Can anyone recommend a brand/type of panel wipe to use as a baseline? I am contemplating moving away from unleaded petrol after a nasty surprise from a long lay-up of a stove. Alec
Yeah, don't get the water-soluble kind! You want the full-fat, industrial strength, high VOC (volatile organic compounds) formula...
I still don't see why you can't get naptha over in your hardware stores, common as spit here. Or for the seasons when it's colder than a tart's heart, hit up the hobby shops for rubber cement thinner, sold here as Bestine, stuff is PURE n-heptane! Murph
They just don't sell it, Murph, simple as that. Maybe there's a gap in the market there for someone...
I've used the tetrosyl branded panel wipe and Starchem PW-50 with success. They just happen to be the ones I can get locally. Simon.
I get mine from Autopaints Brighton. Any auto paint store will sell panel wipe as it's used to wipe down body panels prior to spraying - hence the name. Comes in a water based 'eco' version (which you don't want) or a naptha based version (which you do want). The store in Brighton sells two grades of the naptha version - a basic own-label version and a more expensive version made by 'U-pol'. The more expensive version contains an anti-static additive so I buy the cheaper (purer) version. No smell and burns beautifully. Bought some at the end of May for £11.95 inc VAT for 5 litres (but I just checked their website and it's gone up to £12.95) .
I spoke to a fella from the Aspen company a couple of years ago and he said they had tried to get 4T stocked in Blacks/Millets but no joy they were happy with Coleman fuel.
Here is two cents from the states. A friend of mine burns unleaded gas (ethanol) in his Coleman lanterns, the non dual-fuel lanterns with no problems for years. I have a couple of MSR Internationale's. I burn kerosene in one and Coleman in the other. These stoves are outstanding. I've never cleaned or serviced either for years. I suspect the Internationale will burn just about any fuel that will go through the jet and combust. If I was really interested in trying the limits of the Internationale, I'd certainly burn unleaded but I have access to Coleman fuel and kerosene. Cleaning an MSR is not difficult. Buzz. my $.02 worth
I caught that too, what I meant was unleaded gas, gets confusing with regulations and formulas changing, I don't think I'd want to use ethanol in a stove. The county east of here has an alcohol plant, too bad all the booze goes into fuel for autos. It is uneconomical to make fuel from food stuffs, a loss leader for sure. Buzz
Greetings, All, Been super busy with work, and medical adventures, but back now, at least for a bit! My discontent with the MSR Whisperlite Internationale had to do with the very first version of this stove, and not the Internationale 600, or the newest version. We tried to use the first WPLI on the PCT, and it died in less than 200 miles, if memory serves. I was doing regular maintenance on it, too, and it still choked when burning kerosene, and priming with kero, too. MSR had said that one plus for their then new WPLI, was that you could both prime and burn kerosene, without problems. FALSE/WRONG/BS!!!! I kept in close touch with MSR back then, and finally had their then stove guy admit to me that MSR never intended the original WPLI to be a true multifuel stove, and only to be used with kerosene in emergencies! That stove was really just a glorified Coleman fuel burner, that could burn kero in a pinch, but most certainly not three times a day, for three months, as we tried to do!! Later versions of this stove, beginning with the WPLI600, had much larger generators, which had been my main complaint to MSR about the original version, and that has really helped the I-600 to be a much better, and far more useful stove. I'm very happy to know that, and still use my two 600's, now and then. I have not, however, fired up my original WPLI, because it is really not up to the task of burning kerosene regularly, and I simply do not trust it not to let me down again, unless I'm only burner Coleman fuel. If you want a Whisperlite that burns Coleman fuel, get the regular Whisperlite. If you want to burn both kerosene and Coleman fuel, without problems, get the WPLI600, or the newest version of that stove. Done deal!! MSR learned their lesson on that original Internationale, me thinks, and I have to believe it was because I, and others like me, had experienced such drastic failures on long trips with that stove, and we had called and written to MSR along the way to explain the nature of our problems, and what we thought the stove needed, which was a MUCH larger generator loop!! The later versions all have that feature, and they all work much better than the original version. For what it's worth.... Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Doc, thanks for that post. I have the WLI version and it burned poorly on Kero. I will switch it over to CF soon. The fall camping season is approaching! Of course, I have other stoves to choose from but I have yet to camp with the WLI
I guess my Whisperlite Internationale's have the larger generator tubes so as per burning kerosene , no problem. Very reliable stove and maintenance is not an issue so far. A real go to stove for ease of use also. Buzz
I put the gasoline jet into the WLI and primed it as recommended. The stove was a sooty mess but burned clean. Next I primed with meths and that was cleaner but it really needed two primes. With two primes, it lit and burned hot and clean. There is nothing on the stove or literature that indicates it is a Model 600 but it does have the solid legs as opposed to the wire legs. Maybe I just needed to let it burn a while to settle down?
Hey, Sparky, You might consider stripping your WPLI down and using the included tool to remove the cleaning cable from the generator loop. Rinse the entire works in running water, and then use your cleaning cable again, in and out, several times, before drying off the entire thing, and reinstalling the cleaning cable to spec. Once dry, you will very probably notice a nice difference in the burning. Kero used to gum up those early WPLI generators very quickly. Once you thoroughly clean it out, you should be good to go. Good luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
