I'm certainly no expert, but here's my experience from this past August:
I use a MSR Whisperlite stove on unleaded petrol. Never had a problem with it. I bought it years ago at REI, and they sold me a Primus fuel bottle to go with it. One night in August I cooked dinner on it, same as always. The next morning, I fired it up to make coffee, and about 3 drops of fuel dripped out of the neck onto the concrete picnic table, and ignited. Before I could really react (other than blowing on it like an idiot), the neck of the bottle/pump caught fire. As I backed away, the pump "vented" and a large pressurized flame shot out about ten feet. My thought at that point (besides I'm gonna burn the whole damn forest and campground down) was "well, it will just burn itself out now". About 5 seconds later, the bottle exploded like a bomb. Literally sounded like a Howitzer. The good news is that the bottle flew about 8 feet and landed in the gravel, and was out.
About an hour later, a fellow camper stopped by and asked to look at my stove and fuel bottle. He said he was a sales engineer for MSR, and told me that the Primus bottle and the MSR pump were not compatible. All I know is they were sold to me as a pair, worked fine for quite a while, until they didn't. So, just a heads up:
1. Use an MSR bottle with your MSR stove (note that the inside of my Primus bottle is basically just a water bottle).
2. Always check for any slight leakage before you light the stove, and if you pump it once it's lit, use caution.
3. Have a plan for how you're going to extinguish a gasoline fire (water? I don't think so...just spreads the gasoline around).

Thank goodness I wasn't doing something really dumb like cooking in my tent....:death:

OUCH :oops2:

Could've ended way worse! Lesson learned

Fortune and Glory, kid. Fortune and Glory.

Attachment 14931

Just bought a Edilrid Hexon Multi fuel burner.

Should work on gas canisters and petrol. I've never used petrol before and to prevent the burning off my eyebrows. . I'm reading to manual. Damn, I feel old now.

Anyway, look forward to burn it and will post a short review later.

Alex

Fortune and Glory, kid. Fortune and Glory.

Went to station, bought some fuel. Apparently did something very wrong because the lady was very angry with me and yelling in Mongolian at me. No idea why.. but the fuel was in the bottle already! :cool:

Tried the burner and it works good. Some things are unclear like a little handle that does... something? But it started good, after that it burns like crazy. The noise is really a downside for me, but that's will most petrol burners.

All in all, happy with it! Small, feels as indestructible, light weight, burns like hell. So, good stuff!

Alex

:batman: Subtitles

Thanks! Turns out the movable handle on the side is. . Useless. It's just a support handle, which can move to easier reach a valve. The markings on/off that are near it are not related to it however. Still think it's are nifty little burner!

Alex it may be that your handle, when lowered rests on the ground when your bottle is on 'run'
.
All my multifuel burners have a 'valve stem ' bit inside the bottle. To stop fuel flow the bottle is rotated 180 degrees. Yours may have the same. Read the manual!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5vh5YXd5D5...mp-422-425.jpg

After that f**** Coleman died after 3 weeks on our transafrica.... It makes still problems...

During my Panamericana the pump unit fails, a generator fails, a pump unit leaks...

Have wrote my experiences and how to solve it in my blog...

4x4tripping: Coleman dual flame, dual fuel repair, spares and howto

I`m still not happy with the unit, but don't see an alternative around. Meet again many travelers who use gas, and no one runs out of gas. Maybe it is less hassle to obtain gas than to repair the coleman unit again and again? I guess the build quality of the colemans don't got better over the time....

Surfy

Oh my, I was cooking on my petrol stove two days ago and earlier I ripped my underwear. So, weight being everything I decided after dinner to burn my undies in the sunset. I small drop of petrol from the bottle, the strike of the match and FLOOOMMM, never before was my underwear so hot.

However; the flame also caught the pump that was still a bit wet with petrol so I jumped, grabbed it and killed the flame. And then I saw. .the open bottle of petrol (0.5 liter) right next to flaming cotton. :eek: nothing happened thank god but it really spooked my. If it tipped over or the flames got to it, I'd now look like a molten marshmallow.

three stones and whatever fuel is laying around

A bit of a side question, but my sis flew to the States last weekend and I offered her to take my other stove. She said.. you're not allowed to bring s stove on a flight?!

I know about not bringing gas canisters or filled fuel bottles. I can see why. But this was about the actual burner. Is this true or is my sis just being .. ehh.. her dense self?

I'm planning to go to the USA in 2017. I have an usa stove bought when I was there a few years (gas fittings where different from my EU stove). Now I could open a stove shop.. every trip I seem to buy a new one.

Let me know!

Alex

The stove itself - clean and aired out - will be OK. Fuel bottles should be empty, and clean so no fuel odour is noticeable. No propane bottles.

Story a few years ago when luggage handlers discovered a gas bottle in checked luggage. Announcement to passengers waiting in the lounge to come and sort out the bottle in their luggage - and 6 passengers stood up. Probably just a story but quite believable

Perhaps a stupid question but I was reading about petrol burners and that some NP'S in usa demand a valve. My stove has one, but I don't get it.

When I just tested it, I flipped the bottle to 'off' to kill the flame. It takes long, but 40 seconds or more, and with the flipping of the bottle if accidentally tipped the burner over, so that doesn't improve the situation.

When do you use this valve? (I've read the manual,but still)

Alex

I never even thought about a pressure cooker....that's a great idea. Will have to look up some recipes for the old pressure cooker now.

so much bother with canister fuel,
Part of the reason I chose alcohol, if needed I can be completely drained and dry and then pick up fuel at any hardware store, lumber yard, heck even dime-stores and groceries have alcohol (as long as it's proof is high enough) in their pharmacy/health care sections I can use, or liquor store if need be...

Enjoy taking time out of your riding looking for that stuff, particularly in out of the way places. Don't understand the issue of just putting some more petrol in a bottle every couple of days.

I have a single burner gas stove I bought for when I'm on nights out in a truck. It is quick, easy and clean but when used outside in cold weather the gas cylinders don't appreciate it.

I've had an MSR multi-fuel stove for many years now I've used for hiking and now started using when out on the bike. It's never let me down regardless of ambient temperatures. With one exception I've only ever run it on unleaded petrol but that is readily available pretty much anywhere - especially if I'm using it in the bike anyway.

motor fuel would be even easier. but so far I haven't run into any situations that limited the use of alcohol (mine also burns tabs, and I keep some for emergencies anyway).

Cost was a factor for me, this was cheaper, lighter and in a pinch I learned to make my own from pop cans.

Besides, I also use in with the bicycle when I load up the panniers...

Multi fuel stove users: what have you burnt?
 

Flying with the stove itself should be okay. I've flown with a Whipserlite and a Primus on separate occasions and never had issues.

Both were brand new but I wasn't asked about them. I put them in hand luggage. Used fuel bottles are different - maybe separate them so if one goes they won't take the lot. Make sure there is no fuel residual or soot. Put the fuel bottle (once clean) in a plastic transparent bag with the lid off.

As for fuel - obviously petrol is easiest to get a hold of but it's dirty to burn. Canister gaz is clean and I think in the Americas, Europe and probably Asia it's easy enough to come by. Downside is leaving a trail of those empty cans behind you.

Petrol isn't dirty with the muka stove. Leaves no soot

Alternatively instead of leaving a trail of empty cans, why don't you just leave them in the bin at the next garage when you buy your spare replacement? That's what I do after each 3-4 weeks of camping.

That still leaves a trail of rubbish of a single use item.

Multi fuel stove users: what have you burnt?
 

Yes of course I don't toss them wherever! But as tmotton points out, they're still gonna end up in some landfill site somewhere (probably side of the road if Bolivia, Peru are anything to go by)... Well I suppose just running a motorcycle is a pretty terrible thing for the environment.

So why add to it. Nothing wrong with petrol stoves.

I have yet to find one that will simmer.

My little gaz stove will have tea made before the omnifuel has even got the water hand hot. NO mess. No smells and will simmer stews/curries without burning.

Most can turn down the flame. But gas canisters suck outside of the developed world, and even then they do. Petrol stations everywhere

Maybe in the third world it is different, but gas cooking is common in most places.! I carry two cannisters, a full one does three weeks. so I have one on the burner and a spare. so always have three weeks to find a replacement. On a trip around Europe with my Omnifuel, it was so much hassle I never bothered to fire it up for a brew up the entire trip. so missed my lunchtime brew up. It seems to me there is unreasoning hysteria about carrying a spare cannister. Really they are no bother at all, being smaller than the petrol burners fuel bottle. But even that isn't the real problem, because I don’t bother with the petrol burner when I do trips by car and then a spare 10 litres for the stove would be easy. It is just that petrol stoves are a lot more bother and so much slower to deploy. Compared to gas not nice to use.

True. I use gas as a backup during winter backcountry trips. I hope never to have to use it, but to me the time spent with setting up the petrol stove (which is really just pumping up the bottle which I try and leave pressurized a bit) far outweighs looking for a camping store that sells the gas canisters. Horses and courses.

When possible and I have the time, I like to cook over a wood fire when there are just coals. Adjust the temp by moving the pan closer or further away from the coals.

How do you move a saucepan or casserole closer or further?

Comme ca mon vieux! New can now looking a bit more dinged and burned!
p.s I agree with you that gas is quick and a bit less messy and I tend to use that in my 4x4 (but still carry my Omnifuel) but on 2 wheels, it's always the Omnifuel.
The problem you have with simmering may well be due to your over pressurizing the fuel bottle. I am sure I've suggested this to you before :chef:
Making tea is a Zen exercise and should not be rushed :yinyang:!

Left, right, forwards, backwards, up, down etc etc.

The possibilities are endless ;)

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Hmm, can't seem to find the hover button on my saucepan :)

I don't bother with too many cooking fuels. For quite some time I've used my Trangia meths burner and it does what I need it to do.....boil water and heat stuff up. It probably has limitations for the more discerning outdoor chef but I'm not too bothered.
Recently I bought a super cheap and very small gas burner that screws onto the top of a small Coleman gas bottle. I think it cost about £3 (the gas was twice that price) just to try it out. It was good and it was fast for boiling water and of course it can be adjusted etc. so I don't think I need to explore any other cooking options.
It's too easy to get carried away with this kinda thing however I understand that those of you who travel in very remote areas for extended periods may benefit from alternatives.

I misunderstood the question...

I was going to say Porridge and the back stain is still bonded to a Trangia hard anodised pan. :(

I also managed to melt the aluminium layer from a DuoSSAL pan using if to heat a tiny espresso pot as I forgot the old mountain bike brake disc I use as a trivet. :oops2:

Ahh fuel... I use "panel wipe" which is naptha and n-Heptane.
Smells and burns the same as Coleman White Gas but I can get a 5L can for less than the cost of 2 1L plastic bottles of Coleman fuel.

Panel wipe is used in car paint spray / bodyshops, thankfully I have a spray shop supply place near me.

In my multi fuel stoves ive used white gas/Coleman, auto gas and kerosene.
I started using auto gas on motorcycle trips. It works ok, but produces a lot of soot and the jet needs cleaning more often. The kerosene i only used in the garage for a test run.
A few yrs ago i switched to using an alcohol stove. I find it smaller lighter and simpler.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...edfc1c7ffc.jpg

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I have used gasoline and white gas (Coleman fuel). Like others have said, gasoline is convenient but a bit messy and generates more soot.


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Camp stove Fuel
 

I have two stoves, a Camping Gaz single burner that takes either the approx. 0.5 ltr size or 2 0.25 stacked. Its quick and efficient, but very slow to boil and you have to build quite a wind guard around it.
The other is my favourite, single burner folding MSR and .75 ltr fuel bottle. In the US I buy Colemans fuel. I've burnt both kerosene ( you need to change the jet out for the spare one in the kit) and mineral spritis in Aus/NZ etc.
They all burn very hot, and the stove is low profile , comes with a sheet of very thick aluminium strip that easily folds into wind guard.
A little slower to start up, but once running its brilliant. I can cook breakfast for two, coffee, eggs, bacon and toast in about 15mins.
Michael

Moved back to a meth burning Trangia years ago.

Those Coleman things are terrible. Ferocious things with no control.

Pressure cooker rec
 

Yes, great for high altitude, and I carry my Peak1 multifuel in it. My pressure cooker is a little British Skyline. I love it but you can't get them anymore. those of you in the UK may find them at garage sales or whatever. - good luck, from Alberta, Canada

I have recently bought a Coleman 442 and it's great. Good simmer control and will work at any temperature, any altitude. Nearly as easy as a gas canister stove. I use either Aspen 4 as a fuel or Stihl Moto4 plus. These are the same as Coleman fuel and less than half the price per litre. No stink and no soot. Petrol is ok as a temporary measure, but will eventually clog the generator.

As well as a Coleman 442 I have a "compact kit" comprising a Soto Amicus, 100g gas canister, lighter, Optimus windhield, and a GSI Minimalist pot/mug. Stove, gas, lighter, and holder fit inside the pot, and the windshield is strapped around it. This works well in most conditions, and take up very little space.

Trangia meths stove every time.
Wouldn't use anything else.

Why?

Fuel is easy to obtain.
No empty gas canisters to dispose of. (they don't recycle).
Nice gentle flame, minimal chance of burning food.
Slow-cooking... contemplative?
Nothing to go wrong with the hardware.
Lightweight.
Staggeringly robust.
Fuel can be (reasonably) safely used to encourage campfires.

You ask 'why?'
I ask 'why ever not?'
There really isn't a downside to Trangias.

I like alcohol stoves for all the same reasons, but...

With no valve to shut off fuel, they are not legal in US forests under extreme fire conditions.

If that alcohol spills, it can be impossible to put out. Spills of burning fuel are more likely from very lightweight, and somewhat unstable soda pop can stoves than the Trangia but (I think) still possible.

I have had spills twice from my alcohol stoves (despite being extremely careful with them). Water just spreads the fire.

............shu

Camping gas in South America
 

Hello good motorbike folks,

I'm shipping my motorbike out to Chile to do the Ushuaia - Alaska run for 3 years from October 2022 to 2025. A cursory online search shows that a threaded 450g propane camping gas canister runs about $27 in Argentina (in Europe I can get them for about $7 -$8). I use gas canisters to make my coffee and porridge in the mornings mostly.

Has anyone toured here recently and could give me any tips about availability of camping gas canisters and if the price I found is indicative of gas canister prices there?

I wild camp 98% of the time and also have a collapsible "twig" stove that burns small pieces of wood and, well, twigs! It also includes a meths / spirit burner which I have carried for 3 years so far and never used (but I will if the gas is SOOO expensive!).

Finally, I also have a 110v single element electric cooker for when I have an electrical outlet (overkill, I know!)

Mostly though, I dig a Dakota firehole (when safe conditions allow) which leaves no trace and also carry a BBQ grill to cook on. I only say all this to save you time from recommending other alternative cooking gadgets, like JETBOILS and Coleman petrol stoves.

Well, enough of that. If you have any experience with buying gas in South America, I would really appreciate your help.

Thanks in advance,
Steve.

@FREEDOMRTW