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My propane/butane/isobutane canister with stove top attached is about 6" tall. When I put a cookware filled with liquid on top of it, the center of gravity seems very high and the whole system seems not very stable, especially when it's windy. Any suggestions?

See image:

enter image description here

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    Buy a lower camping stove?
    – user2766
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 8:48
  • There's not a design that is lower.
    – qazwsx
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 18:35

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If it seems unstable as in wobbly then you might get better results by clearing out the ground you place it on so you have a level surface to work with (or by building a level surface with rocks or what you can find)

Another option is to get legs that attach to the underside of the bottle to make the setup more stable. Here is an example from ebay, but check your local stores as well, as in Sweden buying at biltema is cheaper than ebay in this case.

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Looking at the photo, if the ground is as soft as that, burying the canister by 2-3 cm could help a lot. If you're camping at a beach and bury it halfway in the sand, then that should even work in high winds.

Apart from that, if you're willing to buy a new stove, there are a number of them that come with built-in legs, such as this one

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  • The problem is that the heaviest element of the system -- the cookware is too high from the bottom/ground. Stabilizing the canister with a stand is helpful but seems not optimal solution. Could the cookware somehow be stabilized? At the moment, I just have to hold it when cooking in order to not constantly worry that it can be be tipped over by wind blowing or someone stomping around the campsite.
    – qazwsx
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 18:34
  • Has it actually fallen over? I have used these for years and never had them fall over. Just set it on something solid, and even with a large pot they are okay.
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 23:24
  • @Rory Alsop, I don't trust it. In alpine conditions, say when I'm already tired, cold, and hungry and when it's windy and wet, I really really need a trustable system, but not just relying on being not unlucky. It does not take one actual failure for me to justify the need of more trustable system than this.
    – qazwsx
    Commented Sep 4, 2014 at 6:01
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Try a different brand of canister. The MSR, and others, come in a shorter height, but burying it is the best solution. Plus, gives some wind break.

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You can get a hose or pipe which allows you to connect the burner to the hose then the hose to the canister. This allows you to put the burner closer to the ground, in a small divot, behind a stump or otherwise shielded from the wind.

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  • That's what i'm thinking. The down side of this idea is that I have to throw away my foldable stove which by design directly screw on to the canister opening.
    – qazwsx
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 21:27
  • You shouldn't have to. I was able to find hoses for the small (1 lb.) propane cylinders as you have pictured. That means its a standard fitting. The trick is finding a fitting that has the male/female 1 lb. connectors on each end. There are a a myriad of adapters to go from a 1 lb. connector to or from a 2o lb. (backyard grill size) tank. IOW its a standard fitting, find the name or size of the fitting then buy a hose.
    – Freiheit
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 21:49
  • I did some searching myself and could not come up with a hose or even the size/name of the fitting type. The magic words I tried were "low pressure", "1 lb", and "camp stove" . The closest hit I could find was this thread: backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/… Hope that helps.
    – Freiheit
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 22:01
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I tried answering this, but the answer was locked. So anyway... I posted a picture of a 3" burner that only weighed 96 grams as opposed to your 6" tall burner. Using said 3" burner would make the the whole unit shorter and less top heavy.

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