Does anyone else do this? Example... I'm actually planning a trip next week and going through my stoves for which ones I'll take for my backpack vs cooking and coffee back at camp. My stoves are in good working order but like to check them before I go to make sure they are still good to go. After my testing I use a bottle like this that's fuel safe to suck the fuel out and transfer it to another stove or lantern. When I'm coming home I drain the used fuel back into a fuel can so the stoves don't accidentally leak when the fuel expands. I was just doing this now and said to myself "I never see anyone else doing this" haha Example of my bottle with a Coleman 530 to scale it. I can drain or fill a stove without making a mess in a few seconds... It's something I learned when I used to work at REI many years ago. When we would test a stove for a customer (when REI used to actually fix stoves) when we were done we would suck the fuel out of demonstration stoves because customers would just walk up and try to light stoves up. Bottles like this will suck every drop out where you can shake the stove and not hear anything in the tank.
That looks like a neat device. Except for petrol stoves, I remove the kero from my kero stoves and place in a separate can from the original source. When I was more enthusiastic about my stoves, I would fire up multiple stoves each day or week. Duane
@hikerduane I have a separate bottle just for kerosene. These bottles are cheap. I have had a small candling type flame on a stove that managed to leak fuel once I gained elevation...yeah that sucks haha
I only own one stove (may change soon, i have my eyes on a coleman 530 or peak 400), but i have emptied my M1950 when i refilled it with coleman fuel by pouring it directly into my motorcycle ethanol free gas !!
I empty my kero stoves when transporting, even now and then with caps released enough I thought, kero leaked out of the jet. Duane
@Remus1956 i have transferred fuel from one stove to another many times, the only time i have discarded fuel is when i have purchased another stove that contains Gasoline/Petrol i have used stoves that have arrived with kerosene, providing it looks good , after fettling
@mr optimus I usually toss fuel I don't know...or use it ifi can clean parts with it... interesting though... I am glad I'm not the only one that does this... Example...I just drained all these because I'm trying to pack up for a 5 day trip...(Laugh if you like haha)
I try not to leave fuel in any of my GPA's, so they get emptied after use back into a suitable container. Usually I just turn them upside down and empty directly if the appliance will allow it, like your/my 530. Some stoves have anti-spill fill bungs that don't allow to completely empty, in which case I have built a siphon type device. The only appliance I have that I don't have a good method of emptying is my Coleman L327 with external hand pump. It does not have a raised fill spout/bung and it makes an awful mess when I try to empty it, and the siphon does not work without positive pressure.
@elcarlstono I have a L327...I know exactly what you mean...with the winged fuel cap and all. That and trying to save the mantles on it...I use the same bottle. I just slightly tilt the lantern on one side and the hose reaches and drains it completely. This is the exact bottle I use. Amazon.com: EISCO Wash Bottle, 1000ml - Polyethylene - Translucent, Unbreakable - Screw Cap with Flexible Delivery Tube for Dispensing Liquid - Includes Tube Cap : Industrial & Scientific I just squeeze the bottle...insert...release my hand and let it suck the fuel out. Not a problem. Does this no matter what and the bottle doesnt leak. I remove the fuel from the bottle though as temperature can make the fuel travel up the hose and out again....but after some time.
I really don't tend to exchange fuel from stove to stove if I know that I'm going to use any of them in a few months or so. Usually only empty their tanks when I know they're going to be stored for a long time, or if the tank is not all brass but steel so it might rust inside. Yet, I do use the same method with that type of bottle when emptying the usual final bit of fuel that can't get poured out. The bottle is originally intended for distilled water in car-batteries.
@geeves I agree I never swap fuels between stoves. Some have different versions of an Amish mix fuel. I leave the fuel in and it encourages me to have an evening or two every month or so to break them all out and fire them up. I have found that this practice helps keep pump leathers flexible and seals "lubed" as well as allowing me to have some "hiss & roar therapy".
I guess I do a bit of both, but I prefer keeping the fuel out of mine unless I am using them. I have a Phoebus 625 i pretty much use daily for coffee on my desk, but sometimes change it out for something else to play around with. I dont get out enough for camping trips so when I do I am for about a whole month before it planning on what I am going to take and try out in the woods.
Interesting setup with the bottle, looks ideal for smaller capacity tanks. I must admit I hate fueling up- the worst part of liquid fuel stoves- I do it a lot what with doing the daily cooking on paraffin. I still haven't managed a guaranteed no-spill-no-wash-hands method of transfering fuel from 25l container to stove tank. I've explored all sorts of ideas, from an SU electric fuel pump, syringes, various funnels and bottles... but still haven't hit upon the ideal solution. I reckon the best bet is a large stove tank with a normal size burner to minimise how often faffing with fuel occurs...
With Coleman fuel and kerosene, I use high quality fuels and usually just leave it in the stove between trips. Never had a problem. Alcohol is another matter; I always empty the stove (into a bottle) after a trip. The few times I've used auto gasoline, I empty the stove, rinse the tank with a small amount of Coleman fuel, and then let the stove burn Coleman fuel for several minutes before putting it away. ....Arch
@ArchMc agree with you on the automotive fuel and getting it out with the Coleman fuel. I never tried the fuel but have received stoves that had fuel still in the burner system (like Shmel stoves from Europe) and partial full tanks of it here. The squeeze bottle sucks out particles too...and weird separate things... Something like when you see oil and vinegar separate on a bottle... I'll see crap in them so I'll rinse it down and suck that and rust out... After I clean the bottle with IPA (isopropyl alcohol) I don't think it's a problem leaving the fuel in them like you said... Just habit... leaving them empty when I'm done
Arch, that is about my routine also except for my Punker which I use once a week or so for my patio coffee. No emptying of alcohol there. I've never had a problem even when a couple years have gone between uses of an individual stove. I seldom transport kero stoves like Duane is referring which don't have the shut off valve. Charlie
