I had to try this and surprisingly it worked first on the GK jet and then the correct X jet. I did a boil test but it was way off the results using kerosene so I presume that MSR set a very conservative flow rate for diesel. It is still very good for cooking and I'm sure that the burn times would be very good too. I took some video and some photos. iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud The icloud link is for videos. If I had good reason to burn diesel, the XGK, primed with alcohol can do an excellent job but the priming stage is longer before a stable flame is reached. I did manage to do it successfully twice though using diesel on a new stove and there was no real mess, a bit of sooting but the picture of the jet in the stove is taken after the second burn and it is completely clean. The only reason I won't burn the litre I bought ($2) is that it is not as powerful as kerosene otherwise I'd happily burn this fuel until it was gone. I have gone back to kerosene...I haven't even tried Shellite yet in the XGK but that is fuel any of my liquid fuel stoves burns well.
If you add some (e.g. 15-30 %) gasoline or Shellite to diesel it would burn more better. That is more or less an emergency solution if no better fuel is available... (Could that be named as 'Dieselish mix' which would be relative of 'Amish mix' )
Diesel burns ok on this stove. I prime with alcohol anyway. Diesel is noticeably more viscous than kerosene. It is much slower to go through the coleman funnel.
I mixed kerosene and diesel 50/50 approximately and used the X jet for diesel. It burns very cleanly. The boil time was 7:30 which is acceptable and half the time for diesel alone using the X jet. I have noticed that the jets in the XGK do work loose quite quickly even after tightening quite well.
I thought I'd post a few photos. The 50/50 Diesel/Kero mix is going well. Diesel on its own burns fine by the way but the issue is it only puts out half the heat of kerosene. This mixture seems to give reasonable performance but not as good as kero. With Diesel it is all about priming...use enough alcohol and it produces very little soot and it burns very clean as well.
I'm not sure I see diesel as an 'emergency' fuel...it seems to go well but at reduced heat output due to it's viscosity I would think. I will try what you suggest at some point though but I was concerned petrol and diesel are too dissimilar but maybe not. Experimenting is fun. I think here though as Shellite is so expensive, kerosene isn't a bad option for mixing with diesel but performance is maybe an issue. On the other hand operating at reduced heat output using diesel would mean probably good efficiency and my bet although boiling is slow, it would be fine for cook ing on especially given that this XGK stove doesn't simmer. I can cut back a bit but at half a turn open it is probably alreay 80% of full...seems that way.
Reading comments on a few threads regarding the use of kerosene and diesel...tainting food. I can tell you it taint so at all. I just did toast on my kerosene/diesel mix and zero taint. I would guess it is mainly due to priming but also it can be the stove and jet used...stating the obvious. Priming with alcohol really does do the job much better. There is a video though where diesel was used for priming too on a Dragonfly and it worked just fine. I've only used diesel in the XGK and I can tell you it runs fine on 100% diesel but I wouldn't be able to do toast on it as it doesn't produce enough heat...it only just produces enough heat to do toast on my 50/50 kero/diesel mix. I'm pretty damned impressed with the XGK and diesel. The reduced performance is due to throttling back the fuel flow to allow complete combustion. I have run kerosene a lot in my Optimus Nova and MSR Dragonfly and both stoves do a superb job but the Nova primes quicker and burns hotter than the Dragonfly. The Nova does produce some yellow tailing but it never translates into flavour taints and really toast is a great taste taint test (TTT). I would be reasonably sure that the Nova and Dragonfly will run diesel well also but I haven't tried this yet.
Simmering was described in early MSR XGK instructions. Turn off the stove, then immediately turn back on by 1/6 of a turn, give or take. You know by now that you have a few seconds before the stove goes out after you turn it off, and that any fuel flow changes take a while to hit the flame. Practice and find the sweet spot for your pump and stove.
Sounds about right. It seems to reach maximum flame after 1/2 - 1 turn of the valve even though it goes for several more turns. This is the first stove with the generator loop and it behaves quite differently to my other stoves. I put Shellite in it the first time tonight. Nice and easy to light of course and seems to put out slightly less heat than 50/50 diesel/kerosene. It rips on kerosene though, best fuel if you want heat. Goes well on Diesel but heat output is the least of all the fuels. Nice stove. I really like this stove. I'm still getting the jet loosening issue so I will get some high temperature grease...might help.
I thought I'd better update this thread as running diesel previously (to replacing the brand new blocked fuel filter), was a very sedate affair. It put out so little heat that after 14 minutes I turned the timer off as it appeared it just wasn't enough energy to make the kettle whistle...I know I was kind of shocked, I espected more power out of diesel. I replaced my brand new filter that came with the XGK with the 6 month old one from my Dragonfly several days ago and I decided just now to run this test again. This time I got 4:52 which is better than Shellite which tends to run about 6-7 minutes roundabout...kerosene I think is 4:05. In terms of output: 1. Kerosene 2. Diesel 3. Shellite/Unleaded A few negatives now that the stove is running well... It does take more priming than kerosene and kerosene takes more priming than Shellite...no surprises. I used alcohol for this. This is a dirty stove if you use fuel for priming and it soots. If you use alcohol it isn't a problem although you can see soot on the generator as I fed in some diesel near the end. It is possible with practice I can eliminate that but I don't know. I shut it down by flipping the bottle as just shutting the valve will always result in a dirty shutdown. Soot in itself just means more mess and ultimately more servicing. Conclusion on diesel is actually it is a clean burning fuel but it takes more priming and flipping the bottle still results in diesel fumes for a period of time after the stove flame goes out. This may or may not be an issue.
I think MSR needs/needed to leave kero stoves to Sweden and Euro countries, they got it down on how to burn kero. MSR stoves seem to only use kero or diesel on a very short term before needing cleaning. So many alternatives to stoves that offer carefree use. Duane
I think the Optimus Nova has the best heat concentrator in the business...of the ones I am aware. It has six vanes that rise around the jet and this makes it they claim 25% quicker to prime but it would also make it burn better as well as prime better on heavier fuels. I haven't tried it on diesel though and the XGK is running well on diesel...it takes a while to prime though and both the XGK and the Whisperlite use the generator. The generator is great once the stove is running but it isn't so great for priming as the priming flame has to meet the metal and a heat concentrator in the base is much better at capturing all the energy during priming. It is true that with the Optimus Nova the recommended fuel is kerosene. Kerosene does work in -40C which is the same in Fahrenheit. Kerosene puts out much more heat and this is important in cold temperatures as well. I have seen videos where people have trouble melting and boiling using a Dragonfly in cold weather in Alaska. The U.S. market for liquid fuel stoves thanks to Coleman maybe is stuck on naptha fuels but I think the MSR stoves such as my Dragonfly and XGK run well on kerosene. This is a perception of the user base thing though and MSR obviously want the XGK to run well on diesel and kerosene and it does. The Primus Omnilite I have heard is not as good on kerosene but I don't own one. It would make sense as they have made light weight the number one design criteria and that is not favourable to heavier fuels.
So many of us have so many more years experience than you think. From what you post, I don’t think you have much stove time using kero or diesel to say they work well. You would need years of camping or backpacking using those fuels to say they work well. Duane
I wouldn't use diesel in very cold conditions but I would use kerosene. You're right I haven't experienced kerosene in cold conditions but I've seen people using it in Europe in very cold conditions. I'm not sure about ridiculously cold like -50C as only a few locations get that cold or extreme altitude as I haven't experienced that either. People who do that sort of thing have specialised knowledge in lots of areas that keep them alive. Australia is relatively warm and mostly not too high.
Years ago in a discussion of nutricious vegetables, then President George H. W. Bush (Bush senior) said of one oft-touted green: "I say it's broccoli, and I say the H&ll with it!" As for me, I say it's diesel, and I say the H&ll with it!"
I’m not going to force you to use diesel…promise! I am using it now for drink and doing toast. It burns well and doesn’t produce soot under the conditions I am using it. although diesel burns hotter than naphtha. I am going back to kerosene though in a short while as it burns so hot.
I’ve had no problem with kerosene stoves in sub-zero F temps here in the USA, preheating with denatured alcohol. Any more though since retirement, I only care to go backpacking or snow camping when temps are at least in the teens F/minus 10 C, more like a little warmer, still using small Swedish kero or petrol stoves. I have so many stoves that I have no extensive experience with any particular model, although MSR stoves are mostly all similar. Duane
I think only a handful of people would truly be outside tenting in -40 or colder...I mean it would be miserable which is why where there is wood you can hot tent in -50 and be actually quite comfortable if you have cut enough wood...but imagine in a tent with NO HEATING...oh dear. I'm burning diesel just because I heard that the XGK can burn a rang of fuels, it isn't that I think diesel is best, although it is surprisingly good and hot and blue efficient. It is just the priming you have to be careful with and use plenty of alcohol and the XGK accommodates that with a huge priming pad. It is absolutely true that this stove can burn diesel very well indeed, which has got to be one of the most difficult fuels to burn for stoves which is really a feather in the cap of the XGK.
Would be interesting to know how long the XGK can run on diesel without a thorough cleaning and even doable in the field if used on a lengthy trip. Duane
