a Brunton Fuel Tool

Unfortunately, the aperture on a PowerMax canister is wider than on a Rando 360 cartridge.

The connexion on a Coleman PowerMax canister

This technique doesn't operate real good amongst the Brunton Fuel Tool "as is." However, if ane were to add together approximately "O" rings together with spacers (which I haven't tried yet), I retrieve this technique would operate good for refilling.

However, this would endure a fairly manually intensive technique. The Fuel Tool requires pressure level to liberate the internal valve. In other words, the valve of the Fuel Tool has to endure held inward house past times manus inward guild to transfer whatsoever fuel. With a 100% butane 50g Rando 360 cartridge, this is no large deal. With a 300g PowerMax canister that requires ii dissimilar cistron gasses, this could endure a flake of a hurting inward the neck.

But perchance at that spot is approximately other way.

Let's accept a expect at a Coleman "X" stove. They're all fairly similar. In this case, I'll demonstrate a Coleman Xpert stove.

A Coleman Xpert Stove

Now banknote how the fuel employment comes inward from the right. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 nut affixes the fuel employment from the canister to the fuel employment of the burner.

I retrieve that if ane were to unscrew the nut shown inward the below photo

The nut shown to a higher house attaches the fuel employment from the canister to the burner

that ane could do an adapter that would affix to the underlying threads. In that way, nosotros could purpose the connexion of the stove itself to attach to a PowerMax canister. This would endure a non-destructive purpose of the components of one's stove.

Now at that spot are other candidate ways to connect to a PowerMax canister. 
1. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Kovea TKA-9504 type butane adapter affixes to a butane canister via a "cam together with fingers" arrangement similar to the way a PowerMax stove connexion affixes to a PowerMax canister. But alas the connexion on a PowerMax canister is equally good broad to tally into the adapter's opening. Even if it were to fit, the adapter has no pivot amongst which to depress the Lindal valve of a PowerMax Canister.

A butane adapter amongst a "cam together with fingers" connexion similar to a PowerMax stove connector

2. The base of operations of an MSR SuperFly stove clamps on to the neckband of a canister rather than screwing or otherwide attaching to the canister connexion itself. The "clamp" does tally on to the neckband of a PowerMax canister, but unfortunately, equally on a TKA-9504, the PowerMax canister's connexion is equally good broad to tally into the opening of a SuperFly's connector. You tin clamp on, but you lot can't instruct whatsoever gas to flow.

A SuperFly stove clamped to a PowerMax canister.  Unfortunately the connectors are incompatible together with no gas volition flow.

Neither of the to a higher house ii candidates for attaching to a PowerMax canister is actually suitable.

It seems to me that the best connexion for a PowerMax canister is the ane nosotros already have; the ane that came amongst the stove.

The "cam together with fingers" connexion of a Coleman PowerMax type stove

I don't conduct maintain the mechanism together with tooling to build an adapter that would connect to the cease of a PowerMax stove's fuel line, but I retrieve that's where a practiced solution to the employment of refilling PowerMax canisters lies. I promise mortal amongst the proper skills together with equipment tin brand purpose of the idea.

Note that PowerMax canisters are NOT designed to endure refilled.  Refilling a non-refillable canister similar a Coleman PowerMax canister inward inherently risky.  If you lot refill a PowerMax canister, you lot are doing something that was never intended to endure done to that canister, together with you lot do together with hence at your ain risk.  I won't endeavour to lay out all of the issues involved, but if you lot pick out to refill non-refillable canisters similar a PowerMax canister, you lot should read upwards on the issues involved, empathise the dangers, together with endure real methodical together with careful.  Please banknote that my surmise that refilling a PowerMax is possible does non hateful it's a practiced idea.

There you lot conduct maintain it; my thoughts at this juncture on refilling PowerMax canisters.

Thanks for joining me on approximately other Adventure inward Stoving,

HJ

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