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WaState
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PostTue Jan 30, 2018 9:35 pm 
I wonder if any here have experience with the msr reactor stove? I just obtained one and seen on some internet posts about at times it fails to operate for some reason short term. Or it stops operating due to triggering the overheat safety shut off. I myself wonder if these seldom problems can be due to some things reasonable but un reported. Can water boiling over cause the overheat failsafe to trigger??? I plan to only use msr brand canisters, can dirt or grime in cheaper fuel clog up the stove? I wonder can the internal stove parts can be cleaned??? I imagine putting cleaner through the stove by pushing it through with canister gas. I plan to light by firesteel , I imagine this to be the most successful method. Any info would be apprecaited. Dan

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DIYSteve
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PostTue Jan 30, 2018 10:13 pm 
I'm an early adopter, got a Reactor when it first came out, used it hundreds of times. Got a new burner after several years of hard use and dirty conditions slowed down my original burner. MSR gave me a deal on the new burner. Best mountain stove ever for boiling water and melting snow, especially in windy conditions. Nothing else comes close.
WaState wrote:
I just obtained one and seen on some internet posts about at times it fails to operate for some reason short term.
That's never happened to me. My original burner slowed down a bunch after a bud left it in out in a pouring rain storm all night but it worked okay after I dried it out. Here's a trick if it doesn't light in cold weather: Open the valve, immediately turn upside down for a second then turn upright and light it. Be careful because it will flare up for a couple seconds. Turning it upside down gets some liquid fuel in the throttle body, thus the flare up.
WaState wrote:
Or it stops operating due to triggering the overheat safety shut off.
The what?
WaState wrote:
I wonder can the internal stove parts can be cleaned???
I disassembled my original burner after my bud left it out in the rain. The internal parts are quite simple. There's a tube-shaped jet underneath the foam pad. Nothing to clean as far as I could see. If there's an overheat safety shutoff, I didn't see it.

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cascadeclimber
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 8:58 am 
By far the best mountaineering stove I've ever used. The old XGK will burn almost anything flammable, but for quick/fast/light trips in the Cascades, the Reactor really altered camp time for me. Melting snow used to take hours once we got to camp (or a rest stop on single-push trips). With the Reactor it's minutes. The only things I don't like are throwing away the fuel canisters and starting a trip with a half-empty one in my pack. One tip: Canned gas doesn't work as well when it gets cold (Boyle's Law, PV=nRT). For a while I refrained from using the Reactor in winter because of this. And, indeed, the canisters will develop a thick layer of frost and not work as well in the cold. Then I found a light, straight-walled plastic bowl that the Reactor pot just slips into. It adds just a few grams and a few cubic centimeters to my pack. When using the stove I set it in the bowl and add about an inch of hot water to the bowl. The hot water keeps the canister from getting cold.

If not now, when?
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Malachai Constant
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 9:55 am 
Love the Reactor have used it on 4 thru hikes much more reliable than Jet Boils. No plastic parts except lid. Works well in winter but not as a liquid fuel stove. Use a fire steel to light just make sure the sparks get past the mesh, otherwise it will just burn outside the mesh. You can tell if it is properly lit as the body below will glow red and show the MSR logo. Not good for simmering.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Schroder
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 10:07 am 
I've also had a Reactor since they first came out and I use it a lot. I've never had any kind of failure and I seldom use MSR gas with it.

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DIYSteve
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 10:29 am 
cascadeclimber wrote:
The only things I don't like are throwing away the fuel canisters and starting a trip with a half-empty one in my pack.
Get one of these. Heat up donor can by running under hot water from your faucet. Put donor can on top during exchange. Put receiving can on bottom in ice water bath to speed transition. Use a digital scale to ensure that you don't overfill receiving can. Takes a couple minutes if you do it right. It's a great gizmo, cure for the half empty can issue. For 3 season overnights you can use and reuse small (4 oz. net cans). I've reused cans dozens of times.
cascadeclimber wrote:
Then I found a light, straight-walled plastic bowl that the Reactor pot just slips into. It adds just a few grams and a few cubic centimeters to my pack. When using the stove I set it in the bowl and add about an inch of hot water to the bowl. The hot water keeps the canister from getting cold.
An ultralight water bath can be easily made from a Costco cottage cheese container. We've used them for years. Also, be sure to avoid butane or any mixes with butane (boiling point 31F) for winter use. Isobutane (11F BP) has always worked fine for me in winter with water bath or DIY Cu heat exchanger. Note that with isobutane/propane mix, propane will gas off at a much higher rate in cold temperatures. IME, SnowPeak and JetBoil iso/pro mixes work as well as MSR mix.

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WaState
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 11:08 am 
Thanks all I am concerned that MSR is having trouble with Reactor production lately,, so therefore about parts and warranty. I have the 1 Liter pot and want to mostly fill it when heating water but the fill mark is half way up the pot. Is this that important to only half fill the pot or can I fill it mostly to the top and heat away. I take some risk of over-boil like this but I rather have the extra hot water. I also like to eat oatmeal at times. My thought is to boil and turn off and throw in oatmeal. Or throw in oatmeal with cold water at the start get to boil and shut off. Maybe after it cools turn it back on for a few seconds and then turn off to complete the cooking if needed. Will this method work with oatmeal or noodles? Thanks Dan

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DIYSteve
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 11:12 am 
WaState wrote:
. . . or can I fill it mostly to the top and heat away.
I dunno why MSR bothers with the fill line. Fill it to 1/2" of the top and don't worry. Watch it and turn off the throttle when it starts to boil to prevent spillover.
WaState wrote:
I also like to eat oatmeal at times. My thought is to boil and turn off and throw in oatmeal. Or throw in oatmeal with cold water at the start get to boil and shut off. Maybe after it cools turn it back on for a few seconds and then turn off to complete the cooking if needed.
I never put food in my Reactor pot. The better technique: Put your oatmeal or noddles in an insulated cup, pour boiling water in cup, cover and let it self-cook for a few minutes. An alternative to self-cook in a freezer bag inside an insulated cozy. (FWIW, I made a DIY ultralight large insulated cook cup from a 700 ml titanium cup wrapped in closed-cell foam, held by Gorilla Glue. I've used it for years. The CCF completely wraps the cup: I cut discs of CCF for the bottom and the lid.)

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AlpineRose
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 3:45 pm 
Best stove ever, especially in the wind, to which it seems immune. The fill line on the pot is to prevent boil over. I think water is not good for the heat exchanger. Water comes to a vigorous boil so quickly, you have to watch a pot filled past the fill line like a hawk, and turn off the stove as soon as the water starts to boil. I never fill past the fill line, because I like to boil my water for a little while longer (15-30 secs) to kill cooties. Because the reactor comes to a boil so fast, I find I have to get everything ready for my meal before lighting it vs lighting any other type of stove first and then preparing the meal while waiting for the water to boil. If you want more water, get the larger pot. Or just refill the smaller one, and boil more water.

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DIYSteve
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 6:45 pm 
We turn throttle off immediately upon reaching a full boil, then let it coast. Even with the throttle off it continues at a low boil for 15-20 seconds because the heat exchanger holds significant heat energy. The cooties are getting killed for awhile after turning off the throttle. If you watch it, it won't spill over @ full to 1/2" from top. And when it does the pot/heat exchanger protects the burner unit. My theory is that MSR has a fill line for liability purposes, i.e., to avoid scalded hands. Cf. McDonald's hot coffee case

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KevinDo
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 7:33 pm 
Had my reactor for years and never had those issues. But I do know some who did have that safety feature trip which wasn't good for them. I would be using my reactor more this winter but got a jetboil joule for dirt cheap and haven't looked back since.

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WaState
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 9:01 pm 
Quote:
But I do know some who did have that safety feature trip which wasn't good for them.
Any information on why? Rep said that using the wrong pot can do it or a heat shield. He said a boil over should not do it. Thanks Dan

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KevinDo
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PostWed Jan 31, 2018 10:12 pm 
From what they have told me, it happened to them during the first few uses where they didn't expect the water to boil so quickly (user error). It was a small amount of water so they must have boiled all the water away. So you could say its a good safety feature but the crappy part is the user can't "reset" the stove

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WaState
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PostSat Feb 03, 2018 9:52 pm 
Wow , no water in pot will make it overheat , that is sure diferent from other stoves. Thanks for info Dan

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cascadeclimber
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PostTue Feb 13, 2018 8:57 am 
DIYSteve wrote:
Get one of these. Heat up donor can by running under hot water from your faucet
Brilliant. Do I need any of the adapters?

If not now, when?
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