I bought this stove primarily to use for emergencies or when I experience a power outage but I like that I can also use it for camping (note, it is not a backpacking stove, it's too bulky and propane is too heavy for that). I was a bit surprised that the base is a lot larger than it looks in the online picture. This stove can accommodate 12" and even 14" pots and pans. While this may seem like a positive, for me, I wish it was slightly smaller. At least it can be stored in a cupboard vertically.
I also wish the stove came with a carrying pouch or case, but it does not.
The stove performs and functions perfectly well and seems sturdy and well built so all in all for the price, I'm happy with it despite the few negatives I've mentioned. Small propane tanks are cheap and readily available for about $1.50-$2.00 which is a real plus. Coleman PowerPack 1-Burner Stove
Purchased this in place of a larger bulky stove. The unit has sufficent heat and stores nicely.
The two issues I dont like are:
No real control over the burner, setting it to low can be tricky. Coleman needs to redesign the valve
Second is the top grating, better have larger pans or coffe pots. The grating is fair.
I have used thi unit for 4 years now its nice for the size.
This is a very easy product to use, but note that it is larger than a small burner that I thought it might be. I used it very easily the first night I had it out at the campsite, and it worked to perfection without any troubles at all. I would recommend this to anyone who does not need multiple burners or to those who do not camp all that often. I camp out about 3-4 times per year, and this will suit my needs quite well. Only gave it 4 of 5 stars due to its bigger size, but it puts out plenty of heat for my purposes.
We have used this stove as our main cooking unit at our cabin for a couple of years. It was intended as a back-up to the white gas fueled two burner Coleman camp stove, but this one has taken over due to its cleaner burn and better economy. Propane works just fine in the heated cabin where it gets used. The large, low base makes it a fine unit for general cooking duties and provides a safer, more stable cooking platform than many portable stoves do. This stove does not have as high a heat output as some units, but it is plenty as we have proven when we've used it for canning salmon with the 22 quart pressure cooker a few times. I've seen the complaint about its inability to be controlled easily at lower settings. While I will admit that some fuel burning units are easier to use in this regard, I guess it had never occurred to me that this unit was very problematic. I've never had any trouble simmering rice or reducing the vigor of the coffee percolator after they come to a boil.
I am not sure if it is the burner size, the close line proximity to the bottle or just the fact that this stove¡¦s burner does not compete with another burner for fuel, but this 7500 btu stove outperforms any 10000 btu stove that I have ever owned and with a max output of 7500 btu¡¦s it pretty simple math to understand that you don¡¦t need to carry near as many propane bottles, nor do I find myself having to mess with changing bottles right in the middle of boiling those shrimp I just pulled out of my pot ยบ
The size and design of this stove makes it easy to find a stable area to setup and handle larger pots. I would pack two of these stoves over taking any two burner stove that I have ever used. It is just an awesome little stove
Louis
My wife and I love this product. Now, it's not for backpacking, but it does work great as a car camping or base camp stove. It does require one of those disposable propane tanks (which can be tough to dispose of), and it might make sense to get the carrying case (not seeing it attached here). But besides that, a great, simple stove which can be used in all kinds of conditions.
I have some nephews starting into boy scouts and was interested in a stove they might like. I liked the idea of one like this versus ones that sit on disposable tanks since it looks more stable (as well as being able to connect it to a bulk tank if wanted with a hose). Looking at the online pictures I liked the way this one looked with round bars for the pot support (versus bent sheet metal supports in similar ones) and thought "That looks better if someone did try to carry such in a back-pack since it won't have knife-blade like edges easily ripping into things". So I ordered one up even with seeing some reviews of "This is bigger than I expected" thinking it may be ~8-10 inches across versus ~6-8 (and not seeing anyone giving dims on it). The truth is that the main body is 12 inch diameter at the base, it is almost 14 inches across at the feet (the widest points) and the pot support bars will hold an 11 inch diameter pot with it sitting flat on the horizontal parts of the bars. So maybe that tells you more about how "Big" it really is versus pictures of it alone (that are hard to scale with no comparisons). This also explains to me why it goes for over $30 versus many single burner stoves going for $15-20 (that I wondered about too before ordering it).
I'll keep it since having this may be as good or better than many 2 burner stoves (where putting a 11 inch pan on them ends up with almost 1/2 the pan hanging off the edges), but I hope this helps minimize surprises for others of you considering this.
This burner is a good burner for emergency or when you need to cook at the patio or even on the dinner table. I have been looking for a single burner I could use for cooking on the table. This single burner is a perfect fit for that matter. For outdoor uses, this one may not be ideal as it lacks wind-barriers. However, this is small enough to carry out for picnics. Easy to use, but the instruction says you need to check for leaks using soap water etc... So that is not as simple as an upright burner. However I don't mind as I needed a stable one for pots and fans.'
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