In a different thread the desirability of having a gimballed stove was mentioned. I recently swapped from using an Origo spirit stove to one of those flat "butane" camping stoves and thought my new set up might be of interest!
I have gimballed the butane stove by re-using the (very expensive) gimbals bought with the Origo. This was not straight forward because the centre of gravity of the butane stove moves sideways depending on how full the kettle or cooking pan is and, also, how full the butane cartridge is. After some experiment (if you look at the photos you will see multiple drilled holes) I realised that the best technique is to gimbal the stove so that it keeps the kettle horizontal when there is no butane cartridge fitted. On the opposite side to the butane cartridge I have fitted a small metal box* into which I can place counter weights which can be varied in number to balance (more or less) the weight of the butane cartridge and the remaining gas. The counter weights are those sold for weighting curtains and have been made up into 100g and 50g sets.
The gimbaling works well provided you are not sailing the boat on her ear. I use a Bright Spark BS100S stove which is designed for indoor as well as outdoor use since it has a safety cut off which stops the butane supply if the flame is not lit. Of course like any stove it produces carbon monoxide so should not be used in a closed up cabin!
I also use the Bright Spark Butane/propane cartridges. I've used a lot of them since I also use them in my boat heater and so far (touch wood) I have had no problems with them leaking. Bought in packs of 45 they work out at £1.60 each.
Peter
*the box is an "2 Gang Galvanised Architrave Knockout Steel Box 25mm Deep" bought from an electrical supplier!
