Essence F as a White Gas substitute?

[Brucey]

Oh ok. Thanks so much for that store locator, that will be incredibly useful!

I just found something called "pétrole désarômatisé" for cheap, looks like it's meant for lamps. But given its called pétrole, I thought it might work. I'll test it out tonight. Anyone ever heard of that?.

it is more like Kero than anything else, but can have an even higher flashpoint. I think you would struggle to use it even in a stove that burns Kero OK.

BTW " pétrole " is best translated as 'petroleum oil' in many cases; it is only weakly related to the English use of the word 'petrol'. So for example " pétrole brut " is crude oil, very far away from 'gasoline'...

So there is plenty of scope for confusion. BTW lamp oils usually work best/safest if they only burn on a wick of some kind, i.e. they have a high flashpoint. Provided they wick OK and also burn cleanly then the heavier the fraction used the better, up to a point. Désarômatisé means de-aromatized, which is nothing to do with the smell (although that may be affected). It means that Benzene containing compounds (which are highly carcinogenic) are almost eliminated, making the oil safer to handle and use for lighting etc in an enclosed space.

cheers

[andrew_s]

You may also find Primus Powerfuel, which has become relatively common in the UK over the last few years, to the point where it's probably easier to find than Coleman fuel (which it is the same as).

[Stewart H]

My Whisperlight loved panel wipe, tolerated unleaded.
Ran well once going but sooty and smoky on startup, I experimented with paraffin but only tried the standard jet so smoky yellow flame.
I now have a collection of Colemans, I ran one extensively on the best petrol I could get back in the eighties when motorcycle touring and the generators blocked up,
I am going to get some more panel wipe for the colemans, and look for a burner for my tiny Swedish primus in a tin box.

[Brucey]

many coleman generators can be stripped down and cleaned. However I am told that some have not a coil spring inside, but a piece of cardboard-like material instead. I can only imagine that these will clog up more easily.

I find that after a period of no use, some deposits will tend to flake off the insides of the generator and this can give erratic running for a period of time. I would presume that it should be possible to occasionally use a different fuel/additive of some kind to help clean the generator in use.

cheers

[iviehoff]

So I'm definitely reluctant to use petrol, due to the more toxic fumes.

These are not the thoughts of someone whose priority is to get their meal/drink cooked with least fuss.

I always use meths to pre-heat multi-fuel stoves, just because using the main fuel can leave a sooty mess that doesn't always burn off during the main burn. But it does also make the preheat more reliably sufficient, but you will find it more important to do so if you are burning one of the less volatile fuels.

[Neilo]

I would presume that it should be possible to occasionally use a different fuel/additive of some kind to help clean the generator in use.

Some have had some success with Redex

Neil

[Brucey]

re preheating MF/paraffin stoves when you are using Kero or similar; I have a Brucey top-tip.

If you don't want the faff of carrying a second fuel, or you run out, it is usually OK to use the main fuel on a disposable wick of some kind. You can use paper, a piece of tissue, even dry leaves or matchsticks. Anything that allows the Kerosene to burn OK; just pump a little of it out so it is on the wick material below the vaporiser/generator and let it do its stuff. Once the preheating fuel is burned away, a lightweight wicking material will burn to a harmless flake of ash. There will often be a little sooting on the outside of generator/vaporiser, but maybe that is a good trade.

I suspect that -worst case- you would be able to light a whisperlite stove (running Essence F) quite easily using this technique.

I have used this method for a long time with my primus stove; I found that the tiny meths bottle would leak or run out too soon; the wicking technique works so well that I've not bothered with the meths for years now.

cheers