Back in March of this year the cheap and very popular 'lunch box' style butane gas cookers were banned from sale in NSW due to their potential for overheating and exploding.
This style of stove had grown so popular due to their very low price, compactness, simplicity and the easy access to butane gas cartridges.
So it was only a matter of time before one or all of the Australian importers modified the stoves to rectify the issues that caused them to be banned and brought them back to the market.
Well that day has come.
Gasmate announced on Tuesday via their Facebook page that their new and fully compliant model is now being rolled out to Bunnings stores across the country.
The stoves are selling for $29.90 which is around $10.00 more than the previous models and Gasmate claims this is due to the increased cost of manufacturing to achieve compliance.
I'm sure that is a factor but given the 'pent up demand' for this new model, Gasmate will be keen to make the most of the opportunity and no doubt recoup some of their loses from the banning of the original model.
Still, $29.90 is not going to break the bank and I'll be heading down to Bunnings on the weekend to grab a couple in preparation for our upcoming Lake Argyle road trip next month.
Hi Steve, Jen and the Girls
I bought the big lap dvd set for myself for christmas and have just re watched the dvds again! I love these dvds. One day ill buy a campervan and travelling this beautiful country of ours with my daughter but at the moment myself and my daughter will have to settle for local trips with a tent until i can afford the van ?
Thanks Baile Family!
Sarah(28yrs) and Amelia(4yrs)- Townsville qld
Thanks Sarah, it’s great to hear you enjoyed the series and are feeling inspired.
It all starts with a dream and I have no doubt that you and Amelia will be out there having your own road trip adventure very soon.
Cheers
Steve
Hi Steve. Could you let me know which Bunnings did you get the Gasmate portable stove from. I am in Sydney and been to a couple Bunnings over weekend without much luck. Thanks Vibhav
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Well I threw out my old "unsafe" unit thanks to it being declared unsafe. Not that I ever had any problems with it.
I bought a new model featured here from Bunnings and had it sitting on the shelf unused for some months. Then we had a blackout right in the middle of cooking dinner. No worries, I thought....
After using the unit ONCE, I found the burner had partially melted. Yes, melted. Turns out that the burner looks like metal but is actually plastic. None too heat resistant plastic either. And no, my pot was not over sized (I was quite aware of the problems that these units have with over sized pots well before the revised units hit the market). Nor did I do anything out of the bog standard ordinary.
Much as I like the convenience of these little units, I've given up on them completely.
Hi Steve,
I can remember when we bought our gasmate butane burner from Bunnings nay have been earlier in 2015. Can you give me any advice on how to check if it is the upgraded 'compliant ' model?
Many Thanks
Hi Else, your burner will be the older non-compliant one as they were only banned in March 2015. The new compliant models starting hitting the market around July 2015.
Hi Steve,
Thank you for your blog! Is the Gasmate cooler still ok to use? My two boys (6&4) and I (42) are selling up and leaving when our lease expires in November to see as much of our beautiful country as possible while we can. I've never camped a day in my life! I've been doing a LOT of research and would love some advice and tips, especially when it comes to cooking and being safe...
Cheers,
Katie.
cooker not cooler ?
Hi Steve,
my name is Shanesse O'Callaghan
I just came across your article when searching 'Primus portable two gas burner' in to google,
and then right at the bottom of the first page i came across your article about the dangers of
the old Gasmate portable gas burners that Bunnings used to supply, but have now replaced with a new updated and compliant version of their old one.
But what i wasn't sure of, and was wondering, is if you could by any chance,
to me whether or not the 'Primus Butane 2 Gas Burner Portable Stove'
is safe and compliant, and whether i should be buying it, or if i should steer clear of this one
(like the old Gasmate one), or whether it is safe to buy it?
and if you could tell me what size pans and pots are fine to put on the Primus one i mentioned above,
as i read that all portable gas top burner stoves shouldn't have pans and pots on them, any bigger than the actual circumference / size of the metal bits that the pans and pots will be sitting on.
and if this is correct?
Thankyou you in advance for any help that you can give me
- Shanesse
Hi Shanesse, any new butane stove you buy today should be compliant and ok to use. And yes you're correct that the pot/pan should be no bigger than the trivet that it sits on to avoid radiant heat reflecting onto the compartment where the gas cartridge is and causing it to over heat and potentially explode.
The new compliant butane cookers have a temperature sensor near the cartidge which cuts off the gas if too hot. It can happen if you put a pan or pot that is oversized to the trivet as Steve says in the top text.