Buying petrol for multifuel stove in UK

[LollyKat]

I use white spirit ... refined paraffin, in mine and there is always a diy shop somewhere ....

Are you talking about the white spirit used for cleaning paint brushes? I got 5 litters if it from B&Q. I thought that white spirit in UK equals white gas in US ! It does burn, but this staff smells very very nasty. I also think that over time it could damage the stove. Paraffin on the other hand burns lovely and does not really smell much.

I use "white spirit used for cleaning paint brushes" in my old Primus brass pressure stoves. It's readily available in supermarkets and general stores in 750ml bottles for about £1.50 - not as cheap as 5 litres of paraffin but still cheaper than anything else except found wood. It burns beautifully cleanly, and to my nose is actually less smelly than paraffin. "Turps substitute" would also work but IMO it really stinks.

The only disadvantage is that you should prime with meths - take some in a squirty bottle such as one of these. You can prime with paraffin/white spirit but it makes a sticky, smelly, sooty mess and is not very efficient - which presumably is why the Omnifuel instructions are so dismissive of it. However vapourised paraffin, i.e. under pressure - is very clean, and also hotter than petrol. Note that you need the .28mm jet.

[Ivor Tingting]

Won't use safe butane/propane gas canisters, but will use more hazardous and highly flammable liquid fuels such as petrol, paraffin, etc. LoL!!

[radek]

I use "white spirit used for cleaning paint brushes" in my old Primus brass pressure stoves. It's readily available in supermarkets and general stores in 750ml bottles for about £1.50 - not as cheap as 5 litres of paraffin but still cheaper than anything else except found wood. It burns beautifully cleanly, and to my nose is actually less smelly than paraffin. "Turps substitute" would also work but IMO it really stinks.

The old stove could be different to the one I have and I am anxious that brush cleaning white spirit could damage the stove overtime ?

A smoky driftwood fire is quite a good midge suppressor and of course one can cook on it too.
Which saves precious fuel (for the all important morning brew up!).

I love having a natural camp fire. Noting is better ! The problem is that in Scotland rains too much and all wood either is rotten or wet and it takes ages to set it on fire. It is not a task that I want to do after a long cycle when i am super hungry. Not to mention that I still need to put the tent up ect. Yet, I absolutely agree that the smell is relaxing and helps with incenses.

Update:
Yesterday, I have came back from a 4 days cycle and I can confirm that on the NCN 1 from John o' Groats to Inverness there is paraffin in small shops in the form of BBQ Lighter Fluid

Regarding my Primus - I am still learning how to prime it correctly, but with each time it is getting easier. Due to user error I had to clean the nozzle, but this is super easy. Noise is not an issue at all. I made a miso soup with lamb and also a beef stew ! One day was particularly hard due to headwind, rain and hills. Then, I could not find a wild camping sport for a longer while and I have fished seeping next to a forest road near peoples homes. I could hear their dogs barking through the night. However, good food gave a positive conclusion to the day Food just give me this sense of safety and feeling at home in my tent and in the end I had a great sleep

[PDQ Mobile]

Radek, I was curious about this.

Some BBQ fluids don't seem like the paraffin I like in a stove.
But I don't have much experience because I don't buy BBQ charcoal as a rule.

It would seem they vary a lot.
There's a bit of info here about hazardous fluid numbers.

https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/b ... 756/page-2

Maybe there's more info on the website if one searches.

I am sure in any event such a fluid is ok as a "stop gap" and it's good to know.

[foxyrider]

Won't use safe butane/propane gas canisters, but will use more hazardous and highly flammable liquid fuels such as petrol, paraffin, etc. LoL!!

Live dangerously and use a solid fuel or tea light stove!

[LollyKat]

Radek, I was curious about this.

Some BBQ fluids don't seem like the paraffin I like in a stove.
But I don't have much experience because I don't buy BBQ charcoal as a rule.

It would seem they vary a lot.

From Wikipedia - Charcoal lighter fluid:
"Charcoal lighter fluid is a volatile fluid used to accelerate the ignition of charcoal in a barbecue grill. It can either be petroleum based (e.g.,mineral spirits) or alcohol based (usually methanol or ethanol)." (my bold)

The mineral spirits link takes you to Wiki's White Spirit UK:
"Although not normally marketed as a fuel, white spirit can be used as an alternative to kerosene in portable stoves, since it is merely a light grade of kerosene. It cannot be used as an alternative to white gas, which is a much more volatile gasoline-like fuel."

So long as Radek's BBQ lighter fluid is not alcohol based, and not thickened or containing other additives such as perfume, it should be all right in his stove. The stuff I found in my local shop was quite gooey, and also nearly twice the price as white spirit, so I didn't bother. I used to use paraffin but when that became more difficult to get in small quantities, I switched (after much research) to white spirit and found it burnt just as well but rather more cleanly.

At one stage I moved on to propane, but in spite of its greater convenience, like Radek I was bothered by the excess packaging, i.e. the canisters, so have gone back to the primus. As well as being a lot cheaper to run it looks and sounds much better.

[Bmblbzzz]

I just came up with another advantage of using liquid fuel. With gas canisters I always struggle to tell how much is left inside. With fuel bottle this is not a problem.

This and the discarding of empty cannisters are what make me flirt with the idea of moving to liquid fuel. I haven't done so yet though. Gas is simply convenient and, in the UK/Europe, widely available.

Ed: I don't mean discarding as in littering -- though I'm sure some people do just chuck their empty cannisters in a hedge -- I always take mine home or find a proper place to dispose of them. I simply mean that unlike say a can of beans, the metal does not get recycled. I suppose it's minor in the grand scheme of things.

[PDQ Mobile]

I just came up with another advantage of using liquid fuel. With gas canisters I always struggle to tell how much is left inside. With fuel bottle this is not a problem.

This and the discarding of empty cannisters are what make me flirt with the idea of moving to liquid fuel. I haven't done so yet though. Gas is simply convenient and, in the UK/Europe, widely available.

If you have a multi fuel stove there are advantages to carrying two fuels.

Gas for a quick faffless brew and a liquid fuel for full evening cooking.

Upthread there are other advantages to this!

[Gattonero]

...
We would prefer not to use gas. We want to be as much as possible zero waste. Fumes are also waste... However, pollution from our cooking will be nothing compared to what cars are doing to our planet,
....

I know it's a drift from the OP and forget about simmering, but a gasifier wood stove has to be the best for low environment impact

[radek]

gasifier wood stove

That sound interesting as long as wood is not wet. Would be great in mainland Europe.

I agree, pollution should be lowest with natural wood. The other thinks to consider when using human made fuels are such factors as methods of extraction (fracking and oil rigs...) and transportation as all of these produce additional pollution. Not to mention all of the wars and human suffering that are associated with oil and gas.

If you have a multi fuel stove there are advantages to carrying two fuels.

Gas for a quick faffless brew and a liquid fuel for full evening cooking.

Having a secondary gas canister would cut the need for priming, if you need it really fast, e.g, middle of night time emergency when you feel cold and need a hot water bottle in your sleeping bag However, I would rather reduce the amount of gear that I have i my panniers.

This and the discarding of empty cannisters are what make me flirt with the idea of moving to liquid fuel.

I have seen plenty empty canisters dumped by other people... It is sad... The rues is LEAVE NO TRACE!

So long as Radek's BBQ lighter fluid is not alcohol based, and not thickened or containing other additives such as perfume, it should be all right in his stove. The stuff I found in my local shop was quite gooey, and also nearly twice the price as white spir

Good to know. I assumed that they all were paraffin based, but there you go.

In my local store 1L of paraffin (lamp oil) is for £3.99. I do not think that it is purest quality as it does leave quite a bit residue, but I do not care since it is easy to clean off and unplugging the nozzle is also not a big problem.

[Bmblbzzz]

gasifier wood stove

This and the discarding of empty cannisters are what make me flirt with the idea of moving to liquid fuel.

I have seen plenty empty canisters dumped by other people... It is sad... The rues is LEAVE NO TRACE!

It is sad and worse. I was thinking not of litter though -- that other people leave litter doesn't mean we have to avoid an item -- but more of the difficulty in properly recycling or reusing cannisters.

[LollyKat]

In my local store 1L of paraffin (lamp oil) is for £3.99. I do not think that it is purest quality as it does leave quite a bit residue, but I do not care since it is easy to clean off and unplugging the nozzle is also not a big problem.

Glad you are happy with it. Personally I'll stick to my White Spirit - half the price, leaves no residue and has never clogged the jet . But maybe my 50-year-old stoves work differently.

[Gattonero]

gasifier wood stove

That sound interesting as long as wood is not wet. Would be great in mainland Europe....

As long as you have dry tinder (like tinder card and a bit of newspaper) the wood can be damp but will dry out when is in the stove, it's like a mini-furnace so the heat will overtake the damp of the wood. My favourite tinder card is the Hammaro, it's not made with nasty chemicals so doesn't smell bad, and is highly effective: the size of a stamp burns almost one minute.
For the wood, the trick is not not take the soggy one from the ground, but pick the least damp dead wood that's on end branches. To cook some pasta you'll only need two/three handfuls of twigs, like the size of a thumb finger.

[radek]

Glad you are happy with it. Personally I'll stick to my White Spirit - half the price, leaves no residue and has never clogged the jet . But maybe my 50-year-old stoves work differently.

It is very likely that it is much different. What is the name of the stove you have ? 50 year old sound quite interesting.

As long as you have dry tinder (like tinder card and a bit of newspaper) the wood can be damp but will dry out when is in the stove, it's like a mini-furnace so the heat will overtake the damp of the wood. My favourite tinder card is the Hammaro

This is a good tip. I have also seen on youtube that some people also use tree bark as tinder.

[Graham O]

When it comes to priming a petrol stove, I always used Optimus priming paste which was "jellified meths" or a piece of Esbit solid fuel. It saves having to carry 2 liquids around with you and they can be used as a heat source on their own. The priming paste is no longer available, but meths gel stoves are a screw topped source of the stuff or Vango do a 200ml sachet of it.

50 year old stove? My paraffin stove was new in 1936, so 82 years old. Comes in a nice metal carrying case and quite compact.