Day 18 of the test. Time for a status update.

I filled about 3 liters of unleaded into the 4 liter MSR DromeLight, covered it in baby-powder so I could spot any leaks immediately, and hung it upside-down so the filler cap is pointing straight down.

So far so good. The baby-powder is still dry and no signs of any leakage, even around the filler cap. The MSR is in great shape and there are no signs of any degradation of the materials. The one thing I noticed from day one though was the gasoline smell in the bathroom. There seems to be a small amount of vapors escaping, but not enough to cause a fire hazard (I hope). After about 7-10 days the MSR really started to expand and now resembles an inflated balloon. I imagine that bouncing around on the road and hot weather would speed up the ballooning effect significantly as well. Even with the ballooning, the MSR seems do hold up well and even withstands slapping around and squeezing. At the end of the test I will do repeated drop tests to check impact resistance of the MSR in this ballooned state.

My initial thoughts are that the MSR should work well as a temporary solution if you transfer the fuel to your main tank as soon as there is room. Venting the MSR daily on the road by briefly opening the cap will probably buy you more time as well. But extreme heat or violent shaking could be a problem.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Johan Rodskog
www.rodskog.com