Safety: Fuel for MSR Whisperlight?

[Martin-123]

The manual for my MSR Whisperlight says to use 'white gas' (which I assume means 'white petrol') or naphtha. The only warning it gives is: don't use leaded fuels.

I checked Coleman fuel today (which is what I've used in it previously) in my local camping shop and it's £7.00 per litre!!!

Anyone got any experience of using any other (cheaper) fuels?

... Would I die in a horrible fire if I used normal unleaded petrol???

Thanks for any comments

Mart.

There's no substitute for experience.

 

[ged]

If you search the forum you'll find lots of info about this subject. Use your favourite search engine, the forum search facilities suck.

Road fuel isn't good for stoves and the combustion products are bad for you but it does work. If you use ordinary unleaded make sure that there's plenty of ventilation and don't let food come into direct contact with the flames. Actually seven quid a litre isn't too bad for Coleman fuel, I've seen it for nearly ten, but it's still a rip-off. My patent 50/50 hexane/pentane mixture costs me more like seven quid per gallon but I don't have to tell the supplier I'm going to burn it or he gets the willies about the Man From Uncle HMRC...

Here's a search to get you going:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=unleaded+site:bushcraftuk.com&go=&qs=n&sk=&sc=8-29&form=QBLH&filt=all

 

[Ian S]

Some panel wipes - sold by motor factors for, er, wiping car panels to degrease them before spray painting are naphtha, and should cost no more than £20 for five litres. Alternatively Aspen 4K (I think - they also do a 2K) Alkyate petrol is sometimes available from places that sell petrol mowers.

Unleaded will work OK-ish, but is more likely to clog the stove and unleaded contains other masty grot that you really wouldn't want burning near your food.

Cheers

 

[Martin-123]

If you search the forum you'll find lots of info about this subject. Use your favourite search engine, the forum search facilities suck.

Road fuel isn't good for stoves and the combustion products are bad for you but it does work. If you use ordinary unleaded make sure that there's plenty of ventilation and don't let food come into direct contact with the flames. Actually seven quid a litre isn't too bad for Coleman fuel, I've seen it for nearly ten, but it's still a rip-off. My patent 50/50 hexane/pentane mixture costs me more like seven quid per gallon but I don't have to tell the supplier I'm going to burn it or he gets the willies about the Man From Uncle HMRC...

Here's a search to get you going:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=unleaded+site:bushcraftuk.com&go=&qs=n&sk=&sc=8-29&form=QBLH&filt=all

Thanks for this Ged,

M.

 

[Martin-123]

Some panel wipes - sold by motor factors for, er, wiping car panels to degrease them before spray painting are naphtha, and should cost no more than £20 for five litres. Alternatively Aspen 4K (I think - they also do a 2K) Alkyate petrol is sometimes available from places that sell petrol mowers.

Unleaded will work OK-ish, but is more likely to clog the stove and unleaded contains other masty grot that you really wouldn't want burning near your food.

Cheers

Thanks Ian.

 

[Shewie]

I've used nothing but unleaded in my Whisperlite International for over ten years, the shaker jet seems to do a good enough job of keeping the fuel line clean. The first time it required any maintenance was last year, a quick dismantle and a clean with petrol soon got it good as new again.

 

[treefrog]

Aspen 4T is what i use in my MSR and Coleman stoves. It cost around £16/£17 for 5 litres and doesn't have that petrol smell that unleaded has, and is quite pleasant to use.
(Aspen 2 for two stroke engines and contains oil, so don't use that one, or it will clog the jets and burn sooty).

 

[ged]

Aspen 4T is what i use in my MSR and Coleman stoves. It cost around £16/£17 for 5 litres and doesn't have that petrol smell that unleaded has, and is quite pleasant to use.

Where do you get it? I've tried all the alleged (according to the manufacturer) stockists around here and none of them actually sell it.

 

[rik_uk3]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5L-Can-Tetros..._Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item53e83de85d Burns clean, no lingering smell if you spill it. Don't use petrol, it burns dirty, it will clog your stove, stinks if you spill it, stinks when you burn it.

 

[Martin-123]

Thanks everybody. A wide range of experience there. At least I know there are good options.

 

[treefrog]

Where do you get it? I've tried all the alleged (according to the manufacturer) stockists around here and none of them actually sell it.

A place called Broadfield Mowers in Sheffield. According to the Aspen website, a garden centre just down the road from me is supposed to sell it, but they've never stocked it!

 

[ged]

Where do you get it? I've tried all the alleged (according to the manufacturer) stockists around here and none of them actually sell it.

A place called Broadfield Mowers in Sheffield.

Thanks, I'll give them a try.

According to the Aspen website, a garden centre just down the road from me is supposed to sell it, but they've never stocked it!

Seems to me like the Aspen Website is a load of bull. Same story everywhere I've tried. Most of them have never even heard of it. A couple said we just go to the petrol station and get unleaded. One thought it was for two-strokes. One strung me along for three or four months saying it was on order and due in the next couple of weeks, then finally admitted he never had ordered any and he just wanted to see if there was any demand for it. Not a lot, evidently.

 

[WoodMan]

I've used nothing but unleaded in my Whisperlite International for over ten years, the shaker jet seems to do a good enough job of keeping the fuel line clean. The first time it required any maintenance was last year, a quick dismantle and a clean with petrol soon got it good as new again.

Same here, excellent stoves. I had one in Canada where we used Avgas. The one that I have here has frequently been used with unleaded mixed with two stroke oil if thats all I've had around. Never given me any trouble. Glyn.

 

[treefrog]

Thanks, I'll give them a try.

Their details;

http://www.mowerpro.co.uk/lawnmower-dealers/dealer-88177-3203/

 

[rik_uk3]

Aspen were trying to get 4T into shops, Blacks and Millets said no but that was when they were in a bad way a year or so ago. I think the guys name was Martyn at 4T, he was keen to set up distributors so, if any of you fancy it drop them a line.

Another thing about UK petrol is the fumes,,,very nasty and you don't want to be inhaling them. Also remember that unleaded is different in North America to the stuff we use. We used unleaded in a new Coleman lantern, we got four weekends out of it before it clogged and needed a new generator.

 

[ged]

Their details;

http://www.mowerpro.co.uk/lawnmower-dealers/dealer-88177-3203/

Thanks -- I already found them but that was kind of you.

I've used nothing but unleaded in my Whisperlite International for over ten years, ... The first time it required any maintenance was last year, a quick dismantle and a clean with petrol soon got it good as new again.

How much fuel do you reckon you've run through it in that time Richard?

... We used unleaded in a new Coleman lantern, we got four weekends out of it before it clogged and needed a new generator.

How much fuel does it use per hour Richard? (The other Richard)

Over four weekends Rik's pressure lantern might have used as much fuel as Shewie's stove did in ten years. Typically you'll run a lantern at full power for several hours each day it's used. Many a stove won't do much more than a tenth of that and it won't always be at full power or you'd burn all your food. When I do a week on the bike with a 111B it probably sees a total use of little more than a few hours, using perhaps a litre of fuel. It needs only a very small flame to heat a can of beans.

 

[Shewie]

How much fuel do you reckon you've run through it in that time Richard?

A lot for sure, if I had to put a figure on I'd say around 100L

 

[ged]

...How much fuel do you reckon you've run through it in that time [Shewie]? ...
Over four weekends Rik's pressure lantern might have used as much fuel as Shewie's stove did in ten years.

A lot for sure, if I had to put a figure on I'd say around 100L

Bang goes that theory then.

I wonder if Coleman burners/generators are less tolerant of road fuels than some of the other makes. Must admit that I've used quite a lot of road fuel in my 111B in the past and it never seemed to give any problems, except, as Rik said, for the awful smell -- especially if you spill any, and it's difficult to pour without some escaping somehow. The horrible, lingering smell is the main reason I stopped using it, although I was always a bit nervous about the combustion products.

 

[johnboy]

Bang goes that theory then.

I wonder if Coleman burners/generators are less tolerant of road fuels than some of the other makes. Must admit that I've used quite a lot of road fuel in my 111B in the past and it never seemed to give any problems, except, as Rik said, for the awful smell -- especially if you spill any, and it's difficult to pour without some escaping somehow. The horrible, lingering smell is the main reason I stopped using it, although I was always a bit nervous about the combustion products.

The short answer to that is yep... Coleman stoves and lanterns are not as tolerant as MSR stoves when it comes to Unleaded fuel..

On a whisperlite you have ( or should have) a SS cable running up the fuel line through the generator loop and exiting at the injector block...

If you've used the stove on Unleaded for a while it pays to scour the inside of the fuel line and generator loop by moving the cable back and forth. This breaks free all of the deposits inside the fuel line etc and stops the stove from clogging.

Coleman don't have this feature in fact they make the generator tubes really easy to replace so once it's clogged you just swap out the old one for a new gen tube...

You can run the Whisperlite on unleaded if you keep on top of the maintainance...

If you get a Whisperlite internationale ( larger diameter generator tube and additional Jet) you can run it on Kerosene. In fact I suppose if you were wanting to use Unleaded all the time then the internationale would make more sense...

The Whisperlite is an ok sort of a stove, quiet in use and that gets to be important after a while, but I find it a Pr**k to simmer on without a lot of faffing around...

HTH

 

[Axel@Aspen]

Hi Guys,

My names Axel and I work for Anglo American Oil Company where we distribute and market the Aspen products in the UK.

Aspen is an amazing product and allthough its designed for small garden machinery it also works wonders in the petrol burning stoves.

I myself own a coleman sportster running only on Aspen and the performance is great.

we try to keep our dealer list as up to date as we can but if you find that you have trouble getting the products from any of our listed dealers then please drop me a message so I can check what the problem is.

Someone mentioned they couldn't get hold off aspen from Broadfield mowers, i know for a fact that they stock our products as only last week they placed a new order, so whoever you spoke to on the phone obviously doesn't know their shop very well.

I'm here to help so just drop me a message on here or email me directly at axel@aaoil.co.uk if you have any queries regarding the products or stockists.

Best regards
Axel