Quick question on "modern" camping cooking.

[BoxMN]

I haven't really camped much in the past 10 years. Do people still use the Coleman white gas stoves anymore? I don't see white gas for sale as much as Propane. I have the older white gas stove, the green cased one, and its just sitting on my shelf and wondering if I should sell it, give it to kids and tell them to use it, or what. Just wondering. I also have a nice Peak brand single burner and single lantern that I should find and get some use out of, but I have kind of gone to propane for ice fishing, etc.

Thanks for info!

[reinhard1]

i still have two of the bigger 2 burner colman white gas stove and i would not get rid of them. yea, they are the old green box type. they have been dependable and serve all my needs camping. also use them for ice fishing, fixing meals on the ice. white gas can be bought at fleet farm for that's where i get mine. my lanterns are white gas also. good luck.

[greedom]

I still like white gas. If you can find white gas, why not keep your stove? I think a can of white gas will go farther than equivelant propane. You can burn unleaded as well.

[Jackpine Rob]

Hey Box, why don't you just give that dangerous old white gas stove to your buddy Jackpine?

Bottom line, those good old Colemans remain one of my favorites. They function well no matter how cold it gets - and you don't have those annoying propane canisters to dispose of. I have an ancient 413F that was well-used when I inherited it in about 1975, and I'm still on the original generator. That thing cooked shore lunch roughly 60 times each summer for 8 years, burning mostly unleaded fuel (cheaper) and it still fires up when I want it to.

The seal for the pump can dry out, but a drop of oil and you're back in busness. Or you can just get a new one. I do prefer the propane for tailgating during pheasant/deer hunts, but that's just a convenience thing. For heavy-duty cooking, give me a tough old Coleman.

[TooTallTom]

I have propane, but still love the white gas stoves and lanterns.

I'd say either start using them again, or see if your kids want to use them. Kind of a shame to have a fine piece of gear like that just taking up space on the shelf.

[BoxMN]

Thanks all. Yeah, good advice. So I can use unleaded as well as white gas? I remember back in the day when the "dual fuel" models came out, I thought there was a difference. But ya'll are right, I should get it down, dust it off, and use during ice fishing or even just for heck of it It's just been so long I kinda forgot about it. I do have the fuel bottles still, and the stoves did always work. My little lantern took a lot of pumping though, to keep it burning right, haha!

[Jackpine Rob]

I have had numerous people (including Coleman reps) tell me over the years that I can't burn unleaded in the older stoves. It works, although I haven't tried the ethanol blends, so can't speak to whether or not that might muck things up.

[Redlantern]

I used to be a fan of white gas stoves and lanterns. One too many flare ups, leaks and spills turned me to propane. What I don't like about propane is the cost and reduced efficiency in cold weather. But my biggest gripe about it is the disposable, non-returnable, non-refillable containers. What an enormous waste of resources to not make them refillable. Now before you go and tell me how easy it is to refill them, I already know and I also know it's illegal(at least to transport refilled cyclinders).

[woodsmanmn]

I run my propane stove, lantern, and bbq of 20 pound tanks using a hose. I camp with an 18 foot trailer, so hauling around the tanks is not a problem. Makes it much cheaper to use propane.

[Redlantern]

Didn't think about the bulk tanks. Most of my camping is done in the BWCA so that's not an option I want to use. I do sometimes forget that not everyone camps there.

[itchmesir]

I love my old coleman white gas stove.. and they definitely still sell white gas just about everywhere.. wally world sells it.. FF sells it..

i'm not gonna lie.. the setup of the "green machine" scares me a tad.. having a gas line go right through the flame.. and i have had the connector flare up on me once.. but overall it is very reliable.. i have never had a problem getting it started up

PS: I also like using white gas for when i'm playing with fire

[TooTallTom]

Didn't think about the bulk tanks. Most of my camping is done in the BWCA so that's not an option I want to use. I do sometimes forget that not everyone camps there.

"Bulk" tanks come in five or ten pounders as well. That seems like it would be the best of both worlds. I guess, for my money, propane is just too much of a hassle in BWCA no matter how you cut it.

[Jim Almquist]

I have had numerous people (including Coleman reps) tell me over the years that I can't burn unleaded in the older stoves. It works, although I haven't tried the ethanol blends, so can't speak to whether or not that might muck things up.

I also only burn non-oxy in all of my Coleman products. Have for the last 15 or so years with no problems.

[Comit 2]

Ok I have to do it. I use a trangia alcohol stove. Just get some heet (yellow bottle) and your set. You can make a Pennie stove out of two pop cans. Make a Hinnie pot. Youtube has all kinds of cool camping stoves. I also use a snow peak stove to make my morning cop of Joe with a jet boil press. The snow peak stove is not good for cold weather.

Unleded fuel smells bad so don't spill.

I love my Trangia 25 and Swedish army stoves.

[itchmesir]

SuperCat ftw if you're gonna make your own backpacking stove

[Comit 2]

I have two. No need for a pot stand.

[LightningBG]

I wouldn't trade my coleman white gas stove for anything.

The snow peak stove is not good for cold weather.

Kinda ironic, isn't it?

[reinhard1]

i'm a little nervous to try unleaded in my two old colmans. they are in great shape. think i will stay with white gas or am i wrong and not worry about it. good luck.

[TooTallTom]

What are you out by sticking with what's tried and true?

If there's fuel savings, it's probably not enough over the course of a summer to justify the risk of having something go wrong in your stove. (And have to pay to fix it.) But, if there's really no risk, then there's really no risk.

[Comit 2]

The stoves that use a propane/isobutane fuel are not for Mn winters.

[Redlantern]

That stove Itchmesir posted reminds me of an alcohol cooker I used for heating water for my dogs when camping. Used an airbake cake pan, drilled holes in it, set it on the bottom of a large pot, set a smaller pot inside of that. Used heet for fuel. Can't remember which but one of the heet bottles, the blue one, I think, wasn't as good as the other type.

[itchmesir]

"Yellow" Heet burns the cleanest.. but its almost complete Methanol(99%).. So don't be breathing it in

[Comit 2]

You can also use denatured Alcohol. Yellow heet is cheaper.