by RangerChris » April 17th, 2012, 1:27 am
I have for along time used alcohol stoves, first a Trangia then a Svea. They do perform poorly in the aforementioned conditions and little can be done to help. I loved it for its simplicity, quietness and economy fuel wise, 4liters of laquer thinnet cost me 15$. Methyl hydrate or laquer thinner are what I used to burn, way cheaper than fondue fuel. Canister stoves are convenient but wasteful and perform poorly in cold after -15c unless they are inverted(liquid feed) which only works on a remote canister stove or keep the can warm. The XGK stove is a serious expedition stove its down side is a plastic fuel pump( cheap to replace) which all MSR stoves get stuck with and it doesnt like to simmer unless the bottles pressure is let run down. Itl burn White gas, gasoline, diesel,jet fuel, kerosene/ liquid paraffin just change the jet nipple. The whisperlite international which CEO mentioned will burn white gas, gasoline and kerosene, its a good cheap way to get started on liquid fuel but is hard to simmer theres is a new version which does canisters too and the pot stands got a make over.. The Primus Omnifuel is in the same class/ price range as the XGK and burns all the listed fuel plus cannisters and has a metal pump it even uses a leather gasket, plus it does simmer. Ive experimented with cooking on diesel, recommend keeping a small bottle of white gas or gasoline to pre heat with to avoid sooting a splash on the pad is all u need. One note on the Primus, the foil windshield will break faster than an msr one so replace with that;)
Last edited by
RangerChris on April 17th, 2012, 9:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
) Will look into it though.
