Hello, I'm John and I'm new here. I have a few stoves, mostly backpacking oriented. One of my favorites is my dad's old MSR Firefly. I've eaten hundreds of meals from it since I was six years old so it holds a lot of sentimental value for me. The flexible braided white fuel line has worn out and I'm looking for something to replace it with. The stainless tubing at the stove end is 1/8" OD so I'm assuming the fuel line is 1/8" ID. I don't think it needs to handle much pressure, but it should be heat resistant and durable against abrasion. Anyone found a suitable replacement they've been happy with?
Have a Firefly myself....been looking at this post. Peak I Apex II Hose Replacement | Classic Camp Stoves
Hi John! I have a 1983 Firefly identical to yours. It still runs fine on the original black & white fuel line. No leaks. It runs as reliable as when new 42 years ago. Which is a lot better than me. The white outer sleeve is for heat resistance during a flare-up or burning fuel spill. Fraying of the sleeve does not affect integrity of the inner black fuel hose. My suggestion is test the fuel hose for leaks. If it passes, run stove as-is. If it leaks, replace with a new gasoline-rated fuel line from an auto parts store. To test for leaks, set up the Firefly as if you are going to light it. Outdoors, in a safe place. Pump up pressure in the fuel bottle. Close the needle valve / throttle valve on the stove (thin wire handle). Open the main fuel valve on the pump. Let it sit a few minutes. Check for fuel leaks in pump, fuel line, and stove. If you want to be extra safe, test by air pressure only. Fuel bottle must be empty. Pump up air pressure. Close the needle / throttle valve. Open main pump valve. Dunk fuel line in water. Look for bubbles. In my opinion a bigger concern is condition of the fuel pump. Original Firefly pumps were made of yellow plastic. Plenty of info on this forum regarding how to inspect and repair MSR's yellow pumps. There are several O-rings that should be replaced. Pump cup might need oil. And the original air inlet tube is likely gone (short rubber tube off rear of yellow pumps, inside fuel bottle). I replaced the old yellow pump with a new black MSR pump. The new black pumps are stronger and safer than any of the previous generations of MSR pumps (white, yellow, gray). You need to adjust the Firefly's original locking bail to fit the new black pump, or replace with a new style locking bail. Original bail wires interfere with the black pump fuel valve. The new style bail wire is shorter. Old bail in pliers, new bail in fuel line block; MSR gave me 2 new-style locking bail wires for free when I switched my MSR stoves from yellow to black pumps. Here is the new locking bail on the Firefly fuel line; And Old Reliable doing what it was built to do; Good luck, and keep us updated!
Thanks so much for the detailed info and help! My fuel line still holds pressure, but it's fraying and I guess I'm assuming that the rubber has probably gotten hard over the decades and would be prone to cracking. I replaced the yellow pump years back and the bail I have seems to work well with the new red/grey pump. Maybe I should just stick with the fuel line until it becomes a problem?
