Need help identify for the MSR Model 9 and XGK

Discussion in 'Stove Forum' started by briantse, Sep 13, 2005.

  1. briantse

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    I have some collection for MSR XGK AND MODEL 9, however I don't know their year and history at all, can anyone tell me?
    |imgRemoved|
    I have got those stove, the new XGK EX, and five old type xgk/model 9
    the right one seems is model 9, about 1978 marking in the warry card, with plastic base, and without preheater
    the seconde one from left also using plastic base, and have preheater,
    the thirt one also have preheater, but using al base,
    then coming with the Gold color, it seems is about 1995 i think, this one is the one i always using in camp.
    then the new closs X stand one from my friend, i gauss it is about 1999

    can any one know more detail for those stove year.?
    here is the base of to plastic base and the AL base
    |imgRemoved|
    I finds there's two type of plastic logo.
    yesterday, i get my last xgk with blue color body
    |imgRemoved|

    although i am collecting the MSR XGK TYPE stove, i cannot search much information from the internet. can anyone help me to indify those year, is there any xgk missing in my collection, I have see a blue xgk and black XGK with preheater in a japanese website, anyone know what year are they?
     
  2. Spiritburner

    Spiritburner Admin SotM Winner Subscriber

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    I'm no expert on these but I've had a few. Beware of the label often attached to the pump that has Model No:9 written on it. They carried on using these labels on the MF (later GK) after the No:9 was finished. The No:9 finished sometime around 1975. I think your stove will be an early "G"

    The No:9 can be distinguised by the wavy, scalloped edge around the burner bell. It also had a hard fibre base.

    This is a picture of the one I had but it is not too clear. Note the early pump with square control knob. From memory I think this was 1972 or 74.
    [​IMG]


    This is a MF from 1976 predessor to the GK. This came with a "No:9" pump label.
    msrmf1.jpg msrmf2.jpg msrmf3.jpg

    Thanks to some info sent in by Randall Nelson the MSR 1981 catalogue shows the blue G & GK available. This has the yellow pumps like the 3 to the right of your group shot.

    I no longer collect the MSR stoves & now only have my trusty old GK & a Whisperlite Internationale that I want to sell/trade.

    Doc Mark may be able to throw some more light on this topic for you when he gets back from his trip. I seem to remeber he was well versed on the subject.
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2020
  3. Spiritburner

    Spiritburner Admin SotM Winner Subscriber

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    I had a trawl through my photo archives & found some more pics of the No:9 which show the scalloped burner bell & pump in better detail.

    msr9.jpg

    msr9a.jpg

    msr9b.jpg
     
  4. briantse

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    is that means G and GK is two difference model of model 9, their difference is the fuel line routed over the burner for multifuel and they combine become XGK after the model 9 discon?
     
  5. Spiritburner

    Spiritburner Admin SotM Winner Subscriber

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    Hi Briantse,
    I've done some more reading. Yes, different models but only the GK had the loop-over fuel line. The model name XGK did not come out until some time after 1981. I have some more detail below which may help with the chronology.

    In one publication, Off Belay - Stoves for Mountaineering from 1975, I have found reference to the No:9 being 'improved' with a fine needle control valve. In the Backpackers Equipment Buyers Guide from 1978 it lists the No:9A (the A maybe denoting the 'improved' version) along with the MF (multi-fuel). These are the only 2 MSR stoves listed in this extensive guide. It also contradicts my belief that the MF superceded the white gas only No:9. Looks like it was made for a few more years. The MF has the loop-over fuel line.

    By 1981 in MSR's own brochure the only 2 stoves listed are the G & GK. From the fuels they burn & the design ,I think it's safe to say the G was the replacement for the No:9 as it burnt white gas only &, like the 9 did not have the loop-over fuel line while the GK was the replacement for the MF.

    I have a lot of outdoor magazines from the era but I won't be able to sort them out for a while. When I do I will check them out for adverts to see if there are any more clues.

    I also found a page I've kept from a MSR brochure which I think is from 1998 or 1999 & it gives a brief chronology of their stoves, although it is not complete.

    No:9 introduced in 1973
    MF introduced in 1975
    (no mention of the G or GK - although they are in their 1981 brochure)
    Whisperlite introduced in 1984
    Whisperlite Internationale in 1985
    Dragonfly introduced in 1998

    Although not in the chronology the XGK Expedition is in this catalogue & states that it replaces the XGK II Shaker Jet.

    There is also no mention of another MSR stove - the Firefly. I think it is the one on the left of your photo. It was very expensive to produce & had a short-lived production.


    Hope this helps!
     
  6. briantse

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    thx for your information, it is very useful for me, I hope i can have a white pump Model 9 in the fature
    Thx.
     
  7. alanwenker

    alanwenker Subscriber

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    By the looks of your first photo, you must be related to Doc Mark. :D
     
  8. briantse

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    why???? :?:
     
  9. Spiritburner

    Spiritburner Admin SotM Winner Subscriber

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    Hi Briantse,
    Glad the info was useful - good luck with your collection.

    The Doc Mark connection - Doc has a tendency to collect a large quantity of the same stoves! :lol:
     
  10. Doc Mark

    Doc Mark SotM Winner Subscriber

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    Morning, Stovies!!

    Hey, ya' go away for a week, or so, and look what happens!! Ya' get dragged through the mud for enjoying stoves too much!!! :lol: ;)

    Briantse, Ross has pretty much covered any information that I would have about MSR X-GK stoves. I actually only have two of them. My first is a gold-bodied version, made in December of 1987, and my second, which is the one I still use, is one of the "Shaker Jet" models. I find the newest model to be interesting, but have yet to see one on store shelves.

    As for the MSR Firefly, it's one of my most favorite white gas stoves! This stove boils water faster than any X-GK I've ever seen, or any other stove, for that matter. It also simmers delightfully, which few other powerful stoves can do. However, it is absolutely the LOUDEST stove I've ever used, too!! :shock: I don't know, exactly, when MSR introduced this stove, but it had to be before 1984, as I find it listed in both Colin Fletcher's "The Complete Walker", and also John Hart's "Walking Softly in the Wilderness", both editions of which were published in 1984. I also have some MSR promo material from 1988, which lists the Firefly as being "for the Outdoor Gourmet". In this information, the MSR Whisperlite is also mentioned as being introduced the previous year, 1987, and I believe the Whisperlite's introduction spelled the end for the wonderful Firefly. I have one Whisperlite, one Whisperlite Internationale, and one Whisperllite Internationale 600, and NONE of them can hold a candle to either the Firefly, or the X-GK, in my humble opinion!! ;) We used the Internationale, with kerosene, when we started our PCT trip, back in '91, and though I maintained it religiously, it let us down in a high altitude camp, and we nearly suffered hypothemia because of it! So, this stove is useless, as far as I'm concerned. But, I trust and like both the Firefly and the X-GK. Neither stove has ever let us down, and they have worked for many, many years, and in a wide variety of situations and elevations, without so much as a burp! Many years ago, I sent my Firefly back to MSR, and they replaced the original fabric-covered fuel tube with one of the brass-covered versions, which they soldered onto the stove connection. It's worked like a champ ever since then, with no leaks, as the fabric-covered fuel tubes sometimes did.

    So, that's my two cents on it. Congrats on having an outstanding collection of MSR X-series stoves!! Very nice, indeed!!

    We'll be off again, in a few days, for our Alaska trip. So, I'll be out of contact for another two to three weeks. See you all upon our return. Keep your flames blue, and your cup of brew simmered nicely!! :D ;) Take care, and God Bless!

    Every Good Wish,
    Doc Mark

    P.S. Evil, the little Optimus 96 turned out to be almost mint!! I'll take and send some photos when time presents itself. Thanks for letting me in on that one!!
     
  11. hikin_jim

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    The original model 9 with the scalloped burner bell is fairly easy to identify.

    I wonder if anyone knows (hint, hint, Doc) what distinguishes a "G" from a 9 or 9A? What distinguishes an "MF" from a "GK" from an XGK?

    HJ
     
  12. Knight84

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    Digging up an old post Jim. :clap:

    I wish MSR cared about their past history a little more. Being owned by REI didn't help I think. Date stamps and model numbers on the stoves would help too. :lol:

    Jeff
     
  13. hikin_jim

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    Ross, probably not since this is a very old thread, but if you had any more gleanings from your collection of old Off Belay magazines, I'd love to hear about them, particularly if they shed any light on how to distinguish an MF from a GK from an XGK or a 9 from a 9A from a G.

    Jeff, some stoves had four character date codes and are fairly easy to decipher. 89 04 for example is April 1989.

    Others had codes that are about as cryptic as a politicians answers at an ethics hearing. :roll:

    HJ
     
  14. bajabum

    bajabum R.I.P.

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    Politicians got ethics? :-k