Since the cartridges are no longer available for my excellent old Hank Roberts stoves, I decided to get a white gas stove. So today I fired up my new MSR Whisperlite Internationale for the first time and boiled a couple pans of water.
Holy Jeebus, now I know why hairy-chested mountaineers put up with all the pumping and priming and crap, this stove is really hot! Boiled my water in nothing flat.
Takes some practice, tho. Not nearly as easy as a cartridge stove. And there is that lingering smell of aviation fuel after cooking. _________________ I'm aware that, for many people, a map holds neither meaning nor mystery. I can only hope, compassionately, that the rest of their existence isn't equally poverty-stricken.
- Colin Fletcher
Other things I like about them:
-You can pour in or pour out as much fuel as you want to, taking only as much as you need. You can also open the lid and see how much fuel there is left.
-They work well in high altitudes, some of the cartridge stoves start crapping out above 11k or so.
-They work well in the cold.
-The fuel can always be used for emergency signaling or fire starting -- or your flame thrower act; I've seen pictures of it being done. Not sure I want to try that myself. Of course it might be a good bear deterrent...
-You can vary the pressure to produce hotter or cooler flames.
And -- call me an environmentalist -- you don't have the waste of the canisters. Yes, I know you can recycle the canisters, but it takes a lot of energy to transport all that metal and even more to recycle them. The white gas stoves use (relatively) bulk fuel. I just buy the big gallon size Coleman gas cans at Big Five. I never buy the small cans that MSR sells. The gallon size lasts me a long time (a couple of years usually), but I've never had a problem with the gas going bad or the can leaking.
The down side is the whole priming thing, but you get the hang of it after a while. Supposedly, you can prime them buy holding a lighter's flame over the fuel loop for a bit, but I haven't tried that yet. Might be a nice option. The cannister stoves are also generally lighter and more compact.
Oh, and while canister styles can vary by locality -- camping gaz anyone? (common I understand overseas), the liquid fuel stoves can be pretty universal particularly if you get the multifuel ones that will burn some or all of the following: white gas, unleaded gasoline, regular (leaded) gasoline, aviation fuel, JP-1, Jet 1-A, diesel, stoddard solvent (whatever the heck that is), naptha, and kerosene. Now that's flexibility! _________________ Hiking? Aw, gee, do I have to?
I don't mind the priming. What sucks is if you use them a lot they require a lot of tinkering to keep them running. But at least the newer ones you can shake to clean the jet.
I remember the arclite fireball while Bert was cleaning/priming or whatever he was doing to his MSR white-gas stove on top of Harwood, December 15th.
Momentary flashburn. Almost melted his vestibule, hehe ..
Not particularly impressed with white-gas stoves for applications is SoCal.
I remember the arclite fireball while Bert was cleaning/priming or whatever he was doing to his MSR white-gas stove on top of Harwood, December 15th.
Momentary flashburn. Almost melted his vestibule, hehe ..
Not particularly impressed with white-gas stoves for applications is SoCal.
Have you taken your cartridge stove out in serious winter conditions? Admittedly, that's a relatively short period of the year, but it's nice to have the white gas stoves then. I definitely prefer the white gas stoves for melting snow.
Otherwise the cartidge stoves pretty much work fine, and they are a lot more convenient -- no refilling, no pumping, no priming -- and pretty small and light. _________________ Hiking? Aw, gee, do I have to?
Rick's stove evolution: Three rocks wood, Ronson butane, Gerry white gas, Svea 123 white gas, Peak One white gas, Primus white gas, MSR MGK multi fuel, Hank Robert's propane, MSR Whisperlite white gas, and finally, my homemade recycled soda can alcohol. Bought 14 HG cartridges for 25 cents each when Fedco went out of business but alas, they are all gone
When I have spare time (like watching TV or something), I like making these soda/beer can alcohol stoves. They weigh like less than an ounce. Do a web search for soda or pepsi can stove if you're unfamiliar with them. I don't know what it is about them but I'm addicted to them...must be the old guy in me _________________ Avatar is no longer available
I remember the arclite fireball while Bert was cleaning/priming or whatever he was doing to his MSR white-gas stove on top of Harwood, December 15th.
Momentary flashburn. Almost melted his vestibule, hehe ..
Not particularly impressed with white-gas stoves for applications is SoCal.
Haha, that's what happens when you don't pay attention to how much fuel you're using to prime. It even caught the snow on fire!
Rick's stove evolution: Three rocks wood, Ronson butane, Gerry white gas, Svea 123 white gas, Peak One white gas, Primus white gas, MSR MGK multi fuel, Hank Robert's propane, MSR Whisperlite white gas, and finally, my homemade recycled soda can alcohol. Bought 14 HG cartridges for 25 cents each when Fedco went out of business but alas, they are all gone
When I have spare time (like watching TV or something), I like making these soda/beer can alcohol stoves. They weigh like less than an ounce. Do a web search for soda or pepsi can stove if you're unfamiliar with them. I don't know what it is about them but I'm addicted to them...must be the old guy in me
Hey, Rick, nice backdrop on the Avatar photo.
So, are the alcohol stoves actually worthwhile? I've heard that they're relatively low heat and take a lot longer to cook with. I've also heard they can be a little "cranky" (difficult to get to work well) and that wind really plays hob with them. They sound like they might be a good stove to carry as a "just in case" on a day hike, but do you actually use them when you plan to be out overnight?
Regarding "proprietary" design cartridges: Yeah, I hear you. Dad had a really nice, lightweight propane stove. The company (Williams? I forget the name) went out of business. He bought as many cartridges as he could find and even got some good deals, but inevitably the cartridges ran out, and the stove was useless. I guess that's one really good thing about liquid fueled type stoves.
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alcohol. Bought 14 HG cartridges for 25 cents each when Fedco went out of business but alas, they are all gone 
