Here's the subject, an MSR XGK II I've retro-fitted with a flint starter from a Coleman lantern First step's to remove the flint starter unit This makes it possible to remove the burner from the 'bowl' windshield/pot rest mounting The burner's twisted anti-clockwise (looking from above), but the vapouriser loop has to be eased past this pot rest socket, which maybe creates a crisis of confidence that something will break, but nothing will That releases the burner to manoeuvre it out of the bowl surround TO BE CONTINUED in a 'reply' John
The components securing the burner in the base mount are this pin on the base of the burner ... ... and this corresponding slot in the base mount The hawk-eyed will have spotted that there's a grey-coloured primer mat in the base mount. Here's how I made that, from a woven fibreglass solder mat I've already plundered to make Turm stove filters from Reassembled, a test firing John
Nice one John I have an XGK with the 4 seperate pot stands. Am i right in thinking you can change to this type ? I am also thinking of screwing the stove to a 10 inch plasterers hawk for better stability (platinum one naturally) Will yours burn mineral oil ??? can i put candle wax in it ?? Can i steal the igniter idea also ?
I think Ross (Spiritburner) has described the 4 separate potstand rod version as the 'divining rod' type. Can't see any reason why the later version can't be slotted into the base housing slots instead. Doc Mark showed his considerable collection of MSR XGK's en masse in this post ... Doc Mark's XGK's ... and that's handy to make comparisons. Plasterer's hawk? Impossibly glutinous fuels? Those can only be references to the intrepid young pioneer who sacrificed his eyebrows to take stove science to dizzy heights us old farts tethered to our zimmers can barely comprehend. No, I draw the line at the newfangled, Andrew. Nicking the sparker idea? Well, I already did by taking a look at this post ... Sam's XGK ... and realising that the flint igniter was a dead ringer for one I had on a Coleman lantern, used a lot less than the stove, and that the XGK II had a location in the base housing ready-made for it, carried over from the earlier version. John
As always John, Wonderful work!!! and pictures. Thank you. My XGK II came with both pot supports, why I don't know but they are interchangeable. Cheers, Jeff
another detailed post,these could be printed out and would make a great "how to" book.. on the subject of those strikers,my old "yellow pump" MSR stove has one of course but i have never used it,it's a bit awkward and i have always thought of it as a last ditch,built in lighting method for a hard core mountaineering stove.does anyone use that striker in normal use?
Awesome! I'll have to get into mine again. I really like the XGKs. Definitely going to find some solder mat. Looks like great material for the replacement in these stoves. I'm impressed with the compass cutter you used John. It does a great job cutting the material as you have so skillfully shown! Thanks for the great post! sam
do you have an X jet for this? i have one spare if you would like to burn the "impossible fuel" there i go, talking to myself again
You're absolutely right, Dave. It eventually gets around to igniting the white gas dribbled from the burner to prime but the situation resembles that of a flintlock musket in the hands of a rookie soldier with the enemy bearing down on him. Panic sets in, it gets desperate and there's a good chance there'll be just a flash in the pan and nothing more. It works pretty good on that stuff Sam, sure. I use it to cut heat-proof and nitrile washers for stoves too. It's not an ideal tool on the tough stuff because its plastic construction tends to allow it to flex and go off line, but it works reasonably well if I hold the cutting head while I'm tracing the circles. Any rough edges on the washers are easily cleaned up with a Dremel and an abrasive drum. John
Exceptional post, very nicely detailed photographs. I bought my first MSR stove in '77 (GK) and have had several XGK's since. I sold my last one in Peru after a trek because I had so many hassles carrying the stove through airports. According to the FAA, as soon as you use a stove, it has come into contact with flammable liquid and is no longer permissible to fly. I had emptied my bottles, washed them with soap and water and dried them but they still gave me a hard time in two airports. Next trip, I'll buy brand new fuel bottles and give them away for the return trip. In any event, I now have a new XGK-EX. Haven't even fired it up yet. It has a different base configuration and I am working on a clever way to utilize a "Coleman" sparker with this stove. I can't see why anyone would not have one since fumbling with matches or a lighter is such a pain in cold, windy or wet conditions. For what it's worth, someone tried to convince me that having a Whisperlite was the way to go since it allows simmering. They went so far as to buy me one but I have never used it. I learned long ago how to cook on the blowtorch that is the XGK and besides, most of what we do out there is some variation on boiled water, anyway. I don't know if anyone answered the query about the "new" two-piece burner for the XGK, but yes, remove the four "divining rods" and plunk in the two crossing ones. it's a bigger and more stable pot surface. As for the plasterer's hawk, I've never really had stability issues enough to complain about with these stoves. I bought the "trillium" base attachment (or whatever it was called) but never used it. Just another useless shiny thing as far as I am concerned. I still have my original "yellow" pump. It still works, too! Simple, bulletproof and field serviceable; that is what MSR stoves have been for me for more than 30 years. Let's hope this new version is the same.
