Primus Micronlanters

“Has anybody heard of any problems using other fuel brands (MSR, SnowPeak) with the Priums Micronlantern? The owner's manual states, "This appliance shall be used exclusively with Priums cartridges 2202 and 2207...It may be hazardous to attempt to fit other types of gas cartriges." I'm assuming they mean don't try to hook it up to your GrillMaster in the back yard -- but should I be concerned about the fuel mix? The Primus canisters were about twice as much (~$7)as a comparable-sized Snow Peak canister (~$3) at LL Bean.”

“This is an interesting topic for me.

Primus gas is 75% butane/25% propane.

Snow Peak uses a mix of butane, propane, and isobutane. It’s close to 75% butane and 25% propane if I recall (“standard”) but I know they mix a little isobutane in as well… that way they can call it “a proprietary blend”. I fail to see why you would have a problem using this gas in your lantern. It’s basically the same as the Primus gas and the isobutane should make the lantern work better on the final “dregs” from the canister.

Obviously the choice is yours. I can say this much: If it were up to me I would do it. I hate product manuals that say stuff like that. It’s your call, however. I would call Primus if you are really worried about it.

I fail to see why there would be any difference at temps above 40 degrees. All the canisters should perform well at or above this temperature.

Propane is the best gas for cold weather since it’s not a liquid until something like 10 below zero. So you will get the best performance from propane in cold weather. That said, it requires a heavier canister so for backpacking in temperatures and altitudes that are not extreme this is a disadvantage.

Butane works well for warmer weather and requires minimal packaging (you can see the stuff in plastic lighters). It will perform above 40 degrees and in a pinch will work down to 20 if you keep the canister warm. This is my personal experience. Others may differ.

Isobutane is just a modified form of butane that is added to canisters to make them burn better as the can nears empty, so usually the amount of isobutane is small in most “blends”. I wouldn’t look at the isobutane content that closely and just treat it as butane.

Altitude is a significant factor as well, but I can’t speak to this.

I know Coleman uses 60:40 so it has the most propane of any I have seen. I haven’t checked the weight of the canisters, but these should work pretty well in cold weather.

That said, let me say one more thing…

This is my opinion. The "mixing" of fuels in canisters is a bit of a scam if you ask me. These fuels don't "blend" and propane is lighter and so it floats to the top of the canister. So the stove works great until all the propane in the "mix" is burnt and then you are left with the butane. So for the Coleman canisters I mentioned, you are going to get good cold-weather performance for 40% of the burn and then you are left with a lot of butane.

Like I said, above 40 degrees and moderate altitude much of this doesn’t matter. All of these gasses and any blend of them should work well.
last edited: 9/08/05 6:22:15 AM”

“Thanks for the info pitts...”

“I wonder if that's the same lantern we have?
Can you post a picture of it?

If it is, I think we've used other brands of fuel with no problem...”

“Oops, never mind, we have the "Easy light" lantern... :-)”

“The Primus stoves say the same thing too, but work fine with other cartridges.”

“i don't know - but

I'd bet that they say that to keep people (read idiots) from hooking the lantern up to their grill tank and blowing up the neighborhood. Stick with the little fuel canisters and you should be find.

My MSR aluminum fuel bottles say right on the bottle to use "only MSR fuel" in the bottle. But I put generic white gas in them and the bottoms didn't fall out or anything.

They are just promoting their own product.”

“I haven't heard that but I have heard Primus. I esspecially like their song Wynona's Big Brown Beaver

”

“Primus rocks!”

“Jerry was a race car driver......”

“Jerry was a race car driver
22 years old
Had too many cold beers one night
And wrapped himself around a telephone pole.

ROCKS”

“My name is Mud.....”

“We had our words, a common spat
So I kissed him upside the cranium with an aluminum baseball bat

They do NOT write lyrics like that anymore...”

“An awesome awesome bass player!”

“They do NOT write lyrics like that anymore pitts

some do...i like the bloodhound gang...they have some pretty cool lyrics

Life is hard like a body building elf,
So save the planet and kill yourself!”

“I'll check that out. Thx.”