Propane cooking stove

[frans]

Hello I am seeking input/advice on buying a camping stove.

presently I have a cheap propane Coleman two burner.

I desire a new stove with two qualities:

1. Ability to truly adjust the burners down to a very low flame with precision.

2: ultra thin design (minimum thickness/height). I want to store it in a tight area in my land rover. The Coleman is about an inch too thick.

my issues with my present stove is that the burner adjustment knobs are not precise. they kinda flop around! I touch the knob and the flame jumps to higher than I want or when I try to dial it down to a very low burn it will turn off.
the stove valves are working fine, it’s just that I can’t seem to get a truly low flame.

any advice on this will be appreciated. Thx

 

[Hilldweller]

Most of our members will say "Partner" but this is the one I have and it works great.
You have to sink it into a top of some sort.

2 Burner Drop-In Cooktop, Stainless top

2 Burner Drop-In Cooktop, Stainless top - Suburban 2937AST - Counter & Stove Tops

www.campingworld.com

 

[Herbie]

Partner stoves are likely to be thicker than whichever Coleman propane stove OP has now.

My preference for good flame control has been the single-burner "catering" style stoves. I switched to these specifically because of the ability to get a stable low flame. The gas valve is always a large, indexed dial with good mechanical drag, rather than the tiny circular knob on a touchy needle valve. There's a reason this is what you always see at the "Omelette Station" at a fancy buffet. (Be advised that a $5 folding windscreen is a good idea if you use this in a breeze, though. I glued two small magnets to mine so it "snaps" directly to the stove.)

Both of the ones I use currently are dual-fuel, so they're nominally setup for the long/skinny butane cartridges (which is what I use most of the time), but they also come with a regulator and adapter to be used with propane. Depending on the model you choose, many of them can be fairly compact. I have a very shallow drawer in my van (<3") that I carry a Stansport Dual-Fuel burner in. I had to make a small modification by snipping a notch out of one of the burner supports so that I can flip the "pot stand" over for storage, this drops the height by about an inch. Took 5 seconds with a pair of tin-snips.



I carry a slightly bigger GasOne GS-3900P in my chuckbox because it's rated to 15k BTU vs ~10k for the Stansport.

If you're going Propane-only and REALLY pressed for space, then the Coleman PowerPack single burner is easily the most compact choice: https://smile.amazon.com/Coleman-PowerPack-Propane-Single-Burner/dp/B0009PUS6M
But again, this will have the more touchy style valve...

 

[jreddy]

Butane is really underrated: Tons of heat, fantastic simmer control, low cost, super easy to use. The downsides are that the fuel is more expensive than bulk propane (but cheaper than greenies), the cans are small, and you lose pressure towards then end, and butane functions terribly in cold weather. Also, because butane stoves are mostly marketed for kitchen use (largely in Asian households) they don't typically have robust integrated covers and windscreens. Still, it's what I use for summer camping. (In the winter, I just use a Jetboil, and my cooking is a lot less complex.)

If you want a thin propane stove with good simmer control, I have a friend who loves his Selkirk 540. It's gorgeous, in a totally different way than a Partner, and it punches above its weight because it holds the pots very close to the flame.

 

[slvyj]

Dometic SMEV, just got one of these for my trailer, better then the stove at home. You would have to build a cabinet or something to mount it.

Dometic SMEV Pi8022

 

[greenheadsmt]

I cannot say enough great things about Partner Steel products!

 

[billiebob]

Hello I am seeking input/advice on buying a camping stove.

presently I have a cheap propane Coleman two burner.

I desire a new stove with two qualities:

1. Ability to truly adjust the burners down to a very low flame with precision.

2: ultra thin design (minimum thickness/height). I want to store it in a tight area in my land rover. The Coleman is about an inch too thick.

my issues with my present stove is that the burner adjustment knobs are not precise. they kinda flop around! I touch the knob and the flame jumps to higher than I want or when I try to dial it down to a very low burn it will turn off.
the stove valves are working fine, it’s just that I can’t seem to get a truly low flame.

any advice on this will be appreciated. Thx

White gas offers the hottest flame and the controls, ability to turn it down seem flawless. My Coleman is not compact but at 80 years old it never misses a beat.
White gas is the only choice at higher elevations too. Most economical fuel is also nice.

But if you like not having to pump up the pressure, look at the tiny commercial units restaurants and hotels use on buffets. They are incredible if you never camp over 8,000'.

 

[pluton]

White gas stinks as it burns, like Diesel. Propane doesn't have that problem.

 

[burleyman]

I borrowed three Coleman propane stoves that all failed the low flame test. A vintage Sears Hillary propane two-burner passed with flying colors, and was thinner than the coleman. Eventually, a 425 pump-up white gas Coleman, along with a Stansport green bottle propane adapter for two fuel choices, is my preference. Simmers well with both fuels. The 425 is not thin.

 

[dcg141]

Don't see a lot about Primus stoves in here but a have an older Firehole and it simmers well. Their new stoves are thinner and made in Europe. Primus Kinjia

 

[slvyj]

White gas stinks as it burns, like Diesel. Propane doesn't have that problem.

I've used white gas for years, never notice any smell when it burns.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

If you don't want to pay and wait for a partner, I'd go for the new GSI PINNACLE PRO STOVE https://gsioutdoors.com/gsi-pinnacle-pro-stove. This little puppy looks rad. Super narrow and light. You could load this thing into a laptop slip case!




But I didn't want to wait so I pulled my birthday card and my wife delivered a brand new aluminum bouncing baby girl. We haven't named her yet:



22 inch 2 burner setup. Should serve her duty well on water and wheel.

 

[Grassland]

That GSI stove looks trick!!!!

I have same issue with my Coleman. Thankfully I've managed to figure out cooking eggs without burning them. But yeah trying to simmer sucks. Especially when windy.

 

[billiebob]

I so miss shopping in a retail store but online has killed so many retail outlets. I much prefer the look, see, touch, feel buying experience.
White gas is the ultimate choice for performance cooking fuel, but also the most inconvenient.

Propane is the best all around choice for convenience. The GSI Pinnacle is very cool.

 

[geojag]

If one burner will suffice, the Snow Peak Baja burner with the converter form Lindal valve to 1# propane has nice heat output and control. It stashes pretty small.