History of XGK Stove

Discussion in 'Stove Forum' started by Stove Master 2000, Jan 25, 2012.

  1. Stove Master 2000

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    I am currently writing an article on mountaineering, and wish to include a short tid bit on the XGK, since so many mountaineers use it, including me.

    Can someone please fill in my timeline history of the stove found at the bottom of this post. I was reading an archived message on here about Edgeworks & REI or something. This confuses me, was the stove originally designed by REI - 1970?

    What I do know is that in 1997, the XGK was marketed as "XGK II Shaker Jet Stove". In either 1998 or 1999, someone will have to confirm this, the stove was re-named to "XGK Expedition Stove". From 1999 to some year in the 2000's, I believe it remained on sale unchanged as the "EGK Expedition Stove". Then at some year (which one?), the stove was updated to the "XGK EX"

    "We got the original MSR stove when it first came but in the 70′s, it became the XGK later. It sounded like a 707 nOT 747 and would melt a hole through an AL pot if you did not add water first. It was designed for melting snow, oldie but goodie. :wub:"

    Doc Mark, it would be nice if you could comment on this thread to correct my dates and fill in any holes regarding model numbers or model names.

    MSR MODEL 9 1973-1975 (White Gas Only)
    MSR MODEL 9A ?
    MSR MF 1976-1977 (Multi-Fuel)
    MSR G 1977-1981 (White Gas Only)
    MSR GK 1977-1981 (Multi-Fuel)
    MSR XGK 1982-1996 ?
    MSR XGK II Shaker Jet Stove 1997-1998
    MSR XGK Expedition Stove 1999-2004
    MSR XGK EX 2005-Current
     
  2. M_Scout

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    I have a 8/1998 xgk with tags that state xgk expedition stove
     
  3. lanevitt

    lanevitt Subscriber

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    Hi, Can't help much with technical info' but i insist on you posting your completed work here at CCS, so we can all have a read !! ;)
     
  4. alanwenker

    alanwenker Subscriber

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  5. Doc Mark

    Doc Mark SotM Winner Subscriber

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    HI, StoveMaster2000,

    Welcome to CCS! Now, please forgive me, Sir, but I MUST hit you with this little jibe: With the user name of StoveMaster, don't you think that YOU should already know this stuff, and be telling US what is right and what is wrong????!!!! :shock: :twisted: ;) ;) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Just kidding, of course, but as soon as I saw your chosen ID, I immediately wondered why you are asking questions, and not answering them! :D 8)

    I'll be sending you a PT later today, so stay tuned. Talk to you soon, and God Bless!

    Every Good Wish,
    Doc
     
  6. SNOWGOOSE

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    In the interests of clarity and transparency…………as it will hopefully help others and not just yourself...

    ALL the information you require can be found in the reference section here on the CCS…look not just at the stoves in the STOVE REFERENCE GALLERY but also in the STOVE REFERENCE LIBRARY.

    In short:

    MSR Model 9 1973 – 1975
    Model 9A 1975-September 1977
    MSR MF 1975-August 1977
    MSR G and GK September 1977 – October 1981
    MSR XGK Non-shaker October 1981-September 1994

    NOTE in 1985 the XGK was supplied with a longer panwire.

    MSR XGK 11 Shaker October 1994 – 2004

    The so called XGK - Expedition stove was NO different from the XGK II Shaker. I can state this unequivocally as I have new unused models of the MSR XGK Expedition Stove from 2003 and 2004 and it is NO different from my 1994 (non “Expedition” XGK 11 Shaker.

    The “Expedition” tag was merely a advertising tool.. NOT a functional difference.

    My 2003 & 2004 XGK Expedition Stoves are described thus in the ENGLISH language instructions as MSR XGK Expedition Stove and, for example in the FRENCH instructions as:

    MSR XGK II Expedition Stove (prefaced by Rechaud of course).

    All stoves from 1973-2004 had the SOLID fuel line. Replaced by the flexible fuel line MSR XGK EX.

    For sure there are minor differences over the years in enclosure colours for the XGK and the fact that the early shaker jets were Gas and Kereosene specific and later changed to MULTIFUEL jet for the gas & kerosene and the introduction of a Diesel jet (X jet).

    As I said, and I reiterate: ALL the information you require can be found in the reference section here on the CCS…look not just at the stoves in the STOVE REFERENCE GALLERY but also in the STOVE REFERENCE LIBRARY.

    Cheers,

    Rob
     
  7. Doc Mark

    Doc Mark SotM Winner Subscriber

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    Hey, Snowgoose,

    Thanks, Rob, for posting that great info, as I'm sure that should take care of Stove Masters question. Well done. I was actually seeking out an easy to understand graph that I've filed, which shows the basic info on dating, but it's not come to hand so far. I appreciate your jumping in there on this, and know that, like me, you appreciate what the X-GK family of stoves can do and the reliability with which they do it. Take care, and God Bless!

    Every Good Wish,
    Doc
     
  8. Stove Master 2000

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    Tiss tiss, I will admit the name is quite silly, but fun at the same time.

    It's not meant to be taken literally.
     
  9. Doc Mark

    Doc Mark SotM Winner Subscriber

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    Hey, Stove Master,

    Thanks for taking it all in good fun, Sir! Please tell us more about your upcoming article. For whom is it being written, and when do expect completion and publication? Where may we see your work? I, too, am working on such things, but as any of my CCS Mates can honestly tell you, I surely take a very long time to get it done! ;) :oops: :lol: My history of the X-GK is basically complete, other than taking the many needed photos to illustrate it. That takes a lot of time, and I haven't planned well enough to make it happen, to date. Someday..... maybe even.... dare I say it, "Soon"! ;) :D/ :lol:

    In any case, please let us know more about yourself, your plans for the article, who will be publishing it, and what your experiences are in mountaineering and stoves! Thanks, and God Bless!

    Every Good Wish,
    Doc
     
  10. Stove Master 2000

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    Goose I just typed a whole long response to your message, then I left the screen for 4 hrs, came back then tried to hit ADD POST, and it wouldn't add, I pressed BACK then the text was all gone.

    Oh well, forget about the post. Thanks Though for the info.
     
  11. Stove Master 2000

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    Hey bud. It's actually a short book on mountaineering. It should be fun, I will definately give you a link once it's available. It's being written for the public, for sale.

    The tid bit on MSR will be extremely short, like just a tiny paragraph, it's not really necessary for me to go into detail of the stove. I was just going to mention the stove because so many mountaineers use it. It would seem a tad psychotic if I went into extreme details such as the pump body color etc. :D/

    As far as these stoves, i'll mention a story for you guys for your curiosity. I had a Dragonfly in the late 1990's that ruined a Denali expedition. The thing was working fine, then just slowly started dying until at some point, it just stopped working all together. Couldn't eat for 2 days trying the get the dumb thing to work, cleaning it etc.

    Finally, when back home, some year later or something, I wrote a letter to MSR saying I was considering suing them. I said instead, if you mail me, 2 brand new XGK's, I wont pursue my case. The company sent the stoves and they haven't glitched just once since. I've used them on numerous high angle ascents and many camping trips.

    Can someone estimate WHEN the exact marketing switch happened, when the XGK II Shaker Jet Stove, was changed in model name and part no., to the XGK Expedition Stove?

    Did I recall Cascade Designs bought them in 1999 did you say?
     
  12. Stove Master 2000

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    Doc, can the owners manual section accept uploads for PDFs?

    I have a mint condition copy of the "XGK Expedition Stove" manual, that I want to upload in a PDF booklet.

    I also have mint condition copies of some catalogs that show in detail the XGK and other MSR stoves. I want to scan those and upload them too.
     
  13. Spiritburner

    Spiritburner Admin SotM Winner Subscriber

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    It can but it's hard to get the file size under the limit. I can easily convert pdf to jpg images & post them for you.
    If you'd like me to do that please email them to me at ross at spiritburner dom com

    They'd be a welcome addition to the site & a popular reference.
     
  14. Doc Mark

    Doc Mark SotM Winner Subscriber

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    Morning, Spiritburner,

    I've just sent you a Pdf of an owner's manual for the X-GK Expedition stove, in many languages, and I also sent another bit for Stove Master, the "MSR Stove Product" list, which can actually be found here on CCS, if one has time to seek it out. I'm going to try and post that list for him here, but don't know for sure if I can do so in a size that will work, thus my copying it to you, too. I think the instructions may be of interest to others, but the MSR list seems to be what SM wants to know, and that should answer his questions. Thanks, as always, for your help on this, Ross!! Take care, and God Bless!

    Every Good Wish,
    Doc

    Well, that's not going to work. I can't post the Pdf I have here, so Stove Master, send me your email address, in a PT, and I'll send you the Pdf I have of the MSR Stove Product list.
     
  15. SNOWGOOSE

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  16. Doc Mark

    Doc Mark SotM Winner Subscriber

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    Morning, Rob,

    Yes, I know that you have posted that info, and appreciate that very much. What I have sent Ross is a different set of instructions, done in a very readable Pdf. I hope he will include them as an ancillary to yours, as I think the pair of instructions show some progressions in such things. If you want, I can send you the Pdf, too, just for fun. Just send your email in a PT, and I'll send this right off to you. Thanks, again, for everything that you do for us here at CCS, Snowgoose. You are a true asset, and a good man!! Take care, and God Bless!

    Every Good Wish,
    Doc
     
  17. SNOWGOOSE

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    No need Doc, I think I have most of the MSR XGK stuff, and if it is different from my stuff I know when and if Ross posts it.

    My recent post on the instructions of the MSR XGK II "Expedition" stove

    https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/20447

    can be made much more readable by clicking on any of the images and then clicking again...that will give a very large and readable view.
     
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  18. Doc Mark

    Doc Mark SotM Winner Subscriber

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    Hi, Snowgoose,

    Yep, that's the one I've seen and appreciate. The instructions I've send Ross are different than those that you posted, and so might have some value for those interested in this stove.

    I have to laugh, though. When I first joined this Merry Gang of Stove Pyros, many years back, I sang the praises of the X-GK stove, and posted myriad accounts of it's glowing reliability, in all sorts of weathers, altitudes, and circumstances. Most of the time, those posts fell on almost dead silence from the underwhelmed crowd. :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

    Fast forward to today, and WOW, the X-GK FINALLY seems to getting the respect that it has long deserved, as more and more people seem to be "discovering" it for the first time!! I'll wager that few, if any other stoves, can match it for reliability, when the chips are down, and very few are as easy to maintain in the field, and easy to light as my much-beloved X-GK family of stoves!! HUZZAH that it's finally getting it's due! Better late, then sorry. But, I can remember the days when it was considered a "Rube Goldberg" design, that wouldn't stand the test of time. Ahhhhhhhhh, how things have changed, as many of it's original peers are now long dead and gone from the stove scene, popular with few people, except us Stovies!!! ;) :thumbup: 8) :clap: :clap: :D :D Rob, I know that you and I are on the same page in our appreciation of this stove family, and I've always appreciated that about you, my Friend! Glad to have some long-time company in the X-GK Appreciation Association!! Take care, and God Bless!

    Every Good Wish,
    Doc
     
  19. SNOWGOOSE

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    Hi Doc,

    I’m sure it is different and I’ll refrain from posting mine untill I see if the stuff you have sent Ross is the same as that in my files.

    Rather than sing the praises of the XGK stove I think it far more beneficial to put items in the CCS Stove Reference Gallery and Stove Reference Library. If done correctly it gives a dispassionate and more accurate evaluation of the stove.

    Cheers,

    Rob
     
  20. Doc Mark

    Doc Mark SotM Winner Subscriber

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    HI, Rob,

    Whilst I totally agree with you gist of what you are saying, I have a question for you: What part of me has EVER been "dispassionate" about ANYTHING!! ;) ;) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :D/ :D/ :content: Your point is well taken, though, my Friend! God Bless, as always!

    Every Good Wish,
    Dispassionate Doc ;) ;) :content: