this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2025
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What is this thing?

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I ended up having some time today to dig this thing out of my camping gear. It's musty rusty and crusty but it's poked a lot of holes in fuel cans. Haven't camped in years some of this is really taking me back.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The bottom rim of the fuel canister goes between those jaws, and acts as a lever to puncture the can. You use those canisters to fuel your camp stove, which you have because even if you're cooking over an open fire your moka pot needs a stove. Some gas gets left behind even when it's "empty". As I understand it, it's enough gas to cause problems at the recycling center. So instead the small hole allows it to bleed off into the atmosphere where it won't explode. Pretty neat

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

Gotcha. That makes sense. I was thinking it was some sort of connector for a super niche camp stove I hadn't seen before.