I currently own what is often called a Russian Cult Stove on Ebay. It burns very well and it appears to be well made. I have always had a yen for the 8R. Is there any advange of the 8R over the Russian model? Does the 8R burn any better, have better flame control etc etc etc? Or, now owning a copy of the 8R is there any advantage to owning an 8R also.......Other than they are just so freeky cool that I want I want I want!
Just to be clear, you don't need to justify another stove. But here are a couple reasons to pick up an 8R in addition to the Russian clone. (1) The cap for the mini-pump does not fit the Russian. Of course the mini pump is not necessary but it is nice. (2) Brass tank vs. steel on the Russian. (3) Parts availability in general. These are all pretty weak arguments but that's all I got.
My clone runs very well. Quality of the case is not up to Optimus quality, but the tin is good and strong. If you are collecting stoves, not an issue getting a 8/8R. I have 6 8/8R's now I believe. Duane
Hmmmm... I seem to recall having this discussion before. I have one of each and they both perform well. If I had to sell one I don't know which would go. Probably the one that would fetch the best price. I'm not sure the Russian tank is steel. I believe it's plated brass. The inside is brass colored and a magnet doesn't stick. Ray
Russian clone takes more time to reach full blast, is a bit heavier, and its case is more robust (hence the weight difference). My Russian clone is with me since 1985, always car gasoline, never ever ever failed me. Not enough experience with the 8R (that I love anyway) to make a real comparison. Orsoorso
The russian 8R clone was made for burn automotive (unleaded) gasoline. But I burn heptane (C7H16)and goes perfectly!
All these stoves run cleaner on white gas but the earlier 8s and 8rs pre-date white gas so were run on pump gas. Gas has changed a fair bit since then but you can use it if you have nothing else. Expect to do more cleaning though. The Radius 42 I have which is functionally the same was run on leaded gas for the first 20 or so years of its life with no ill effect. Don't know if it has original wick though. I've only ever fed it white gas
I've only started using white gas in my 8R the past few years. Before that I always used car gasoline. Never had any issues with it.
White gas does burn cleaner. Petrol certainly in the UK is full of all sorts of junk that will clog up the works way faster than clean naptha. A fella on an outdoor forum I'm on was one of the "Well my mate has been using petrol for years" types went out and got a Coleman lantern and stove, ran both on petrol and both needed new generators in no time. I'll admit ( ) to running a Coleman lantern on petrol as a bit of an experiment and IIRC got about four weekend trips from it before it clogged up.
I stand corrected. I'd heard somewhere that Russian 8R had a steel tank, but never checked it myself even though I have two sitting on a shelf. Having also been told the Russian 8R runs well on petrol/gasoline, I tried it. Nope, in my case it ran with yellowish flame. Much better with clean camp stove fuel. Automobile gasoline can vary in additives depending on country and region, so that might account for some of the variation seen here among users.
