Butane stoves

Recently there has been a lot of publicity about butane gas stoves and their potential explosion risk following the death of a chap in NSW last month.
I suppose you could argue that there are probably thousands of these stoves in use just in Australia alone and, tragic as it is, this the first recorded fatality. On the other hand, how many explosions, fires and near misses have there been that we know nothing about.

I do all my cooking on the hotplate, but take one of these stoves away with me in case it rains or for some reason I can’t have a fire. They are light, cheap and convenient to use. I must admit, however, that what has been said about these stoves has put the wind up me a bit.

Looking around the Net, I found this link: http://www.elgas.com.au/blog/1419-nsw-bans-portable-butane-stove-cookers-lunchbox-cookers

Up until then I had no knowledge of the CRV (countersink release vent) butane cartridge. While it seems that butane stoves can still catch on fire, they wont (shouldn’t?) explode. I will still continue to pack my stove, but make sure that I am using CRV cartridges and that the stove is used where any fire can be quickly contained.

Col

I have never owned one but have seen them burn before, like most things probably pretty handy when used with common sense.
yep a open fire cooker here