Major Kenyon Kiss malfunction

Hi Potter Water, thanks for the thoughts. I most definitely have butane, even read the can to the Kenyon people. It has the metal tab with cutout and all that as well.

As an aside, a direct quote from Kenyon: "You aren't limited to just our brand of butane--they are all the same and you can use any brand you want."

I do use MAPP gas also at home, but it has a different torch to propane.

I couldn't agree more that I have a hard time imagining any circumstance where the burner would melt and fail, but it happened, and would have caused a fire if I hadn't caught it when I did. All I can think is that somehow the metallurgy was bad, or perhaps there was a wrong "jet", for lack of a better term, in the regulator that allowed too much gas to flow (i.e. too many BTUs at once, more than the burner was designed to take), or something like that. It's all SWAG for me, just wondering out loud.

Nonetheless, Kenyon is rightfully interested to see the stove and figure out what happened. If they give me any further info, I will share it here.

All the best,
bmc
 
Just going through some of the archives as I get ready to purchase some replacement fuel cylinders for my Kenyon Kiss stove. I find all of the messages here interesting. However, in the two years I've owned my 2007 CD-22, I've had good use of my stove. IT appears to be in like new condition as well. Just wondering if there are many others out here that have had the same good service from their Kiss stoves? I'm really not interested in replacing my working stove, and feel like anything, there can be lemons out there. I've used both propane and coleman camp fuel equipment in the past, and like anything else dealing with fuels....I think if you take care of it, it'll take care of you. Colby
 
Our Kenyon has worked reliably for many seasons and we've not paid any attention to the brand of canister. I would not give it up at this point and I do like the built in nature of the thing.
 
We have had our boat since April of 2009. We used our Kenyon Kiss stove a fair amount never had any problems. We always left the fuel canister in place in the stove. Last year we changed out the canister and noticed we could not get a decent seal and heard and smelled gas leaking. We did not use the stove and sent it back to Kenyon after our trip. They resealed the unit with new o rings and checked it out for free. Frank said do not leave the fuel canister in place when you are not using the stove. A small drop of motor oil on the fuel canister tip helps lube the o rings etc. when you install the gas canister in the stove. No other trouble. The stove works like a champ. I keep a close eye on it as I do with any gas fueled device. I have a portable surface mounted back up butane stove which has a plastic carrying case. That stove has been used a lot in power outages,camping etc. Never had an issue. Always removed gas canister after each use. I think that's the key, remove gas canister after every use.
D.D.
 
I also have had a problem with my KISS stove leaking fuel. I had left a fuel cylinder in the stove for more than a week...maybe a couple of weeks come to think of it....and when I put in a new canister I heard fuel leaking. Thank goodness I had the good sense (not always the case) not to try lighting it. I called Kenyon, and the VP of Manufacturing got right back to me and asked a few questions to make sure I was familiar with how to load the canister. When I explained I was about to leave on a summer cruise, he issued a Return Authorization and asked me to ship it back right away. It was returned 5 business days from when I shipped it, meaning that they turned this around in their service department in one day. The stove has a new set of seals and works like new. Now I'll just remove the canister on a daily basis. No big deal considering how well the stove performs. Oh, and by the way, the stove's serial number indicates it was manufactured in 2008. My 2009 TomCat was purchased "new" from Mark at Wefings in 2011. This was all done at no charge except for my shipping expense to Kenyon. I'd say this is pretty remarkable customer service.
 
Just wanted to bring this thread back to life. I recently had a problem with my KISS stove, where when I inserted the butane canister, it started leaking. As some others have, I contacted Kenyon and worked with Frank Palmieri. He was very accommodating and helpful and agreed to repair my stove as warranty. (IT was manufactured in 2007, and I just purchased the boat used last year and was probably the only one using the stove...which I like very well.) As others have shared, many times the problem is with the seals drying out. Frank shared with me that butane really drys the seals out. He said the Butane canister should be removed from the stove after each use, and then to purge the butane in the system by opening the burner valve. Also, with each use, put a drop of 30 weight motor oil right on the tip of the butane nozzle. This will blast the oil thru the system (seals) when you install the canister, thereby keeping the seals lubed. Yeah, a little bit of a pain to keep these stoves working, but for me, it's a great little stove that allows me to leave the camp stove and marine grill at home saving a little bit of space. Colby
 
After hearing from Dr. Bob about his friend that was critically burned by a KISS I put mine in the garbage can. You should also. It does not appear to be a well engineered piece of equip.
Will "Frank" be around to help out with medical bills etc.
I do not want to take the chance. My Mr.Heater works great.
 
Our KISS, while we don't use it a lot, has worked well for 7 years. Just take the butane cylinder off after every use and, on recommendation from the dealer, every now and then put a dab of lube around the tip to keep the O ring flexible
 
To clarify, it was not a KISS stove specifically. But the problem was exactly the same as the failure of the KISS seals. The seals on the cartridge were bad, and the gas leaked out very rapidly, ignited and caused over 30% 3rd degree burn. So my concerns are not brand specific, nor specific for Butane or Propane. They all work the same.
 
I too have spoken with Frank at Kenyon. Our KISS stove went back for a reseal job. I used to leave the canister in all the time. Worked fine for about three or four years. Then one day we changed out the fuel canister and noticed a leak. I sent the stove back in and per Franks recommendations removed the fuel canister after every use and put a dab of motor oil on the tip of the fuel canister. The stove worked fine for a year, now we are back to it leaking again when loading a fuel canister. The one thing I did not do is purge the stove of any remaining butane after removing the fuel canister after each use. Fortunately the leak is not hard to hear or detect with your nose. We never go to the ignition stage until we are sure no leaks are detected. I'll send the stove back to Frank once again. If it screws up again in the trash it will go. :amgry
D.D.
 
The idea of adding a drop of motor oil to the canister/ stove interface is a good one that can be adapted to other butane canister uses.

I've never really done it until the other day when I took a canister off a propane torch in my garage and could hear the detached canister leaking (!)

I oiled the needle, put the canister back on the torch, and found that upon subsequent removal, the canister didn't leak.

However, just to be sure, I attached the torch again and left them together, since the torch is simple, and has a good non-leaking valve that I have more confidence in than the oiled seal.

Then I stored the unit outside in a detached shed from the house.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
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