@Retro Camper created a very interesting post . I could have posted this there but that post could very nicely carry on re the book, stoves used, stove use on climbing expeditions, the late Peter Boardman himself 1950-82 (last seen @ 8,250m on an Everest climb) etc. etc. In his post, Retro said "It sounds to me like he has a problem with a 96.." that is my focus with this post, I feel as though given the text cut from book, his exploding stove is a mystery? We have a section for "mystery stoves" but that is for a stoves (image) when the make & model is a mystery (once solved stove images can move to it's category). From what I see, this is a stove mystery w/o images. SO, Retro is thinking a No.96. I think it's a mystery and I wonder if there's another stove that might better fit the bill? OR does the colorful description for the book drift from facts? Could a kero brassie even explode (and quite quickly)? Below is the text re the stove [and my comments]: "It was a small primus stove which we had bought especially for the expedition..." [it may have been his 1976 accent? link , he may be using "primus stove" as a general term?, they may have purchased a used stove for climbing expedition but a new one comes to mind, optimus / PTC Primus 96 production may have ended in 1969 credit Bryan ] "At dusk ... I decided to light the primus stove and make myself a mug of tea, hoping the flame and purr of the stove would dispel the sense of loneliness". It was a small primus stove which we ...had used constantly at Advance Camp and Camp One. As usual, I put some solid fuel on the preheating cup and lit it, closed the valve, gave it a couple of pumps, put a pan of water on top and waited for it to light. ... I heard a bubbling, rasping noise ... It was the stove, behaving rather erratically: little blue flames were coming out of the point where the top unit is screwed into the bowl. Then a swirl of flame started to come out of the safety valve and pump. 'I’d better leave it outside' I thought and put it on the grass ... flames started to lap all around the stove, gaining size rhythmically as if fanned by bellows. 'That’s getting a bit too dramatic,’ I thought. ‘I’d better kick it farther away.’ I started to get up. There was a flash and the air was filled with flame". [lil stove exploded, white gas more likely than kero?] "When I came to, I didn’t know where I was ... I had been blown back into the back of the tent which had collapsed on me. ... I was not seriously injured. ‘How ironic,’ I thought ..., ‘to have climbed Changabang and then to have nearly been killed by an exploding stove at Base Camp’. All that remained of the stove was the mangled, steaming, wreckage of its base. The top part, pump, legs and panful of water had been blown into the night. [seems to me he's saying he had uneventful use of this pack stove during this climb and it purred when lit, it had legs (pot supports), priming cup, safety valve and pump. "*Top part" may indicate a burner atop an integral tank. It may have been a collapsible. ] *top part (legs, burner, pump) blown-away leaving wreckage of it's base. I can not envision such a top part nor "it's base"? The stove: I don't know what to make of it, for me, it's a mystery. The man: I know little about beyond wiki and him being an impressive British mountaineer whose life was cut short on Everest. thx omc
Hi OMC There is a small, obscured view of the stove in a photo in the book, which I will try and post.
@OMC One more clue: she had safety valve. Does any paraffin Primus had "safety valve"? Or he meant NRV? A real puzzle Cheers Enrique
This part sounds like a kerosene stove. Rest of the history sounds like there was something else than kerosene in the tank. I have never seen Primus or Optimus stoves with both pressure release valve and safety valve. But Manaslu 121 and 126 have this combination, I have no idea how long Manaslu have made them this way.
I have seen a stove explode in a similar fashion It was I think a Primus 71 I was still at school so it was a long time ago. I cant see any doubt the fuel was a gasoline of some sort but the stove could be a mystery. A 123 with mini pump would fit the bill if it wasnt for the legs.
Here's the picture. Not much help apart from the fact it looks like a traditional kero pressure stove (possibly a folding leg):
Retro, thanks for posting the image. all, I am now questioning the story (because I'm stumped? ). A. Seeing the heavy glass bottle in the foreground, is the stove in the pic maybe the stove that was left at base camp ("by the Italians")? In hindsight, I also think I am mistaken and maybe this problem stove might also be a base camp stove? (vs pack stove). That said I've not had any idea for any 1 burner pressure stove that might fit his story. B. In my 40 years not shying away from repairing things involving gaseous fuels under pressure, I've seen plenty afire. That said I did just have to google gasoline can exploding, as in ka-boom (I've not seen myself). 3 times I've had wake-up calls w/what is referred to as a fireball, a couple were later described as "it blew up in his face"... but for me thankfully nothing "blew up", hair was afire and end up red face, embarrassed or not. Years ago my buddy was engulfed in fairly large natural gas fireball. I saw him jump backwards. To this day he'll describe, what he believes, that the explosion knocked him backwards across the room (no ka-boom, no blast damage to the room). It was instinct / adrenaline / his legs... launched him backwards. Boardman book tells a story. I wonder if he may have instinctively jumped back from a fireball? What he describes, would have went ka-boom, no mention of his ears which is typically part of such recollections. I wonder too about a stove explodes so soon-after lighting? The stove "was" in his tent porch (sleeping quarters), it would be easier to envision if he admitted he had dozed-off waiting for pot to boil and woke up to overheated stove on fire (that got worse when he moved it). There is no getting around, as the story goes, if a camp stove exploded, blew apart, then I'm stumped. thanks omc
Agree with much of the above, but it is very difficult to work out precise sequence of events in a small section of the book which pricipally concerned an exploding stove, the detail that is included is secondary to the telling of the accident itself. Timelines will be compdessed and memory will fade on exact details as well by the time he writes the book. My impression at the moment is he was either very unfamiliar with the stove, and being on his own followed waht he thought was the lighting procedure he had seen others doing. Or overly familiar and was rushing a bit. If he had lit the priming blocks, closed the valve and then pumped he would have certainly got liquid paraffin out of the vapouriser. He then proceded to leave it alone. An unspecicied amount of time later he finds flames apparently escaping from the base of the vapouriser, possibly not tightened enough, and from what he describes as the safety valve. Has he misnamed the air screw as he's unfamiliar with the stove. Without knowing how long the stove has been overheating for, possible to solder softening point, a swift kick with heavy boot then knocks the fount apart resulting in the explosion.
As written he intended to kick the stove out of the way but it exploded before he made contact. I just can't see paraffin (kerosene) behaving like that. Maybe some confusion arose when filling the stove and gasoline was the fuel.
@presscall. As @OMC has recognised there are a number of inconsistances in the retelling, and there is only the one witness for the defence in this case. Without an expedition manifest we don't know if they took petrol up to base camp. Were the solid fuel blocks the primary cooking fuel, they only took the one pressure stove it seems which had worked witbout fault for days beforehand. It then gets wrecked with no one else about. It's the same information with a slightly different view given the circumstances of the event. What height abive sea level at that point, sudden release of a highly pressured container with any flammable substance even at sea level won't be pretty. A few thousand feet higher and the consequencies are obviously increased. Less oxygen but higher differential pressure.
Looking back at the picture some sort of 96 does seem the best fit to what we see. How often have newbys turned up stating how well there stove of this or similar type is working on gasoline. 99 out of 100 times you will get away with it but remember those 2 decks are shuffled and you dont know where card 100 sits Its all guesswork but my 1 fifth of a NZ 10 cent coin is on a 96 running petrol. Others have stated fairly good ideas on what happened but had it been kero the world would not have ended for that stove
@geeves Perhaps you could grab one of your spare 96's for a controlled experiment. Fill with gasoline and follow the lighting procedure as written and report back. Flame shots and video essential obviously, we may even get the sounds of the sirens if the video last more than a few minutes..
I am rereading this book as fast as I can to see if I have missed some detail in the text. I have got to the bit early in the expedition when they are stocking up in an Indian town and Pete Boardman writes about having trouble buying a can of paraffin because the vendor thinks it wrong to sell them so much. Their military liaison officer (required for expeditions near the border) had to step in to say it was OK to sell them that amount. So it does sound like a paraffin stove but I guess there may be some question about what was in it. From what I know of Pete Boardman he would have been completely familiar with this type of stove and does say he had used it higher on the mountain.
Ok, so local shopkeeper says he can't sell so much paraffin but military officer says it's ok. Actually shopkeeper doesn't actually have that much but since guy in uniform there tops it up with something unknown. Is this heavier or lighter than the parrafin he has so it seperates in the container and they use the paraffin before the heavier stuff finally gets into the stove.
As mentioned I remain stumped and can call it done for me unless details Retro might further add might help. Yes now I question the story but reason for post was c1976 "what stove" might this have been? (anyone?) I can add / accept that "primus stove" may have been a general term and it may not have been a pack stove, if it could be any 1 burner stove w/integral burner & pump... I still come up empty. Here is a 96 I am stumped. "IF" gasoline is problem, not to pick on 96 but I still struggle with result: "...top part, pump, legs..." blown apart/away. "...leaving only mangled wreckage of it's base" Re Boardman's "..a small primus stove which we had bought especially for the expedition, and had used constantly at Advance Camp and Camp One." My 2nd thought above, not being familiar w/Advance camp and camp 1, I was less sure it was a pack stove that exploded. For me the fact it actually exploded is curious (yes, it literally exploded ). The moment is described "a flash and the air was filled with flame" could be fireball (no mention of enormous ka-boom) but goes on to explain explosion destroyed stove. Ears again: All witnesses close to explosions get their ears rung and instantly either can't hear or hearing is effected, it's an odd omission imo as part of the recollection/description of one witnessing an explosion (esp a blast that can knock a person on their ass). no mention of loud boom or trouble hearing or ears ringing. thanks omc
Made me think more of a white gas stove, like a SVEA 123 or similar Primus stove, overheating from the leak caused fire, and blowing the safety valve with a spout of flame. They do call these things the Swedish hand grenade. Time and exaggeration cause stories to change over time.
Is anyone game to try this at home. Im not. What happens if you fill a small kero stove with gasolene then without priming pump it up while holding a match in the right place? This is how lighting was described but my understanding of kero stoves suggests the liquid fuel would keep quenching the burner so it could never run properly. He could of pumped fuel into the priming dish and released pressure and primed normally etc but thats not what is described. That could be a litury oversight though. Looking back at the picture I get the impression of a font about 5 to 6 inches in diameter. That eliminates just about all European gasoline stoves but does leave the Coleman 500/502 etc which would fit the lighting description. Maybe it was a 501
any mention of secondary burning? i am thinking that the stove may have been running out of fuel with only vapour and air left in the tank, with low pressure in the tank could the flame flash back into the tank? is hot paraffin vapour and air mixture explosive? i confess i do not know
