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Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Vargo Titanium Jet-ti stove > Ralph Ditton > Initial ReportInitial Report Vargo "Jet-ti" Titanium Stove Date: 21st June, 2005 Reviewer Information: Name: Ralph Ditton Age: 53 Height: 1.76m (5 ft 9 in) Weight: 79 kg (174 lb) Email: rdassetts@optusnet.com.au City: Perth, Western Australia Product information: Manufacturer: Vargo Outdoors, LLC Year of Manufacture: 2004 to 2005 Made in: Korea Website: http://www.vargooutdoors.com Listed Weight: 76 g (2.7 oz) Model: Titanium "Jet-ti" iso-butane stove Output: 9,000 BTU/hr Ignition: Manual Size: 70 mm (2 3/4 in) high 89 mm (3 1/2 in) top leg support diameter MSRP: US$64.95 My Measurements: Dimensions when packed: Length from top of support legs to base: 78 mm (3.07 in) Height of support legs: 33 mm (1.3 in) Width: 68 mm (2.68 in) Diameter of top leg supports: 104 mm (4.09 in) Nylon Carry Case: 100 mm x 80 mm x 40 mm (3.94 in x 3.15 in x 1.57 in) Weight of stove: 79 g (2.79 oz) Weight of Nylon Carry Case: 21 g (0.74 oz) Diameter of ported burner head: 32 mm (1.26 in) at base 20 mm (0.79 in) at top Height of ported burner head: 11 mm (0.43 in) Comment: The difference in the diameter of the top leg supports is that the manufacturer measured from tip to tip of the leg supports, whereas I prescribed a circle using the tips of the leg supports and measured the resulting diameter. Product description: The Vargo "Jet-ti" titanium stove (hereinafter known as the stove) arrived in a large box 300 mm x 200 mm x 165 mm (11.81 in x 7.87 in x 6.5 in). The stove, in its carrying case, was padded with crumpled paper which did the job as there was no damage to the stove or carry case. The carry case was attached to a card hang piece, with instructions on how to use the stove, selling points on the stove, and a list of Do's and Don'ts on the reverse. Inside the card is a list of other products by Vargo Outdoors.  Carry case attached to hang card. The four listed instructions are easy to understand. The stove was what I expected after viewing the company web site. At the base of the stove, there is a threaded tube with a centre pin that fits into the gas cylinder's Lindal valve. To give a good seal between the stove and the gas cylinder, there is a rubber washer which is attached to the stove under a metal flange. Above the metal flange is the valve housing made of brass. The valve turning shaft is held in place by a hexagonal threaded bush. To operate the valve, a folding off-set wire turning handle (hereinafter known as simmer control) protrudes from the end of the valve turning shaft. The reason for the off-set is to provide the maximum purchase for the simmer control as the ends go through the whole of the valve turning shaft and finish flush with the other side. This is why the ends sit above one another causing the off-set. Immediately above the valve housing, the hollow stem rises 22 mm (0.87 in). This is where the gas and air mix before reaching the ported burner head. In this stem there are four circular holes of 4 mm (0.16 in) diameter spaced at 4 mm (0.16 in) apart around the circumference. The hollow stem is attached to the brass valve housing by a single phillips head screw. The grey, titanium leg supports and ported burner head sit on top of the hollow stem and are held in place by a single brass phillips head screw which goes through the centre from the top of the stove. The top axis of the leg supports are separated from the ported burner head by a brass hexagonal nut 3 mm (0.12 in) high. 
Stove in folded position. To open the leg supports with the simmer control facing me, I push the leg support on the right away from me in an anti-clockwise direction. This action then pulls the middle leg support along and the both stop when the middle leg support reaches the stopping ridge on the top ring. The first leg support goes past the stopping ridge because it is notched to pass over it. In the full open position the leg supports are 120 degrees to each other. Stamped on each of the leg support is the word "TITAN".  side view showing stopping ridge and notch The ported burner head has four rows of 24 holes. The top row of holes are much smaller than the other three rows which appear to be of a similar size. Inside the ported burner head there appears to be a wire mesh lining the holes. General impression of the stove: When I first tried to attach the gas canister to the stove I was not having any success. The canister would not engage the thread on the stove and I was worried that there may have been a slight difference in the gauges. After a mild panic attack all was well. My problem was that I had the stove at an ever so slight angle to the top of the gas cylinder Lindal valve and this was the cause of my problem. I had to have the stove perpendicular to the gas canister, otherwise there was no engagement of the threads. I have practiced the connection a number of times now and it has become second nature without any dramas. My very first impression of the stove when I removed it from the carry case was that it was tiny in comparison with my stove, but I immediately saw the benefit of such a small package - more space in my backpack, not to fill, but a lighter load. The nylon carry case has a loop on the rear to attach to a belt. I personally will not attach the case to a belt. It will find a home inside my backpack. When the stove is unfolded in all of its glory it does look impressive. Parts of the top of the leg supports are serrated. There are six teeth in each leg.The simmer control folds out and it turns very easily. There is no initial sticking to overcome to turn on the gas flow. To light the stove, I followed the instructions and turned on the valve with the simmer control with a half turn anti-clockwise and put a match to the the ported burner head. It lit first try. On subsequent lightings I only turned the simmer control a quarter turn anti-clockwise and this vented enough gas to ignite. During use, I found that the stove simmered very well and had good control over the flame.  stove ready to go for first time Home set up: For my first burn I tested to see how long the stove would take to bring 1 litre (33.81 fl oz) of water to a rolling boil. Water was taken from the kitchen tap and I did the test outside. The outside temperature was 12 C (54 F) according to my thermometer. I lit the gas and rotated the simmer control to 90 degrees to give a gentle flame that touched the base of the Trangia 1.75 l (59 fl oz) pot with a base diameter of 145 mm (5 3/4 in) and a top diameter of 180 mm (7 1/8 in). The gas canister was half full. I used a lid and the wind was still. It took the stove 23 minutes to bring the water to a rolling boil. The manufacturer states on their web site and hang card that it takes approximately 4 minutes. Well for that to be achieved, the system must be turned on full bore and using gas at a rate of knots. The pot does not have to be enveloped in flame as the hot air immediately above the flame does the heating and this is what heated up my pot of water with minimal gas use. The pot did not vibrate or try to slide off the leg supports in the heating process. My next test was to cook eight BBQ Lamb,honey and rosemary sausages in my Kookaburra non-stick skillet, with a folding handle, measuring 185 mm (7 1/4 in) across the base diameter. The inside of the skillet was very full, so there was no room for anything else. By turning the simmer control 110 degrees of revolution anti-clockwise the flames from the ported burner head spread out to the end tips of the leg supports, giving an even heat on the skillet and the sausages cooked evenly. Due to the possibility of reflected heat from a larger pan acting on the gas canister and possibly causing overheating to the gas canister, I put a homemade radiation shield on which sat below the simmer control and on top of the brass valve housing. The radiation shield was cut from an alfoil tray purchased from a supermarket. They are lightweight and disposable. During the cooking process, the area between the flame and radiation shield was warm, but not hot and I was able to touch the simmer control without any discomfort. In fact, the simmer control was reasonably cool. Underneath the radiation shield the area and canister was cold. It took me 20 minutes to cook the sausages. The outside air temperature was 11 C (52 F). The leg supports and ported burner head are now discoloured by use. It is more of a burnishing appearance.  The third test was to see how hot 1 litre of water (33.81 fl oz) became in four minutes. Water temperature at the start: 14 C (57 F) Outside air temperature: 16 C (61 F) Temperature of water at 4 minutes: 54 C (129 F) Simmer control rotated anti-clockwise 180 degrees Gas used in 4 minutes: 8 g (0.28 fl oz) With the gas turned on at the above position, there was a loud burning noise so I do not think that I would turn up the gas any further because it would be inefficient use of gas and I do not want to be left short of gas out in the bush. The flames were licking around the bottom edges of the same pot that I used to achieve a rolling boil in. Stove Operation Time:
 stove in use Test Conditions: It is now winter and the rain has started after the usual dry summer. In winter, rain can be expected at least one day/night during a trip. Some nights and mornings are shrouded in fog, especially at campsites located at the bottom of gullies and hills. The stove will be used in three sided huts, on the tables provided inside the huts and outside the huts. There are always two tables at a campsite. The huts do give some protection from the wind, unless it is blowing straight in on the open side. Test Plan: I will be using a blend of Isobutane/Propane gas that comes in a screw type cartridge with 7/16 valve with the stove as the manufacturer states that the Vargo Titanium "Jet-ti" Stove is an isobutane stove. As there is no snow in my test area I will have no need to use straight isobutane gas for the extreme low temperatures that this gas is designed for. Over the next six months I will be walking different sections of the Bibbulmun Track trying to complete an End to End in one direction at least, and I will be using the stove as my primary stove for all of my cooking needs. I usually walk with two friends and I predominately use my stove. The sections that I have to complete are fuel stoves only, no camp fires allowed. One aspect I want to test is the fuel efficiency of the stove when on the track.I am not concerned at how quickly the stove can heat as that usually means inefficient use of the gas by having the flame at full bore. Likes:
I only took up backpacking
seriously some four years ago. I have been walking the Bibbulmun Track
in sections. My goal is to complete the 964 km (603 mi) and become an
End to End walker. So far I have completed approximately two-thirds of
the Track from North to South, and a quarter in the opposite direction. I have evolved from carrying a
very heavyweight load—approximately 28 kg (62 lb) including
food and water, to being a midweight backpacker, averaging 18
kg (38 lb) at the start of a trip. I am hoping to purchase gear that's
lighter still. My trips are usually between three to five days duration. Read more reviews of Vargo Outdoors gear Read more gear reviews by Ralph Ditton Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Vargo Titanium Jet-ti stove > Ralph Ditton > Initial Report | |||