I have been testing the new StormBreaker stove from Soto. It's quite a nice stove, but I had the strangest thing happen to me today. As I was driving to the trail head this morning before a hike, I smelled the distinct smell of gasoline. Un, oh, that's not good. I pulled over, and gasoline had spilled all over the trunk ("boot" in British Isles parlance) of the car. I don't mean a small bit of seepage from a fuel bottle with a slightly loose pump. I mean soaked. About 2/3 of a liter. Not good. I assumed that I must have mis-threaded the cap. I checked. No, the pump was not only properly threaded, it was tightly closed. I tipped the bottle upside down, and fuel flowed out. The flow was slow to medium ... more than a fast drip, less than the pour from a tea pot, but a good amount of flow. What the heck? I used the stove just last weekend, and it had been fine. The Soto liquid fuel stoves are high pressure stoves. If the pump isn't holding air, you'll soon know it. I tried pumping it a couple of times, and ... it held air and the flow stopped. This is a bit of a head scratcher, but the best I can do is think that somehow the no return valve (NRV) "froze" open. Fuel came out profusely, and of the liter bottle of fuel (which had been full up to the fill line), I had a bit less than a 1/3rd left. I'm not sure what might cause this although it's possible that a "reverse" pressure differential may have caused it. I went from a location a bit higher in elevation and then went lower when I went back home. I had released all pressure before going home. When I arrived home, the pressure in the bottle would have been less than the surrounding air pressure. Perhaps the higher air pressure pushed open the NRV somehow just enough? I'm not really sure. I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts here. HJ
I don't know the answer to the question posed, but I do know that the photo you used is a cracking shot
Ah, thanks. I did a climb earlier this year of a 14,500 feet/4420 meter peak, Mt Whitney, which is the highest point in the contiguous states of the US. It's nothing compared to what they have in Asia, but I can't climb any of those whereas I can climb this one. This shot was taken at Consultation Lake at 11,680 feet/3560 meters elevation. The lake, if you look closely, was still mostly frozen. Behind the lake is graceful Arc Pass. Lovely trip, and the stove performed flawlessly, but I ran on canister gas the entire time. As I think about it, the stove has never had a problem while in actual operation. The only problem I've had is this oddball fuel leak issue. I know that @presscall has taken these pumps apart before. Perhaps he will have some insight. HJ P.S. @hikerduane may be interested to know that I can now upload photos. It seemed that I could not the other day, although it may have just been me. To that end, a summit shot. I apologize for the scruffiness, but this was four days in to the trip.
CCS allows image uploading of files up to 9 Mb. However, the number of pixels must be less than 30,000,000 - i.e. 5477 x 5477
My initial thoughts would go along with yours as the NRV being the culprits coupled with the change in air pressure. But the fundamental problem may be the spring strength rather than being a bit 'sticky' although I wouldn't discount it. A very weak spring would open up the valve wrong way given sufficient atmospheric pressure against the lower pressure in tank, but the spring would close again once equalised. This would suggest it continued to equalise as you dropped elevation even with the corresponding small changes in differential pressure it continued to reopen. It can't be an unknown issue with fuel containers given the amount of climbing that has been undertaken since liquids fueled stoves have been in existence.
Ooooooops! I wasted a lot of time reducing pictures size!!!! In future my photos will has hight quality!
This is a new feature of the new version. I do not see this stove on the website. It must be in development.
@snwcmpr, the StormBreaker is in production in Japan, but not available yet in the US. I believe the stove I have is a production version. All of the manuals and such look like final versions (all in Japanese) and not provisional versions. One "wrench" was a little loose, but otherwise everything was very polished and well put together which to me bespeaks a production version, not a prototype or pre-production version. HJ
HERE’s a link to the manual. Well hello Jim! Long time no hear from you here on CCS. The Stormbreaker’s a stove I’d like to try out. I’d supposed it hadn’t gone on sale in Japan, since there’s been enormous slippage in the original intention to sell it there then in the States. Now I know it’s around I may just get my son in Tokyo to get hold of one for me ... So good to hear from you Jim. A grand adventure up that mountain! John
Hi, John, Yes, I've been away too long. Job situation is good but demanding. Most technically interesting job I've had, but it's quite different working in the financial sector than working for a public utility as I was before. At the public utility, everyone went home at 5:00 P.M. Not so at my current job, which, interestingly, is headquartered in London, so I'm working with a lot of people from the UK, particularly those in upper management (when I have occasion to breath such rarified air). For those suffering from insomnia, here's a link to my technical paper I wrote based on my recent work: https://www.lexjansen.com/cgi-bin/xsl_transform.php?x=wuss2018#WUSS2018-st018 (it's the first paper at that link by some guy named "Jim"). Re the StormBreaker, there was a deliberately phased in plan to introduce the StormBreaker, first in Japan, and then internationally. The StormBreaker is supposed to be introduced here in the US some time this fall, but I still haven't heard a firm date. It's quite a nice stove, with very precise flame control when using canister gas. Here are some eggs I prepared at camp (car camping, not wild camping) when my brother was out for a visit. Done to perfection. Being an inverted-capable canister stove (as you can see in the photo above), I had no trouble from the cold when running the stove. I think you can see the ice floating on the lake behind the stove in this photo. This was actually about 20 or 30 meters south of our camp, but I think you'll agree that the lake makes a nice back drop. However, the temperature didn't vary much in that 20 meters. It was really quite cold at night. I must say, negotiating snow fields at high elevation (4000+ meters) is a bit of a chore. The views, however, from such heights are nothing short of spectacular. Here, I'm looking WSW into the heart of the Sierra Nevada. We had camped down below those lakes that you see the prior evening. I've had the stove now since May, so I've been able to put the stove through the entire typical American "peak season" of hiking (Memorial Day in May to Labor Day in September). I've gotten a good feel for the stove, and I think it's a winner. Here's a shot at a much lower elevation (about 1200 meters) taken on the stove's inaugural trip (well, at least with me) on my annual backpacking trip with my daughter. Speaking of my daughter, if I may play the proud papa for a moment, she's turned out to be quite a strong hiker. Here's a photo of her well above 3000 meters in the San Jacinto Mountains. I've taken her on ascent stretches with over 1500 meters gain, and she's done very well. Yes, I'm quite proud of her. HJ
Morning, HJ, Excellent photos, and stunning views! It's been years since SB and I have been in the deep Sierra, and we miss it very much! The stove looks good, too. Interesting how it's being "marketed". I may have missed it here, but do you know the supposed final price for this puppy? Thanks, for sharing, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Thank you, @SGL70 and @Ed Winskill. It is indeed a beautiful area. Half the fun is getting to Mt. Whitney, which we did over 4 very enjoyable days. Here is a photo as we descended from Guyot Pass into the Lower Crabtree Meadow area which is the area where one leaves the Pacific Crest Trail (the major artery in the area) to head east to Mt. Whitney. We made camp in Lower Crabtree, a beautiful area. The following day, we headed up canyon, away from the PCT toward Mt. Whitney. Finally arriving at Guitar Lake, the traditional jump off point for Mt. Whitney from the west. It's quite a mystery why they call it Guitar Lake, don't you think? @Doc Mark, I haven't seen a price yet. I expect it will not be a cheap stove. It's the successor to the Muka but with some improvements and of course the ability to burn canister gas now if one so desires. I'll post an update if I get further info. HJ
hi everyone, so im trying to get a hold of a SOTO StormBreaker here in Canada but can only find it online in the US and Japan. Does anyone know if the SOD-372 and the OD-1STC are actually the same manufacture codes. I want to order one and afraid that the OD-1STC is a prototype.. Thanks!
@Danimoose SOD-372 is the designation in the (Japanese) instruction manual, a copy of which is HERE. What’s your source for the other code? An OD-1R is a canister-top stove so it seems unlikely that the OD-1STC is a remote-fuel type. I guess? I just now answered my own question, finding THIS supplier reference. Looks like the same stove. Odd. Maybe ask the supplier why the different code? Gets more odd - Soto’s website in English refers to the Stormbreaker as an OD-1ST. Maybe a different code for the same stove in Japan from the rest of the world. SOD as a prefix isn’t too flattering a term in English. John
