My cheap camp stove melted itself on the second trip, be careful out there

Bought a $35 off-brand butane stove off Amazon last month, figured it'd be fine for a few weekend trips. First trip went okay, but last weekend on the Blue Ridge Parkway near milepost 340 the plastic gas control knob just warped and melted when I had the flame on medium for 10 minutes. Had to cold-soak my dinner in a ziploc bag and it was a total mess. Anyone else have a stove fail like this or am I just picking bad brands?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthony_lane553d ago

Totally feel your pain man. I had a similar meltdown with a $30 stove from Walmart, the knob literally turned into a sticky mess mid cook and I ended up eating cold beans out of the can. Learned my lesson hard too, those cheap ones just can't handle any real heat.

hollym126d ago

Yeah those cheap butane stoves with plastic parts are a fire hazard waiting to happen. I had one warp on me cooking bacon for 5 minutes and learned the hard way that the regulator knobs on those are made of cheap plastic that can't take any real heat. You want a stove with a metal knob and a brass valve if possible, anything under $40 is basically a disposable item that might melt at the worst time. Check the fuel canister too - some butane blends used in the cheap ones can cause the stove to run hotter than it's designed for.