Hello Stovies, I want to use alcohol to prime my MSR Whisperlite to reduce soot from preheating. Should I light alcohol before introducing any fuel into the fuel line? Or should I saturate the fuel line first before lighting up alcohol? I imagine in the latter case the fuel would gush out from the jet due to expansion and cause soot, but I fear that I may overheat the generator and/or oxidize the cable inside, if I heat them up bone dry. Any advices? Thank you very much.
Soot blows off pretty easy. Do what you want, experiment. My early days I never knew about using alcohol, just stuffed my cooled down stove in a old sock. Duane
Hi @Cody I only just bought an older Whisperlite, ex USA. It was pretty black from priming. The cleaning cable was black at the priming loop. I presume it has been primed with gasoline. I doubt that priming a dry cable would cause any real trouble, given the stainless cable in stainless tubing, but heating the fuel may. Not a huge issue though, you just pull the cable and clean it. I prime with alcohol, have with the XGK I also own, and have used for years. In use on multiple days, the priming cable remains damp in the centre. You know that the prime is working as vapourised fuel comes out of the burner. If you really wanted to, you could briefly open the tap to fill the line. You don't need to get it 100% filled. Overall, don't stress. The stove is tough enough. You won't hurt it!
You can have a little bit of fuel in the line and still have a soot free or mostly soot free priming as only a small amount of fuel will mix into the alcohol that is in the wick. I've tried this out across several stoves, the Whisperlite Universal included. It seemingly reduces the amount of alcohol needed to prime while avoiding sooting. I found that the pump valve just needs to be open long enough to let fuel get into the line but not necessarily enough so that it squirts out of the jet and pools up where the wick is. After using many liquid stoves I have a rough idea that after so many seconds that enough fuel has made it into the line and can wick into the generator loop from the steel wire within the line or otherwise will be driven there as heat conducts through the generator and steel wire. Keep the valve closed on the pump afterwards and let the alcohol prime begin to boil the fuel in the line off. The heat alone will cause the fuel in the line to drive itself out and that small quantity along with the alcohol used in the prime is generally sufficient enough that you can gradually open the valve up and let the stove run on a lower valve setting (avoid flaring it up) to finish heating up. You'll have to play with this until you find the sweet spot where fuel doesn't come out of the jet immediately.
Thank you all for the replies and advices! I am confident now and will start my practice I have been using Trangia for all seasons and recently started to venture into heavier fuels. The alcohol priming will surely remind me of my root and help me burn kerosene and diesel, eventually Glad to find out this forum. It seems that I had missed out quite a lot... Best, Cody
I would suggest that you do try it. Pump the tank. Add alcohol and light it. As the alcohol is burning, and has gotten the generator hot, slowly open the fuel valve to a low setting. Ideally, I see that you get a blue flame of vaporized fuel coming out the jet. After the alcohol is burned off the flame should be a low blue flame. Slowly increase the fuel flow. I believe it is rapid changes of fuel, when the generator is not hot enough, that results in badly vaporized fuel, and thus sooty flame.
@Cody Getting down to basics, the priming alcohol goes in the little cup at the bottom of the burner. The flames engulf the stove to warm it including the generator tube. No alcohol is used on the flexible fuel line.
Tried and had a great result with 70% ethyl rubbing alcohol. The priming cup on the Whisperlite is a little too small to hold enough alcohol to sufficiently heat up the generator in a 7C windy weather. I ended up with substantial yellow flares at the beginning everytime. But the soot was really not that bad compared to priming with white gas. I think I will stick with using alcohol to prime so long I have it around. Thank you all again for the great advices! Best, Cody
Hi @geneislucky, Yes, I only put alcohol into the priming cup. No alcohol goes onto the fuel line or inside the fuel bottle (Alcohol would damage the inner lining of the MSR fuel bottle, as mentioned in this post. I didn't know that before and it was good to know. )
Add some carbon felt (plumbers felt pad) or wood stove gasket rope (wired on the end) into the priming cup to improve the burning of the alcohol.
Try closing the valve once you get white gas flowing out and wait for a bit longer before opening it to a low setting again. The heat in the generator will cause the fuel to come out by itself without additional pressure and you may be able to further reduce the soot to practically nothing.
That is a good idea. There is a fine line between too little and too much fuel during priming. Finding that optimal point depends on ambient temp.
The answer is easy. MSR state that alcohol produces insufficient heat to prime on kerosene. It doesn't, the priming cup is just too small. I use the lid of a tin of vaseline lip salve - about like a tin of shoe polish but 2" in diameter. Fill the priming cup with meths then fill the tin lid and slide it under the stove. Set the lot alight and put your pan on as you'll pick up some heat from the prime. Wait for it to burn nearly out then open the fuel valve. Presto! Nice and clean.
Then why does MSR supply a bottle, for alcohol? Alcohol priming for kerosene is common practice here. And, welcome to CCS @CheapskateBrit
Cheers, and hello. MSR says this:- How do I avoid the black soot that deposits on the bottom of my stove after I prime it? Avoid the black soot by priming with alcohol or a priming paste (available at most camping stores). NOTE: Alcohol will NOT generate enough heat to prime your stove if you are burning kerosene or jet fuel. For these fuels prime your stove as described in the instructions. On their FAQ Frequently Asked Questions | MSR | Mountain Safety Research And I have found i need the extra tin lid of meths
Ok this is a 2012 whisperlite international, there's already a wick, silica i think and i get you could stuff some stove rope in there. I don't think it would soak up enough meths to do what i need with kerosene... I start with the fuel line dry and i want it running full tilt when i open the valve as i use it inside a tent (this is essential in Scotland because of the local flies) the idea being only blue flames so no monoxide. And to prevent there being paraffin in the cup for the next use i turn the fuel bottle over and run the line dry. Yes, I'm still alive! Double prime? Can that work? Surely the cup will be hot enough to boil any meths you add for the second charge? Huge cloud of meths vapour, stove cooled by evaporation, big fireball when i light the second one? That's why i went for the small tin lid, it works very well and weighs nothing. I want to switch to gasoline but it's been changed to E10 here and IDK what it will do to seals and fuel bottle, this should need less priming. Very interested to hear how to go about double priming though, thanks
Good job, you have to adjust at times. I also experience at times the need to double prime, usually when there is some wind with my larger kero stoves. Alcohol does boil off when added to a hot priming cup. Duane
