Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Thermodynamics works against you there.
If you threw the canister into a fire, it would over pressure and explode. But since you are doing a couple of state changes with regard to the gas in the cansister...converting from liquid to gas and then forcing the gas through a venturi to the burner...there is little chance you could "overheat" the canister. The canisters get painfully cold the longer you run them and will even condense water and freeze it on the outside of the canister. This is often the way that you can tell how much liquid is left in the tank.
But, no, the tank won't explode.
Canisters can explode with a really bad windscreen design.
Imagine you find a can the canister fits snugly into. Cut a slot for the control knob to slide through. a couple of small holes for combustion, but no holes for ventilation across the canister. The can could retain enough heat to overheat the canister.
2) Look at the Soto and Giga power, and MSR windpower windscreens, protects the flame from wind but not the canister.
3) The companies that make the stoves tell you to maintain ventilation around the canister.
So a person actually could get themselves a Darwin award with a stove canister.
Get a rubber band attach an empty canister on one end, lift and measure the stretch. Do the same with a full canister. Now you can estimate partial canisters.