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Well, I am going to die it seems - blown to pieces. The deed done by my Jetboil Sol TI stove. The heat exchanger/flux ring is aluminium welded to titanium. Some are reporting they don't work well together. They could make my gas canister explode! You get the picture...."No".
The interesting Adventures in Stoving blog has this to READ all about this issue.
Am I worried. "NO" Are jetboil? There is no recall announcement is on their website.
I have had no issues with the Sol TI, and the photo shows the good health of the stove so far. I have other stoves: Cat can and Caldera cone meths ones. Jetboil Flash, and a MSR Pocket Rocket.
Pick of my stoves are the Sol TI along with the Spider stove. If the Sol TI gives up the ghost - I will use the Spider till Jetboil sort the Sol TI.
A superb stove. Light, fast, fuel efficient and just great. If it goes BOOM I will let you know.
Should you be worried about getting this stove? No. How many are out there in use? Yet only a few report issues.
Bit like saying I wont get a Golf as I witnessed one in an accident and my mates broke down. Yet how many are working just fine?
UPDATE:
Jason mentioned that BPL.com had pulleda thread about this issue with no reason. Why? We don't know. Screen shot of the link now defunct. Will BPL staff comment?. Ask them on Twitter.
Chris Wallace of BPL said closed to find out (investigate) why/claims etc on Twitter. They are looking "into" it. Great to know.
Jason mentioned that BPL.com had pulled
Chris Wallace of BPL said closed to find out (investigate) why/claims etc on Twitter. They are looking "into" it. Great to know.
36 comments:
The VW Golf is German precision and quality, Martin! Can't compare it to a stove ^_^
I too have the Sol Ti and recently have started to see the white corrosion which also Colin has had with his. I think Jim's post is a good warning, and to be honest, I think Jetboil is stupid for
a) Not replying publicly about the matter - THAT'S what social media is about
b) making the pot and fluxring of different materials in the first place
So while I will continue to use mine when conditions allow, I will keep a good eye on it.
Martin I have been fascinated how this report has travelled around the blogosphere, it even appears on the Australian Bushwalking forum, a country in which you cannot buy a Jetboil Sol. I have used my Jetboil for approximately 30 days and have some white oxidation buildup, it is not as bad as what Colin reported on a while ago, yes it needs watching and yes I have wondered if I can buy the alpot and flux ring without the burner as one possible source of a problem is the ti Al welding. I also wonder if there was a bad batch made, or lack of QC. Maybe they were made on a Monday?
IMHO, there may be an issue and the user should be aware and take all care in observing their Sol ti for telltale evidence of impending failure, which is perhaps easier to do than the failure of a recognised brands UL air mattress.
Golf is a good comparison Hendrik. A fine product, much like the Sol is. Obversely a UK made stove, or car would be better ;) I think Jims warning goes beyond evidence on the gas exploding. No one reports that. But a good post still, and informative blog. I will watch and see. Surly they did R&D on this???
Jetboil will I expect answer the issues. If not in the litigating USA they will be forced too I expect.
I will update findings on Twitter, and here. Do the same and on your blog/website and lets see how this pans out.
As for Social media they need to follow it. Any brand needs too now. Product info is fast and updated by the second now for people to find out about things.
PO? brand maybe. Agree Roger. 30 days and no issues that have made it fail. Your big walk last year proved a lot of kit is good kit. Sol worked well for you.
Like you I will watch and see. Hendrik is doing the same. BPL staff like the Sol and it is a superb stove.
I would say you might be right on lack of QC. Made where?
Yeah, there's needs to be a good outbreak of sense around this. It does raise an eyebrow and needs to be monitored but I won't be expecting news reports of explosions around the world. You're bang on about response, they need to monitor social media for branding reasons and a rapid response would limit brand damage as a result.
Social media is the biggest media going. BBC world service 220 million listeners. Huge yet get a message out on Twitter and Google that gets shared and the impact is massive. Worse for business is we share it. No paid BBC journalist. Power is devolving to the masses. Jetboil take note as yes there needs an outbreak of sense and well put. But is the damage done?
Thanks Michael.
Original BPL thread (titled: Orange thingy on JB sol ti) reporting a problem was removed by Ryan Jordan with no explanation.. The plot thickens.
I expect the lawyers behind the JetBoom So Hi are having meetings as we speak to ready their response. Me? I'll hold on to mine until any recall is made.
The plot does indeed thicken. Missed that one. Not surprised by RJ action. Sums up the attitude to paying subscribers to me from BPL right now. Thanks for the heads up.
I like mine. Stunning stove. We will see Joe. Recall might happen. But hope they suss why some have failed and sort it.
This is certainly something that needs watching carefully. Yours might be ok but MANY show problems like mine. A few have had more serious problems. I would be reluctant to use this stove in or even near my shelter now. Aluminium and Titanium are not compatible materials so its choice is very strange. Actually baffling. I like my Sol Ti but it needs a rethink. My guess is V2 will have a Ti heat exchanger. How big a problem this is only Jetboil knows and their keeping quiet.
They do seem very silent on the issues Colin. Thanks for commenting and the concern. I shall be watching. Just updated post based on the pulled thread from BPL. Now why they did that is a mystery.
Also Jason update of the link you mentioed. Asking why on twitter right now. Chris Wallace said he can see it. Note I am logged in and cannot. Thanks again for that.
This is what as posted on the thread - "This forum thread has been removed from public view until further notice
while we research some of the claims and safety issues presented
herein."
The explanation is there, it's just likely the thread was locked shortly after it was posted.
I haven't discussed it with Ryan, but I suspect it mostly has to do with all of the "your jetboil is going to kill you" nonsense. I'm sure Ryan doesn't want BPL to be sued by JetBoil for libel any more than JetBoil wants to be sued by some dead Sol Ti owner's family.
Thanks Chris, much appreciated. Clears that up, and now we wait to see if Jetboil will comment.
A good report -- and good to know. The problem does seem to be fairly small in proportion to the number of stoves manufactured.
By the way, I've completely revised the post after collecting more information, conferring with others, analyzing things further.
HJ
Just because there's no product recall doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a problem. Jetboil may not have Product Recall insurance and as such cannot afford the recall.
The cost of doing one-off replacements is far smaller than a full-scale recall - across a planet.
Martin, the Flash is working fine and if I like it over this weekend in the Lakes I will order a Zip and send yours back to you as mentioned.
At least it won't blow you to bits, maybe!
;-)
If the Flash works for you take it on the Challenge and then ask me about it again. Interesting point on the Product insurance. Time will tell Carl.
Jim keep up the work on stoves. Helpful and appreciated. I shall read the updated post.
Thank you, Martin. Hopefully, I didn't overstep and "Cry Wolf" on this one. I issued a strong caution at first because of the nature of the original incident that prompted the post, but after further analysis, that strong of a caution just wasn't warranted.
By the way, would it be all right if I showed your photo of your (presumably) used JetBoil Sol Ti's heat exchanger? I'd like to show that a lot of them work just fine. Of course I would give you full credit and provide a link to your blog.
HJ
Colin, may I ask what problems you've encountered?
HJ
Jim. Mine has a problem with corrosion or oxidisation between the dissimilar metals, It appears purely cosmetic and has got no worse since September. I know of others that look like this. I do wonder if this affects the transfer of heat between the flux ring and pot which COULD be a reason why the rings are overheating. Jetboil was asked about this on the 18th Sept but never replied.
Help yourself Jim. I will read your updated post later. Thanks.
I tweeted this blog post to them on Twitter Colin. We wait and see if they comment.
Interesting. Hard to tell if the oxidization would affect heat transfer or not. I suppose you'd have to test it side by side with a new one, but even then individual variations stove-to-stove might skew the results. I suppose there's no easy way to clean it either.
Thanks very much for the information.
HJ
I believe Carl has hit the nail on the head.
As most of my "cooking" is just boiling water I was considering one of these stoves. Not any more!
Ta for that, Martin. I don't fancy molten metal dripping over me...
Thank you. Photo posted.
HJ
I wont sleep at night knowing your worried about me with that stove Alan :) heck I might take the Spider at this rate. But all joking aside good call. Wait till Jetboil respond.
We know this Flux Ring worked fine. Aluminium also? So is it interaction and expansion between the metals types? Or was the supply faulty ?
Martin, is that a 1.0L Primus heat exchanger pot? The pot and the exchanger are both aluminum (hard anodized if I recall correctly). The aluminum pot conducts heat well.
With an aluminum exchanger and a Ti pot, the real trouble comes when anything blocks heat transfer to the contents of the pot, like a layer of burnt food. If the the heat can't transfer to the contents of the pot, that heat exchanger has no where to dump the heat it's collecting. Under such circumstances, the exchanger can get really, really hot. Hot enough to seriously damage the exchanger or in some cases, apparently, cause the exchanger to separate from the Ti pot. Keep in mind though that the number of units affected appears to be quite low.
I've also posted instructions from JetBoil at the bottom of my (now fully re-written) blog post. The orange colored ones are particularly salient.
HJ
Again insightful Jim. Indeed Primus pot. The Flux has burnt an outline on the inside of the Ti pot BTW.
Your update is great and the truth is Jetboil have all the answers on the package as per your photos. Boil water high. Be careful melting snow etc all clear. In my pack this coming trip. Thanks Jim and great stuff. Much appreciated.
Well, what an interesting post to read having just bought one if these a couple of weeks ago!!
I've used it about half a dozen times and not seen any of the problems yet (I'm pretty impressed with it as it happens) but I will be be keeping a wary eye on it. I'm about to review it on my own blog so I'll reference this thread when I do.
Assuming it doesn't blow my head off before I do
Mine behaved well again Andy. Stick with it. I am.
Martin, Did Jetboil ever comment?
HJ
Nothing Jim. I doubt they will .
Yeah, well, that's sort of their reputation. OK, thanks. Just thought I'd check; just in case.
HJ
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