Hi folks ! This is my first message here ! My english is quite poor, so I hope I’ll the proper terms to describe my problem. My MSR stove has more than 2 years of daily use. The brass sleeve section which covers the pipe line near the injector is starting to be worn out. Anybody knows the solution to stop that progressive weathering ? Is it possible to refresh it by brazing with brass ? I’m not skilled at all with brazing ! thanks !
I’ve been using unleaded gasoline for 6 months now. Before that time, I had used white gasoline (very pure but cost 3 times more at least...)
Hello, my personal opinion is that this is not worth to pay -your labor or -whatever anything to fix it, as you told you aren't the skilled at all. So contact your msr dealership in order to have a replacement, or purchase from needlesport in UK only for that part, she might have a stock for it. I don't remember well but I think it would not so expensive so worth to consider it. And (in my opinion) motor gas could accelerate wearing metal parts due to the improper-combustion with many additions, but not sure because I'm not a scientist so don't know exactly, furthermore it is no good for human health... What do you think to try with Kerosene instead? I have a msr whisperlite universal the same as yours, but frankly even I don't think it is good with Kerosene, it is good for the lighter fuels like Whitegasoline & lpg only. So white gasoline is good imo, but it is too expensive for Daily uses... BTW, from Italy or France?
It would be a sound equation to measure the cost of replacing the part, vs the savings of cost using auto fuel.
I’m french but travelling in Italy now. Kerosene, white gas...sometimes difficult to make the difference reading stickers when travelling in Europe as I dis this year. In northern countries (Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark...), they often call it cleaning gasoline or equivalent. Moreover, stopping at gas station makes travelling life so much easier than looking for a hardware store each week to fill the tank ! I did contacted MSR two weeks ago, answering how to purchase that part of the stove. Still waiting for their reply...
Welcome @Tindersticks37 , Glad to hear you have already engaged MSR. Hopefully they will replace it at no charge. Stating the obvious, you must avoid exposing any hot metal (the burner & gen in this case) to liquids. Liquid spilling on super heated metal stresses the metal (hence, as of late, heat & quench cleaning may no longer be a preference or best practice). I doubt this is weakness or premature failure, but if so, pots boiling over as a cause could be a likely suspect. Disclosure I have less repair experience than many of our members. I may be wrong but I see no way that the type of fuel or primer fuel caused your current issue. IIRC MSR advises against auto fuel but includes their reason. You will have less reliable service. The result is expect much more gen cleaning and maybe more jet replacements (a well established cause & effect and nothing stated beyond that, IIRC). -------------------------------- IMO, it would not be fair to MSR to flag your damage as "a weakness". You might expect their feedback / commentary that they are quite pleased to hear your field report is that your universal is still working after "... more than 2 years of daily use." <-- congrats on that!! For a modern "expedition / camp" stove, 2 years of daily use may very well exceed their expectations, i do not know. It seems to me your usage is far more than that of their average WPL owner. I have mine in hand. I would not say "a weakness" but that spot may be predictable for a 1st sign of failure (it is not made to last forever). It is precisely where the direct flame hits the gen on that side (that is one, there is a precise spot on the other side too, another spot that may well fail). SO... MSR has in the past offered "a fix" for owners to shield the vaporizer from direct flame. It may mean two fixes for you eventually, 1 on ea. side precisely where the direct flame hits. IMO just attempt the fix on the bad side now. Take a small piece of thin sheet metal (a metal that will withstand direct flame) and carefully wrap it around the tube in that precise situ., use just enough metal to shield that failed spot. Done. It sounds mickey mouse but this is a MSR recommendation from the past (on MF model). It's worth a shot, imo. ALL that said, such fixes WILL have some effect on vaporization dynamic. A reason to add as small a piece of metal that can just cover failed spot. Hopefully the effect will not prevent normal operation (but do not be surprised if it primes/burns differently and go from there). PS reminder, previous comments on CCS may have expired but also reported, with pics, was another WPL Uni. that with regular use, the tube that is the mixing chamber below the burner failed (miserably). My take away the current tube in use is different and less durable than it's predecessors. thx
Greetings, @Tindersticks37 , Welcome to CCS! The Universal is not made to burn auto gas, except (maybe) in a dire emergency. I have a feeling that, IF MSR gets back to you, they may tell you that you have voided any warranty that they offer. Even the robust X-GK does not like burning auto gasoline, though it will burn it in an emergency, but will require maintenance afterwards. I've burned kerosene in my Universal stoves, and it seems to do just fine. So far, I've burned Coleman Fuel (White Gas), Kerosene, and cartridge fuels, and they all work fairly well. Regarding MSR's seeming lack of customer service these days, in being super tardy in answering any questions sent their way, I have also sent them questions, and had no response, at all. That is most certainly NOT what I have always expected from that company. I hope that this is not normal, and that they will get back to their previously outstanding customer service. Best of luck in resolving your problem with the Universal. I do feel that this particular model is somewhat less robust than previous models from MSR. Hopefully, MSR will get back to you, and help you get your Universal back up and running like new. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Absolutely correct. Take a look at THIS case study for the evidence. @OMC No Mark, not food/water spillage! John
Thanks for each of your advises ! Unfortunately I think I’ll keep on my bad boy’s practices with auto gas as there’s no way to find refined products like white gas here in Calabria or Sicilia ! I hope MSR’s warranty is still active after 4 years (bought mine in 2017). @OMC : when talking about fixing the damaged spots along my stove’s pipe with a slim piece of metal, do you imagine something like a patch cut into a windscreen for example ? But it appears to me quite skillful to make that patch stay. It will stay loose even if hammered with precision ! Moreover the worst damaged spot is exactly located where the pipe is engaged through the burner’s slot . So your repair requires to be very slim and neat ! I don’t feel it that way at first sight !
Perhaps you can find a dealer nearby via Aspen’s Italian website: Rivenditori - Aspen Benzina It seems to list a number of dealers in Sicily.
If MSR takes too long to answer me and my stove breaks down next coming months, which are the sturdiest modern stoves able to resist better/longer with auto gasoline agression ? @Brenneman: thanks, that will help for a while !
May be a coincidence but the fast deterioration of my pipeline (with strange rust-like deposit after each use: see picture), significantly started 4 weeks ago (unleaded gasoline) when touring in Campania and then Calabria. The 5 prior months spent northern in the country, still using unleaded gasoline, didn’t affect the stove at all, in appearance ! Hard to believe but maybe auto gasoline is not of the same quality everywhere, with more or less additives !???
As for fix, you have the idea of thin metal patch correct.. but do not source from aluminum wind screen. In 1975/76 for the MF model, to shield the generator, MSR's remedy was for owner to use thin sheet metal, suggesting from a tin can. If patch was requested from MSR they sent out small piece of thin stainless steel. If you share addl. pics, I am curious re the condition of your mixing chamber tube below the burner. You have added to the problem description... it seems to have occurred rapidly starting about a month ago while touring Campania and Calabria (not during 5 prior months). I do not know what to make of that tidbit, myself. Above I suggested suspect: hot burner exposed to liquid... you are not onboard, you apparently do not recall instances where hot burner got wet (...not many boil-over meals or in sea breezes ?). John has this solved and emphatically rejects the moisture possibility, ok. Unpopular on this site for stated reasons but globally many users burn auto gasoline which causes predictable problems. I was previously unaware of this suggested cause and effect of corrosion from the flame in your case (and in John's Nova case study). I'll consider this my something new learned today. This will be a widespread common problem (that, myself, I for now don't recall another). BTW John you need not get defensive or more emphatic, point taken. *Going forward we can expect this obvious or common result, a truth that will continue to emerge regularly (use of gasoline is widespread, this problem would also be?). Although interesting, I'll not weigh-in further re the various sources of gasoline. *Going backward for almost 10 years I had many stoves in hand that I've purchased that had steady diet of auto gas... I will keep this in mind, if/when I detect a similar result (noticeable corrosion from flame) I will gladly share the findings. @presscall
You may need to select the type of burners; 1- with the exposed pipe generator as yours, XGK. 2- non-piped generator but with a heavier burner bell as DragonFly & primus omnifuel, optimus nova+, polaris, and so on. (Only my opinion) recent Primus is not the good option for your case, it doesn't have semi automated jet cleaner like Shaker jet from MSR. Motor gasoline is not a cleaner fuel so you might do shaking the stove everyday before light it up. Primus doesn't have it, so no good for you. Optimus - recent Optimus I don't have. I like only Primus, her Customer satisfaction is really a way better. Recent Optimus from katadyn, hmmmm i don't think. Furthermore the maintenance replacement parts - Primus things are easy to find/purchase. Dragonfly has not the high output (from my feeling, not exact calculation) and needs the unique pump with the p.valve so you have to think about it, and so loud. A Recent XGK is good for dirtier fuels afaik, but has almost no simmering and not elegant(!), so loud. I'm fact in the market, I think there are notnso many models you can choose from the mainstream models. If I were you, consider to use Kerosene which is also can be supplied from usual Motor stations. I had been in Italy 2times every year but don't know about their gas station, so don't know usually kerosene is being supplied from usual stations or not. Sorry. Of course, you may check more clear information from their MSDS, which should be announced on the web by civil codes. But no much helpful for stove users, the only one clear thing - Motor fuel is Not Good to use for stoves. But by your limited circumstance, no way to escape from motor fuel so... Just I can say - use lower grade-octane Motor gasoline. Lower means a way Better for stoves, But is no good for Motor engines - making knocks - easy to be ignited - due to the poor octane number, however it directs Good point for stoves to be had near absolute combustion...
@Tindersticks37 , Please check out a post just made by our good friend, @presscall . It's called: Destructive effect of pump gasoline on a Nova+ The point of John's post, is to help those who want to use pump gasoline in their stoves, realize why they should STOP burning that fuel in their camping stoves! It's not a matter of "if" that is bad for the stoves, but how bad the damage can be. John's photos clearly illustrate that point, and should show you just WHY your MSR Universal has been corroded to the point that it will be worthless very, very soon! To continue trying to use your damaged Universal, is very dangerous, and could possibly lead to burning yourself, and/others nearby! Though using pump gasoline may be "more convenient", or "easier to find", your stove will be damaged beyond repair, should you stick with using pump gasoline! My advice to you, is to buy a new stove, and use the proper fuels in it. That means DON'T burn pump gasoline in your new stove, period!! With PROPER fuels, your new stove will give you stellar service, for many, many, many years, with little to no problems, at all. I hope you take all the warnings that we've sent along to you, in the manner in which it's intended: to help you learn not to do something as destructive as burning pump gasoline in your stove. Whilst it may be less convenient to have to seek out a hardware stove, or camping establishment, to buy the proper fuels, your stove will thank you, by offering very reliable service! Take care, good luck, and God Bless! Sincerely trying to help, Doc
@OMC: indeed, I‘ve almost never spilled any liquid over the pipeline, no boil-overs (always cooking rice without lid !). May be a few drops of coffee dripping from my new Bialetti when I didn’t know how to use it...too much powder ! Nothing much dramatic ! Besides I don’t either think atmospheric humidity could be responsible in anyway to explain the corrosion problem (although I just found lots of moisture for just a few days here along the Tyrrhenian coast in southern Calabria...quite heavy !). Now I need to find kerosene to stop the evolution of the damage as you all advise me ! Here I send you a picture of what I suppose to be the mixing chamber tube. (not sure I understand what it is ?). May be picture#2 matches better?! @Yun124: thank you so much for your detailed message ! I’ll make up my mind on the XGK so... @Doc: I did get you advice !
thank you, we note your mixing chamber so far appears to be no worse for the wear. aluminum iirc and exposed to auto gas prime flame. The mixing chamber incident i noted above, the tube became severely corroded and subsequently collapsed.
