What's 1 of the most enduring designs of gas stoves? The Hank Roberts mini stove. It's compact blueprint genuinely makes it a pocket stove. I typically ship mine inwards a Ziploc sandwich bag, in addition to it actually does agree inwards my shirt pocket.
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| A Hank Roberts Mini Stove |
The stove was designed inwards the tardily 1960's -- the tardily 1960's for crying out loud -- but withal has a loyal next today. The stove was made past times EFI in addition to marketed nether a multifariousness of names, the most good known of which were in all likelihood the Hank Roberts stove in addition to the Gerry stove.
Now, if nosotros were to carve upwards the 2 halves of the "clamshell" that forms the stove, what mightiness nosotros uncovering inside?
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| Inside the "clamshell" is the burner caput in addition to the valve assembly. |
Cleverly tucked within is a burner in addition to valve assembly. I've added a distich of napkins to foreclose rattling, but the napkins are non strictly necessary. The smaller, longer threaded slice (dark colored) seen to a higher house screws into the top one-half of the clamshell, forming a stand. The bottom one-half of the clamshell slips over the wider shorter threads (silver colored) to shape a windshield/pot stand. The burner in addition to then screws inwards house over the top in addition to holds the air current screen/pot stand upwards inwards place.
When assembled, the stove looks something similar this:
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| An assembled Hank Roberts Stove |
A few months ago, I published a spider web log postal service on how to purpose
the Hank Roberts stove with an adapter that volition allow you lot to purpose a modern threaded gas canister.
Today, I idea I'd larn fully retro in addition to present you lot how to purpose 1 of the master type canisters.
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| A canister of the type used past times a Hank Roberts stove. This detail canister is an Optimus 702 canister. |
Canisters of this type were marketed nether a multifariousness of brands including Optimus, Hank Roberts, Prepo, Thermos, in addition to Coleman. There were were some tike variations alongside the diverse brands, but most had a safe plumbing fixtures typically referred to every bit a "rosebud" that looked something similar this:
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| The "rosebud" on a canister of the type used past times a Hank Roberts stove. |
The canisters of the type used past times a Hank Roberts stove were used past times a multifariousness of stoves dorsum inwards the day. The canister I'm showing hither is an Optimus 702 canister which was intended for the Optimus 731 "Mousetrap" stove.
These canisters all contained 100% butane. Butane is a fairly slowly gas to travel with inwards that it has a fairly moderate vapor pressure. Gasses similar propane require much heavier canisters in addition to fittings because propane has a much higher vapor pressure. Of course, the 1 work with butane is that butane doesn't travel real good inwards mutual depression temperature weather. Butane vaporizes at 31F/-0.5C (at bounding main level), which isn't all that cold, particularly for "shoulder season" (early spring, tardily fall) or wintertime hikes. Add to that the fact that canisters typically larn colder every bit you lot purpose them, in addition to you lot shortly realize that 100% butane typically needs weather condition to a higher house 50F/10C to actually travel well. 50F/10C? That's pretty limiting.
But non the Hank Roberts. You run across the canister had a real special feature. The canister when used with a Hank Roberts stove lay on its side. Inside the canister was a wick, a wick that would behaviour
liquefied butane to the burner. Then the rut of the burner would plough the liquid butane into a vapor which tin live on burned past times the stove. Gas stoves practise non travel properly when the fuel is withal liquid.
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| A gas canister attached to a Hank Roberts stove. Note how the canister lies on its side. |
Since the fuel is fed inwards every bit a liquid, all you lot actually demand is simply a smidge of vapor pull per unit of measurement area to larn the liquid to wick into the valve assembly of the stove. Whereas modern vapor feed canisters require that the fuel live on at most 10 Fahrenheit degrees to a higher house the vaporization betoken of the fuel (about five Celsius degrees) for in that location to live on plenty pressure, a Hank Roberts stove tin operate when the fuel's temperature is solely a few degrees to a higher house the vaporization point. And, since the fuel feed is inwards liquid form, you lot don't larn the same grade of canister chilling that you lot larn with vapor feed.
Of course, there's simply 1 itsy bitsy picayune problem. The burner assembly isn't hot when you lot rootage sack upwards the stove. Since the burner assembly isn't hot, the fuel doesn't larn fully vaporized, in addition to your stove volition flare until it warms up.
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| A mutual depression temperature Hank Roberts stove flaring on start up. |
The flim-flam with a Hank Roberts stove is to plough the gas downwardly depression at rootage in addition to allow the stove warm upwards earlier you lot plough the gas up. On a mutual depression temperature day, it tin accept some fourth dimension for the stove to warm up. One has to live on real patient when starting the stove on a mutual depression temperature day. On the 24-hour interval these photos were taken, it was mutual depression temperature in addition to gray, in addition to a hail tempest passed through. It was quite chilly, in addition to it took several minutes for the real mutual depression temperature stove to warm upwards plenty to fully vaporize the fuel.
But warm upwards it did, in addition to the yellowish flames every bit seen to a higher house chop-chop settled downwardly to overnice well-behaved bluish flames.
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| Blue flames from a fully warmed upwards Hank Roberts stove |
Now, let's dorsum upwards a minute. Modern canisters are threaded. How practise Hank Roberts type canisters work?
Well, if you'll call back from the photograph where I showed the interior of the clamshell, our burner assembly has a "needle" on it.
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| Note the needle on the correct manus side of this photograph of the Hank Roberts stove's valve assembly |
That needle plant much similar the needle used to heart air into a basketball, soccer ball, or football. On a ball, the needle is pushed into a "rosebud" similar plumbing fixtures on the ball to live on inflated. Once connected, air is transferred from a heart to the ball. On a Hank Roberts stove, the needle is pushed into the "rosebud" on the canister until the rosebud pushes upwards against the base of operations slice of the needle.
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| A Hank Roberts stove with the needle fully inserted into a canister |
When fully inserted, the needle depresses a valve, allowing liquid butane to catamenia into the stove. Nowdays, canisters typically receive got valves, but the Hank Roberts type canisters with valves were a existent excogitation for their day.
Well, instantly that we're all hooked upwards in addition to warmed up, we'd improve seat the kettle on to boil instantly hadn't we? A loving cup of hot tea on a gray 24-hour interval is simply what the doc ordered!
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| A kettle fresh dunked inwards the stream, fix to boil on a Hank Roberts stove |
The Hank Roberts Stove is my absolute favorite out of all my onetime gas stoves. I highly recommend them if you lot tin uncovering 1 on eBay or a garage sale or something in addition to tin find either some onetime canisters or larn an adapter to run the stove on modern canisters.
The Hank Roberts Stove: Highly Recommended.
Thanks for joining me on some other Adventure inwards Stoving,
HJ
Technical Appendix
Hank Roberts Mini Stove, Mark III
Weight 209g/7.37oz
Hank Roberts Stove -- Related Posts
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