Public warning on portable butane cookers

killswitch (Edison) · #1 05-03-2015, 12:06 PM

Thought id put this up. I know many campers here use it. Its a shame as these units are so cheap and convenient.

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ft...e_butane.page?

Time to upgrade to a BabyQ

peterl · #2 05-03-2015, 12:47 PM

Thanks for putting this up Edison.
have been using one of these for years.
So compact and handy.
peter.

mswhin63 (Malcolm) · #3 05-03-2015, 01:48 PM

Thanks for that, this at least confirms what I found out before after a unit of mine got hot close to the butane can.

I since replaced mine still with another butane model but this one the can is well away from the burner and is a 2 burner model as well. Much cooler.

MrB (Simon) · #4 05-03-2015, 03:25 PM

I've had a brand new one of these fail and spray out liquid butane in all directions and all over my hands. It was not operator error but a defective product.
Fortunately the gas didn't ignite or I would have suffered severe burns.

tlgerdes (Trevor) · #5 05-03-2015, 03:47 PM

We will be sending out a note with registrations for the SPSP in May about these and request attendees not to bring or use them.

We actually had an incident with one at the SPSP a few years back that had to be dealt with via a long shovel and a generous amount of dirt.

tlgerdes (Trevor) · #6 05-03-2015, 03:49 PM

This is also going to annoy various Asian restaurant across the city for the next few weeks, as I have seen many use them for live cooking on your table.

Ric · #7 05-03-2015, 03:54 PM

Cheers Edison

Thanks for the link

We've been using that model on our fire truck for a while now, not for much longer though.

killswitch (Edison) · #8 05-03-2015, 04:54 PM

Hopefully they release a revised version soon.

Dont throw away the butane cans as theres nothing wrong with them

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ric

We've been using that model on our fire truck for a while now, not for much longer though.

Yeah wouldnt want the firetruck to catch on fire

Rob_K · #9 05-03-2015, 05:28 PM

Well I won't be getting rid of mine as long as there's butane cans available. Obviously an incident has occurred and these public notices are simply a way of the manufacturers avoiding litigation in any further incidents ("you were warned"). I've never had any problem with mine and I know lots of people who've never had any problems with theirs.

They've been on the market for donkey's years, umpteen tens of thousands would have been purchased and used in Australia alone. I could be wrong but I don't think they've been a significant contributor to accident and death rates.

They're cheap as chips and I won't be upgrading to a compliant device. Compliant generally meaning more expensive, but more importantly that they're OK only until an incident occurs, after which they won't be compliant any more.

If you want unsafe, cook on an open fire.

My two bob's worth...

Cheers -

astroron (Ron) · #10 05-03-2015, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob_K

Well I won't be getting rid of mine as long as there's butane cans available. Obviously an incident has occurred and these public notices are simply a way of the manufacturers avoiding litigation in any further incidents ("you were warned"). I've never had any problem with mine and I know lots of people who've never had any problems with theirs.

They've been on the market for donkey's years, umpteen tens of thousands would have been purchased and used in Australia alone. I could be wrong but I don't think they've been a significant contributor to accident and death rates.

They're cheap as chips and I won't be upgrading to a compliant device. Compliant generally meaning more expensive, but more importantly that they're OK only until an incident occurs, after which they won't be compliant any more.

If you want unsafe, cook on an open fire.

My two bob's worth...

Cheers -

Ditto Rob,I have had mine for over twenty years,used them all over Australia without a problem, so mine is staying put in my camping kit.
Cheers

FlashDrive (Poppy) · #11 05-03-2015, 06:23 PM

Ditto also Ron ... I bought my first one from CampCo Outdoor Camping Supplies around 1995 ...a National Brand ( when they first appeared in the Shops ) ...cost me $70.00 ( much cheaper now ).
Used it many times without any issues..... common sense prevails when using these... will keep mine.

Col...

killswitch (Edison) · #12 05-03-2015, 06:39 PM

Not all portable cookers are on the list. The problem is with the shutoff valves on certain models.

While the chances of it happening are slim, a faulty shutoff valve can escalate quickly with pressurized gas.

astroron (Ron) · #13 05-03-2015, 06:58 PM

I think one of the problems that may arise is that people don't clean them and there gets a build up of grease/fat around moving parts which makes them stay open or the fat/grease catches fire.
A bit of TLC every now and again will avoid a lot of angst.
Cheers

Suzy · #14 05-03-2015, 09:41 PM

Thank you for the warning Edison. We have one and so has my daughter so I'll be letting her know too.

Akwestland (Andrew and Kim) · #15 05-03-2015, 09:50 PM

We have several of these, never had a problem. They are the best for a quick roadside cuppa, or a sausage in bread for lunch. Set two or three up and you have a complete cooktop. I certainly wont get rid of them, but I do wash/clean mine after use.

Cheers
Andrew

AG Hybrid (Adrian) · #16 06-03-2015, 12:03 AM

Thanks for that. I'm still going to use mine though.

sopticals (Stephen) · #17 06-03-2015, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akwestland

We have several of these, never had a problem. They are the best for a quick roadside cuppa, or a sausage in bread for lunch. Set two or three up and you have a complete cooktop. I certainly wont get rid of them, but I do wash/clean mine after use.

Cheers
Andrew

My adult sons (now), and I have taken these on annual hunting/camping trips over the last 10+ years, (from when some of them were youngsters). Always take 4 or more of these little units into the bush. Fire up 3/4 and you can get some good hot "grub" and coffee/tea up for several people at short notice. Never had a problem. Will continue using. The problem with any consumer item is that if a large enough number of the item is manufactured, there will be failures. Dosent matter how good the brand name or how stringent quality control, there will be failures. Much safer than some of the old petrol fired cookers, have seen these burst into flames, very dangerous.

N1 (Mirko) · #18 06-03-2015, 12:52 PM

I understand they are still safe to use outside of NSW

multiweb (Marc) · #19 06-03-2015, 12:56 PM

Sounds like apart from a few faulty units people might have been using them outside of their normal operating specs. I wouldn't run something that tiny too hot or for too long. Just use basic common senses. But many don't have any these days. I can see a day when they will recall matches because some idiots light them up with their fingers too close to the head.

mswhin63 (Malcolm) · #20 06-03-2015, 11:39 PM

After reading the statement by the Ministry of fair trading I believe that there is only an issue with compliance to Australian standards and not so much with the safety of the device in general. What it says is that that may cause a failure due to the regulator.

Australian standards is a fairly comprehensive that extremely strict and is known to be the strictest in the world hence the reason why it is so expensive to buy stuff made in Australia.

The only thing I can think of is that if anybody wishes to keep it then they need to take care. I'm not aware of anybody being hurt, and the report doesn't suggest that either.