I recently purchased an MSR Whisperlite International Multi Fuel backpacking stove. I purchased this because of the "multi fuel" aspect. It will burn kerosene as well as white gas. I fired it up with the kerosene for the first time, it seemed to be more of a large flame as oppossed to a "blue flame " that I am used to with a Coleman single burner stove. Is this becaue kerosene is not as volatile as white gas? I remember as a kid the old coleman stoves sounding like a rocket as they were maxed out. I played with the fuel switch a while and as i tried to adjust the flow. The more I turned it up the more flame came. As oppossed to a "blue flame".
In understanding kerosene heaters they use kersoene because of the low volatility. Thus allowing them to have the wick and the controlled flame.
Anybody out there savvy with single burner stoves that can advise? Specifically have you used the MSR with both fuels and fould that the white gas just burns cleaner and better?
(I will try to burn the white gas shortyly and follow up on this post)
Thanks much, The Beav
Gonna answer your question with a question, since I'm planning to buy that same stove this week. What's your impression of the fuel line/pump's durability?
Going to ask a question here also.
When switching between fuels on a multi fuel stove, and dump out any leftover fuel,
do you need to get every last drop of the previous fuel out before adding the current fuel ?
There could be 1/4 teaspoon left of the old I am guessing.
Or do you put in some new current fuel and swish around and dump that out and
then fill up ?
Or maybe it does not matter ?
A few drops of white gas mixed in to a cup of kerosene won't matter. A cup of white gas mixed in to a cup of kerosene does matter.
My MSR Whisperlite is an older one, white gas only. Reliability wise I have been very happy with this stove. It has travelled a lot of places. The nice thing is that for airline travel you can use a new fuel bottle, use it, discard it ( a bit wasteful) and then clean out the pump and bring the stove home.
When you used the kerosene did you follow the instructions for pre-heating? Even with white gas, if not properly pre-heated it takes a while to get the jet engine blue flame.
A wind screen and a coating of BBQ paint on your pots will save fuel.
I have a white gas coleman stove and 2 lanterns. I keep 3 jugs of fuel (at minimum) on hand any all times - this would last me 3 weeks.
My preference is for the dragonfly model over the whisperlight, simply because I have had more reliability with the dragonfly. With both stoves it is necessary to change the jet to match the fuel type. With the kerosene, expect a yellow flame with less heat, but a longer burn time/ml of fuel. Unfortunately it will burn a fair bit dirtier and you will need to spend a little more time doing periodic maintenance. Typically we avoid using kerosene unless there is no other choice. Try preheating the stove when using any fuel, but it is even more important with kerosene. To preheat, asks the such to soak up extra fuel, then turn the fuel of and light. As the fuel burns off you may need to add extra fuel until you hear a distinct shift in the sound of combustion, or the flames become more manageable in size. Then turn the fuel up and you are good to go.
The fuel pump is a little fragile, though fairly easily repairable. It is worth purchasing the expedition repair kit, and do seasonal maintenance if used regularly. We have only had serious problems once with the pump, we were on a multi month trip and were carrying a full repair kit, 2 stoves, and spare pump. Repaired in the field. The repair took less time than cleaning the stove after kerosene usage and replacing with the white gas jet.
Just my thoughts.
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So a few days after the post to start I did switch to white gas. Definately a difference in the flame and how it seemed to heat up. I wont go back to kerosene, it was dirty and turned everything black, the white gas seems to be the way to go. As for the question above about the fuel line pump and durability...cant say really about the durability. As for the pump, the plastic scares me come cold weather, I dont know if it would become brittle. I still like my single burneer colman stove. Cant beat metal.
The beav