Morning, HJ, I agree that, for the hiker who wants a stove that "may" work with fuels other than Coleman fuel, maybe the International 600 might work for them. My only hesitation is that our old WLI gave out, burning filtered kerosene, despite meticulous care on my part, when we needed it most. Therefore, I, personally, would never use a WLI again, when I really needed a stove. Now, the WLI600 does seem like a better stove than it's predecessor, and maybe, just maybe, it would work OK in such situations. I have two of them, (God knows why! ) and will do some testing as the spirit moves me. (no pun intended!) 8) Interestingly enough, last time Sweet Bride and I went car camping, at the Dogwood Campground, I did fire up a WLI600 and thought it looked pretty good. But, this was in sheltered conditions, burning Coleman fuel, and only boiling water for tea. Again, I'd be very hesitant to trust this stove, even with it's larger generator loop, when burning anything else except Coleman fuel. "Burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on me"!! Jim, your listing of the MSR offerings, in another post, was a good one. Given the choices you listed, if I had to choose just one stove, I'd take a trusty X-GK. Of course, I'd add a simmering plate, and thereby obviate it's less than wonderful reputation for simmering. With that combination, I could burn just about any fuel I might find, reliably and fairly efficiently, and I could also get simmering for real cooking, too. I might toss in a BD silent cap, too, just so I have that base covered. But, with that combination, there is really little that cannot be done. Good job on the thought that you've put into this, Jim. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Thanks for your reply, Mark. Hmm. I wonder if simmering on an XGK would be any easier with a BD cap? Perhaps that's a project for tomorrow evening... Just off the top of my head without giving it a lot of thought, I'd say that a WLI600 should burn Coleman fuel just as well as a regular Whisperlite. In other words, no harm done in getting an Internationale if you just burn naptha class fuels. It's the kero that's the rub. If you ever do any tests on a WLI600, particularly with non-Coleman fuel, I'd be very interested in your results. HJ
I had some fun at a Sierra Club meeting last night. One of the guys, a young kid (at least he looked that way to me; probably mid 20's) brought in his dad's old XGK which wasn't working. I tested it. The pump was good, but no fuel was coming out into the burner. I pricked the jet, and voila, fuel. I fired it up, and it ran great. He thought I was a genius. That was kind of fun. He was literally ready to buy a new stove. Nice to help someone out, and nice to see a great old XGK back in service. HJ
That's Gentleman Jim right there Good thing you were around otherwise another stove gone to waste. Ron
well an update to that post the seller relisted the Firefly all this time later and guess what? this time he listed it with shipping to the UK and it looks like the fuel line has already been replaced with a metal braided one 8) i'm pretty sure you can guess the rest
Evening, Bill, That's outstanding new, my Friend!! Well done!! Did you get one with the complete kit, proprietary windscreen, and all? I hope so. I use pots from my Trapper 81, but any similar pot, like those from an Optimus 77 or 91, or any similarly shaped pot. I call them "truncated" but a better description is a "truncated triangle" shape. Pots like those fit the windscreen very well, indeed, and don't bend it all to hades when you pack it all up. I also put the entire works, stove inside the pots, into a nice drawstring bag, and that's worked for me for tons of years. Best of luck with your new FF, and let us know how it works for you. By the way, Bernie Dawg's Midi cap fits the FF very well, and will add another outstanding dimension to it's versatility. You'll be hard-pressed to find a stove that boils water as quickly, AND simmers as well, too!! Nice, all around. I actually took my sound pressure meter to the CASG3, with hopes of actually testing lots of stoves, under the same conditions, to see, exactly, which ones roared the loudest. Alas, after one attempt, the blowing wind and the snapping fly, were making more noise than the stoves, that I gave up that project. Another time, though, it will be a really fun test to make, and I'll make sure to keep bringing my db meter so I can be ready to record the singing stoves!! 8) Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Ah, so you're the one who landed her? Good for you! I saw that one too -- this time and the last time it was listed. I thought the price a bit steep, but oh how all those lovely spares were calling my name. Doc is absolutely right, a BD cap works great on them. I popped by BD cap onto my FF at CASG3, and it worked really well. I'll have to get some of those truncated cone type pots Doc keeps talking about for my FF. I'm rather worried about messing up the "pie tin" windscreen since my cylindrical pots won't do a thing to support it. Now, just one more thing: photographs, man, photographs! HJ
Hey HJ, it was destined for Bill and who would guess that its been relisted 3x waiting to catch Bill's attention and wham the button on the PC was blinking irresistably. Glad it finally found a new home. Well, the P41 makeover is almost complete except I noticed Doc Mark's did have a heat deflector over the tank so I will wait until I have fabricated one before its grand debut on CCS and UTube. Ron
I can wait to see the shots of the Firefly I have always enjoyed this Shot taken by Monte Dodge A different kind of stove. Truly made for those that climb. Jeff
Back to the dragonfly. I tryed the inner and outer cap from my Hippolito no1 and it went fairly well. It put about as much heat at full power and would still simmer pretty much as well as it used to and was quiet enough. Only problems were that the flame tips had a little yellow ( tuned cap like Bernies would fix this Im sure) and it doesnt solve to foldup problem
hi Doc,Jim,Ron back on to the firefly yes it was a bit pricey but if you want something for long enough then you have to pay the asking price, i don't think it was to over the top (you could easily pay the same for a used nova), i have been in contact with the seller and he is really nice bloke to get on with and very helpful to international bidders if you get my drift and is ok with using a reasonable priced shipping method the stove has only been used for one trip in yellowstone at -35 were it performed faultlessly according to him, i think it might of been too loud for him not sure on that though the fuel bottle was an old one that had a lot of miles behind it it does come with a load of spares a yellow pump and a pump rebuild kit a suspension (hanging)kit the proper windshield also a pukka pot and as doc has mentioned it was $30 to get the fuel line swapped for the brass braided one by MSR and that is already done unlike the last one we were talking about so will save a lot of faffing about for me as for a BDcap fitting, i will probably try one on her to see the difference it makes and how the cap performs on this stove but i didn't buy the firefly to muffle her she will remain loud and proud i couldn't help it but after winning her i got my Dragonfly out last night and did a few burns for tea and now i can't wait for the firefly should be another nice stove for the arsenal 8) Doc will the new red XGK duraseal pump fit her? atb Bill
Morning, Bill, Could you please send a link to your completed sale on the FireFly? I'd love to see what you got, my Friend! Back when MSR discontinued the FF, all the local Camping stores put the MSR FF rebuild kits on special, and I bought every single one of them that I could find! So, for many years, I had around 20 of those kits!! 8) As I was "flogging" the FF as a fine stove, to my camping Mates, more than several of them sought out and bought their own FF stoves, at swap meets and such. Back then, folks were dumping them for around $5 at such events!! Wish I'd have bought more than the three that I do own, but what the heck, I'm satisfied! 8) In any case, though I no longer own a real plethora of those rebuild kits, suffice it to say that I do have enough to keep my own FF's up and running into the foreseeable future, and I also scored two of the hanging kits back then, too. So, I'm really tickled that your new FF came with all that truck, Bill! WELL done!!! As to noise, I will definitely do my sound pressure tests, on all three of the FF stoves I currently own, and then compare them to the X-GK, the Dragonfly, and all other pertinently "loud" roarer burner stoves. I will take measurements from a regular cooking distance (cook to stove), in a camping environment, and see who really should earn the title of Loudest Roarer Burner in the World!! I'm thinking it will be the FF, but hey, I may be surprized. We'll all see, when the stoves have cooled, and when the db's have been measures, right?!! 8) 8) Maybe I should hang a sign around the testing area, which says, " Stove Testing in Progress"!! Oh, one more comment, if I may. In all my years of enjoying our FF stove(s), I have heard only a few negative comments on that stove that really bear mention. One came from a former CCS member, who posted here that his FF was so poorly made that the aluminum block/body was filled with machining bits, and that there was no way to fix it. If I remember correctly, he also commented that MSR had told him that this stove was hard to manufacture, and that they had had lots of returns on it. My memory of that last part may be a bit faulty, but that's what comes to my rather feeble mind at this moment. In any case, I, personally, have never had such problems with the FF, and neither has any of my FF Friends, all of us loving our FF stoves, and thinking them the Dog's B's!! But, mention should be made that some folks did have legitimate complaints about the stove. 'Nuff said.... Have fun with you FF, Bill, and if possible, please post the auction link, so I can take a squint at your new FF! Thanks, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. Oh, I forgot the pump question. I think, without having tried it, that any pump that will fit a standard X-GK, should fit the FF just fine. The pump for the Dragonfly, of course, will not. But, that's the only one that won't, me thinks. I'll have to give it a try, as such crossed my own mind, too, Bill! "Great minds".... and all that, eh??!! 8) P.P.S. I also forgot to mention that the sound made by the FireFly stove, is different from any other stove you may have heard. I'll let you hear it for yourself, then you will know what I mean. But, it IS "different" in it's song. 8)
hi Doc the listing is here Link the windshield looks a little beat up but if it's soft alloy it won't look to pretty after a week or so in a rucksack i'd be pleased if you would cast your eye over it maybe you will have an idea of what's in the brown envelopes they look to be sealed and one is dated oct 1984 there is also some paperwork with it but the pictures are to poor quality to make much out i suppose if i'm patient i will find out in good time though now i'm like Ron and wishing the post had a teleport system atb Bill
Bill sed Thats just your excitment buddy - jest like me waiting (im)patiently for the first package Hope you enjoy your new toy once it arrives Ron
hi Ron that's the trouble with the forum everything is instant, so i tend to forget a lot of people are half a world away till it comes to waiting for the post but i've waited this long for a firefly so the waiting for the post isn't so bad
Yes I do agree Bill....now its instant FireFly ooops! Not through the postal service. Well how about DHL overnight express you get your package the next day - nice thought until you see the rates
Hi, Bill, Hummmm..... Well, I am going to have to do some checking, but I do believe that I have bought from the seller of your FF stove, before. As I remember, it was not a totally satisfying experience. If memory serves, what arrived was not "exactly" the stuff on which I'd bid. Unfortunately, the seller was supposed to be doing me a big favor, with super fast shipping. I left him a very nice positive feedback, before my package arrived, as a "thank you" for the extra fine service. Instead of extra fine service, he pocketed the extra I paid, and shipped via "slow boat to China" method! Then, a part of the item that was supposed to be there, wasn't. After contacting the seller, he made nothing but excuses, and never produced anything as he promised. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he never left me a positive feedback, even though I had given HIM a feedback he didn't even earn!! when I expressed extreme displeasure to him, he said, "Hey, I know! Buy something else from me, and I'll leave you the best feedback you'll ever see"!!! I declined his "generous" invitation. Now, before you get all worried, I'm going to go back and investigate to see if this is, indeed, the fellow that I think it is. If it is, I wish you better luck than I had with him! I did get a nice old X-GK Tribe stove from him, but the fuel bottle was wrong, and some other things were simply not there. I'll do the checking today, and then get back to you. Now, as to your stove, it appears to be in good shape, though the windscreen is a tad shabby. Nothing to worry about, though, as you can clean it up and bit, and pound out the dents, if you so wish. The hanging kit is nice to have, but you probably won't use it too much. Your pump looks OK, too, but you won't know, for sure, until the thing arrives and you check it out. Really, about the only thing that can ruin one of those yellow pumps, is if someone over-tightens the regulating knob. If that happens, the entire pump body can crack on those yellow pumps, and then they are good only for whatever parts you can harvest from them. But, in all my yellow pumps, I've only found one that was cracked in this manner, so chances are you are going to be fine. I am suspicious as to whether the seller actually used this stove, or not, though, especially if it's the same guy I think it is. If so, then he gets all of his information from THIS SITE, and has very probably never been camping in his life!! AS to the brown bags, I have no idea what they might contain, if anything. MSR never sent me any parts in bags like that, and I've never seen such things before, except from Coleman, and a few other places, like military stuff. Bill, I will do this checking in an hour, or so, and then we will know if your seller is the same guy that hosed me. I hope and pray that it is not, or if it is, that he's learned his lessons and cleaned up his act. I'll get back to you as soon as I know, for sure. Until then, no worries! All will turn out well, me thinks. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
well my faith in Human nature is such that, i'll trust him till proved wrong he seems like a decent enough bloke but as with anything ebay there is always a risk attached fingers crossed you will find out it was a different seller but if not it's just a matter of hoping and waiting, most of my deals are much the same been burnt a few times but you have seen some of the stuff i have bought and the prices i usually pay so even if it turns out to be a bad one in the long run i'm still quids in with ebay it's not very often i pay top whack but sometimes it can't be avoided i suppose it's sit here for the next two weeks with my butt cheeks firmly clenched
Hey, Bill, OK, I did my checking and unfortunately, yes, it is the same fellow from whom I got less than satisfactory service. I even went upstairs and dug out the stove I bought from him. It was actually a very nice old MSR Model GK stove. But, in the photos, he showed and mentioned the original pump, and a large fuel bottle. I got, instead, the tiny 0.3 liter Sigg bottle (which is actually nice, taken for itself), and a rather dirty (though basically sound) black and grey pump, which needed a new O-ring, and a good cleaning. He had assured me that this stove was in top condition and was ready to use right out of the box. Whilst the stove was, indeed in such condition, the pump needed plenty of attention, and had I attempted to use it straight out of the box, I guarantee that the badly cracked pump O-ring would have leaked like a sieve, causing a horribly dangerous condition. When I questioned him about the original pump, he told me it had been old and out-dated and that he had thrown it away and included, instead, a much newer and better pump!! I see, now, that he's using my own words about that yellow pump being one of the best that MSR ever made, in the text from his FF auction that you won. Hilarious, actually!! I paid $34 for the stove, and he charged me $20 for expedited, two-day shipping. The stove didn't arrive for about one month!! When I FINALLY got the parcel, it had been sent via Parcel Post, and NOT two-day. I demanded a refund, and he sent me a check for part of the shipping. But, when I contacted the 'Bay about changing my feedback, and told them, in detail, how things really were, they would not allow me to change the feedback, and said I could only add another comment, which I did. However, nobody goes back that far to actually read the comments, so my having done that was rather like pissing into the wind, as far as I'm concerned. This fellow had seemed like a really nice guy, at first (and maybe he is), and in the end, I did get a very nice GK stove. But, I expect more of such sellers, and at least for me, this man did not come through. Instead, I got nothing but excuse after excuse, and many stories about how he used to be a long-haul truck driver, and was away from home a lot, and other such stuff..... If you go back 20-30 pages of this fellows feedback, you will see more than just a few transactions where the feedback was removed due to mutual agreement. This means refunds were issued to dissatisfied buyers, unfortunately. So, I believe I am not the only one that has had problems with this gent. Now, having said all that, I am like you, and think you should give this bloke the benefit of the doubt. I can only relate my own experience with him. Your luck may well be far better than mine. But, personally, I told him, when all was said and done, that I'd never do business with him again, nor would I recommend that any of my friends do likewise, and indeed, I posted a note about that less than satisfactory experience, here at CCS. But, that was long ago, and I'm hoping that he has either changed his ways, or that you will have no problems at all with him. I do believe that he lurks on this site, too, judging from his description of your new FF stove! Again, I'm betting he gets all his info right here. In any case, Maybe he's a changed man, or hey, maybe I AM the only dissatisfied buyer he's ever had. Stranger things have certainly happened.... But, just as I told him, when he asked me to buy something else from him, so he could leave me a nice feedback: "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me"!! I will keep a happy thought about this in my heart, and very much hope that your experiene will be 100% satisfactory, and that your new FF is as fantastically wonderful as it should be!! Please keep me in the loop about all this, and also please forgive me for unloading this on you, and giving you a worry burden that you do not deserve. I just thought it best to be honest, and so, save a friend some possible future grief. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc (Bummed to have to be the bearor of possible bad news.....)
hi Doc nice one for taking the time to hunt it down no problems, if the stove gets here nice one if it's as he says even better but if the worst comes to the worst it's just money and i do have paypal protection the only time i have ever been really fired up over an ebay transaction was the trangia 25 fiasco (you might remember that one ) and that was because i was stupid enough to send a postal order as the seller "was having trouble" with paypal having trouble meant his account had been suspend then days after i bought it ebay banished him leaving me stuffed like a kipper i didn't even have the option of leaving bad feedback still you learn your lessons sometimes the hard way now i would sooner cancel a transaction than pay with anything else than paypal fingers crossed this one will turn out ok if i get a dodgy pump i can live with that, i just hope the stove and spares are good thanks again and i'll keep you posted when it gets here, hopefully it will all be fine as i have a good feeling about it for some unknown reason, and i don't like to think bad of people with out just cause besides which i've done some good deeds of late so my karma should be good atb Bill
