Public warning on portable butane ‘lunchbox’ cookers

[randell]

A guy I was talking to had a BBQ at elliott heads, bid a big BBQ and and the gas ran out. He had to put in a new canister. for some reason he told his kids to go and sit at the other end of the table and wait for last snags to cook. Anyway he reckoned the frame had warmed up and expanded and as he put the new canister in it exploded, flame went up to his face and as he gasped he inhaled flame. He said he was OK, but started to feel bad. The called ambulance and he was taken to Bundy hospital, then airlifted to Brisbane where he stayed in IC for over a week with burns to his throat and lungs. He is recovering slowly , not working yet. He said he will never use them again........... It's up to you. randell

[gofishin]

Glad to hear your wife escaped OK One m Drop! Although I have heard they can be dangerous, never really first hand like this.

...Any sign of corrosion and they are turfed.

So I guess a rusty canister was the cause?

I have two, one fixed into the galley in the boat and the other lose, and have always had concerns... but continue to use them for boating and camping - because of their convenience as you say.

One design area that I always disliked was the lack of a mechanical interlock between the cooking stand/plate and the existing gas dial/canister lever.

If this plate is not inverted after unpacking I can see how it could overheat very quickly regardless of the size of the pan.

Yes, there is a big 'label' on the underside saying 'warning/turn over before use etc', but and older scrappy unit (without a label) being used by someone unfamiliar could easily lead to a serious accident.

There is a mechanical interlock b/w the gas dial and canister lever, adding another with this plate wouldn't be hard - ie so you couldn't physically use the unit without the plate the right way up.

My 2c.

Cheers
Brendon.





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[Shark Poker]

I liked them so much that I built an entire table around mine.

What am I supposed to do now?hhhhh.jpg哈哈哈哈.jpg

[rayken1938]

Only twin burner ones at K mart victoria point none at supercheap.bunnings and mitre 10.
Supercheap had notice saying that both single and twin burners withdrawn.
Should still be able to purchase cylinders as they are also used for other things.
Cheer5s
Ray

[Spin]

see how they explode

[stockhorse]

Spin, that video is of the old style canisters not of the cooker itself. You should always check the canisters have the relief system.

[stockhorse]

A guy I was talking to had a BBQ at elliott heads, bid a big BBQ and and the gas ran out. He had to put in a new canister. for some reason he told his kids to go and sit at the other end of the table and wait for last snags to cook. Anyway he reckoned the frame had warmed up and expanded and as he put the new canister in it exploded, flame went up to his face and as he gasped he inhaled flame. He said he was OK, but started to feel bad. The called ambulance and he was taken to Bundy hospital, then airlifted to Brisbane where he stayed in IC for over a week with burns to his throat and lungs. He is recovering slowly , not working yet. He said he will never use them again........... It's up to you. randell

With no offence to you Randell as you are simply relaying a story but I call total B.S.

There would firstly be no way to handle the empty cylinder if it was that hot to replace it with a new one.There would have been no naked flame and the auto ignition temp is 405 degrees celcius so the whole burner would have melted by then.

[stockhorse]

"If this plate is not inverted after unpacking I can see how it could overheat very quickly regardless of the size of the pan."

Mate you must have a very old style cooker or at best a faulty one. You cannot engage the cylinder if the plate is not the right way up unless you remove the plate engage the cylinder then put the plate on the wrong way up (and it doesn't sit properly.)

[Crunchy]

Guess I'll just have to burn my left over canisters with my outdated flares...

[gofishin]

"If this plate is not inverted after unpacking I can see how it could overheat very quickly regardless of the size of the pan."

Mate you must have a very old style cooker or at best a faulty one. You cannot engage the cylinder if the plate is not the right way up unless you remove the plate engage the cylinder then put the plate on the wrong way up (and it doesn't sit properly.)

They must both be the older type then stockhorse. One is 2004/5, other is late 2008 - different brands. I think they both can be lit with the plate inverted (at least the older one can).


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[TheRealAndy]

Interesting thread. We call them exploders because a mate had one blow up on him. I still use mine, I think they are brilliant. The double bangers we call double exploders. If people are interested in the double exploder, I spotted them for sale in a BCF catalogue a week ago I think.

[spindles]

Check with the fair trading with the model name and model number before throwing them out

[spindles]

Check with fair trading with model name and model number before throwing them out

[terryc]

I was in Big W Lismore this saturday & noticed there were lots of Campmaster Single burner Butane Cookers for sale. I made a phone call to them this morning, and was advised they had only just gone back on the shelves so must be ok.
Can anyone throw any more light on the situation, i can only assume that these must have been redesigned.

[terryc]

I was in Big W Lismore this Saturday & noticed there were lots of Campmaster Single burner Butane Cookers for sale. I made a phone call to them this morning, and was advised they had only just gone back on the shelves so must be ok.
Can anyone throw any more light on the situation, i can only assume that these must have been redesigned.