Multi-fuel stove and lantern combo

[Stephen]

Hi,
I am looking for a multi fuel stove that can double as a lantern or vise versa. Must be compact, rugged and leak proof as it will be GSing all over the countyside.

Thanks in advance

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[DAVSATO]

hi, i dont know how robust it is for RTW travel, but for my fishing i use a coleman lantern.it has a flat top that can be used for heating things, it does boil a pan eventually but its best for heating precooked stuff, and runs on almost any liquid fuel.its a bit bulky to put on the back of a bike tho.

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dave

[Fuzzy Duck]

Dave & Stephen

I've got Coleman lantern and stove - both are great - and run better on unleaded petrol than the Coleman fuel (which is daft money here in the UK). However I've had problems with the filament of the lantern breaking during transit (on tarmac roads) and it would need some major padding to prevent this I think - so I don't know how it would cope with bumpy tracks (not sure where you're planning to go Stephen)?

I wouldn't take a lantern like this on a BIG trip - instead I'm going to run a light off the bike battery. An LED DIY light is cheap to make and hardly takes any current. There's a thread about it on this website somewhere...

I'll take my maglite for trips into the woods for the call of nature (when I need a torch/lantern).

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Fuzzy Duck
(I'm quackers about bikes)

[DAVSATO]

well, there u go, i wasnt sure about its durability, and fuzzy duck speaks from experience. i also agree about the proper coleman fuel, its so expensive my local coleman stockist refuses to stock it!!
its strange, but ive never tried to run it on petrol, i heard it could give off dodgy fumes from the additives? i use jet fuel pinched from work which works well,(its only kerosene, anyway)and ive also used meths, but that didnt get very bright.
all in all you cant beat a good log fire, but you cant find a good log when you need one.
happy trails

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dave

[Fuzzy Duck]

Dave

Never used it on petrol!!! I'm shocked! That's why these things are so great for bikes - you always have plenty of fuel. Mine works beautifully on unleaded. I think all that talk about fumes is a bit daft. As long as you use it in the open air and keep your distance then no problem. I have to say that siphoning fuel from the tank and getting a gob full of petrol is a bit of a health hazard - but I'm going to modify my fuel pipe on the bike and add an extra line + tap so I can fill up without siphoning.

There's a myth about Colemans and flame control. They're either blasting or off - I've never had this problem. You just have to fiddle with the valve a bit and you can simmer to your hearts content...

Coleman Peaks rock!

Re: lanterns - I always take plenty of spare filaments (they're pretty cheap) - so things can be sorted. I've started putting a lot of padding around the lantern for tarmac transit and its been OK for weekend trips - but anything bumpy will break the filament it I think.

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Fuzzy Duck
(I'm quackers about bikes)

[This message has been edited by Fuzzy Duck (edited 08 August 2002).]

[DAVSATO]

fuzzy, ive never run it on petrol cos ive never tried to carry the lamp on my bike!!otherwise yes, i probably would.
fumes from petrol are pretty noxious, but used outside,whats the chances? i meant not to use it inside a tent or closed space cos you`ll go to sleep and not wake up!!


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dave

[This message has been edited by DAVSATO (edited 10 August 2002).]

[Fuzzy Duck]

Hmmm good point - I thought you meant the stove - too much time in the duck pond makes my brain go funny - sorry.

Come to think of it you're right about the fumes from the lantern (I was talking about the stove in my previous message). Inside a small tent a petrol lantern is dangerous for lots of reasons - not worth the risk really...

Although it's a great heater when it's cold...

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Fuzzy Duck
(I'm quackers about bikes)

[DAVSATO]

fumes are a sod. the worst things are those white parrafin blocks you get in the little metal fold up stoves. 2yrs ago two squaddies on camp where i work were found dead in their tent in oman,theyd used them to heat the tent overnight,the sad thing is they had rigged this great holder so the heat never got to the tent material to cause a fire.


good idea about the extra pipe on the fuel tap, all it would take is a bit of hose, a Y peice and an end cap of some sort.have a look somewhere that does windscreen washer parts, they have all that kind of thing.

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dave

[Madrid_CapeTown]

>>tap, all it would take is a bit of hose, a >>Y peice and an end cap of some sort.have a >>look somewhere that does windscreen washer >>parts, they have all that kind of thing.

NO NO NO !!!! . All these windscreen washer tubes / fittings etc... are absolutely NOT resistant to most organic solvents (petrol). Sooner or later these small plastic fittings will start to desintegrate . Use metal (threaded) fittings / valve tubes instead (and surprisingly nor much more expensive) .

cheers

[Stewart H]

Not found anything combined, but I carry a GO system treklite gas lantern on bike trips, its small, bright and gives off enough heat to bring my small tent up into the comfort zone, its frugal on gas and does not seem too bothered about low temps (I have stood it on my hot water bottle in extremis) I would not leave it burning when asleep under any circumstances.

[Threewheelbonnie]

Weight and bulk is less important, we have the sidecar to carry it all. I use a Coleman 2-burner stove and lantern.

The mantles for the lantern are brittle once used. They are cheap, so I carry three or four, but the best solution is straps on the bulkhead inside the sidecar body. Stop the whole thing impacting against other bits of kit and I can go many a mile and still fire it up.

I do use the lantern inside the tent in winter, burning petrol. The warning labels are correct but OTT. I once ran it in a totally closed tent with a battery powered carbon monoxide detector round my neck. After an hour the alarm went off. Keep the lantern in the tent doorway with a downwind flap open a couple of inches and you can run it almost indefinately. I've sat tent cloth on top and it doesn't catch fire. So, keep it 30cm away from the fabric, give heavier than air fumes the chance to flow away from where you will sleep and turn it off when you bed down and I'm happy to use it indoors. Leave it burning all night while you sleep in an open box of tent material directly under it and you will die.

Getting petrol out of the bike can be a PITA. My Bonneville is carbed so a simple QD in the fuel line between the main and auxilliary tanks is easy. The BM being FI won't like this and I don't want something with an O-ring in a 3 bar petrol line just so I can make a cuppa. I therefore carry a jerry can and funnel and use that. Plastic fittings can work with petrol but they need to be specific materials not nylon washer parts. Petrol safe plastic tends to be hard, but brass is easier to spot as 100% safe.

Solo bike and the sort of other kit you'd need for a trip over 3-weeks, I'd get a wind up LED lantern, small petrol stove and a hot water bottle if it's winter.

Andy

[oldbmw]

I would go for a rechargeable ( from the bikes battery) torch. You often want light quickly and then for just a few minutes. so is good if a torch which can just be switched on is to hand.

I don't use any non gas stove inside a tent just in case of flare ups.