I have been burning both stoves on a regular basis in my garage, on unleaded gasoline, to see which one clog up first. Time after time, the XGK EX clogs first. AMAZING!! ... I mean AMAZINGLY DISAPPOINTING!! The Whisperlite Int 600 and its newer version with a little thicker burner tube (not the latest one with flat legs), have outdone the XGK EX in terms of who clogs first. The clogging happens where the shaker needle is and the stpuid XGK EX keeps clogging ...The XGK EX is the only stove that clogged up numerous times and the Whisp Int, not even once...THAT'S AMAZING.... The Whisperlites, of course do not have the heat output, but it is seeming to me that the Whisp Int is way more robust than the XGK EX ... The XGK EX is way way over rated... I think I need to now change my username from XGKISGOD to XGKISPIECEOFCRAP,,,, Anyone else thinks this too?
Sir, I have to laugh at your posts like this! Since your first posts here, when you declared the X-GK to be the best stove since sliced bread, you have done very little other than try to cause it to fail, mostly by doing exactly what you have done here, by burning unleaded gasoline!! MSR specifically states that the X-GK will clog if you use unleaded gasoline, and strongly recommends that you do NOT use that fuel, EXCEPT for dire emergencies!! Yet, you persist in TRYING to cause problems with your stove, by deliberately mistreating it. ANY Stovie worth his/her salt, knows that US unleaded gasoline is a very bad stove fuel, and not only causes problems with your stove(s), but also causes problems with your HEAD!! The fumes are exceedingly poisonous, yet you continue to use that fuel, over and over again, then grouse about how your stove fails!! I have every X-GK family of stove every made, and guess what? NONE of them have ever failed, or clogged on me!!! Want to know why? It's because I do not mistreat them, and TRY to cause troubles. I know that my X-GK's "can" burn unleaded gasoline, IN AN EMERGENCY, but I never choose to use that fuel, for any reason. Hence, a perfect record for my own X-GK family. Since you obviously have no regard to using your stove as MSR had recommended, my suggestion to you is to get rid of all your X-GK stoves, and continue to burn a bad fuel, unleaded gas, in your Whisperlite Intl. 600, since you love it so. I also think that you should change your user name to "Unleaded Freak", or something like that!! The lesson here is: since your stove does not do what you want, EVEN when all the problems are caused by your own deliberate mistreatment of said stove, don't use that stove anymore, and stick with what you like. For what it's worth.... Doc
Any machine, any! Will fail if deliberately abused. Even an anvil or a hammer. My much loved ol' Svea 123 with it's one moving part still functions as well as it did the day I took it out of it's box in 1968. Being the luddite that I am , I still regard it as somewhat of a trial stove, preferring to use the tried and true wood fire as much as possible. No moving parts, you see. Gerry
"but also causes problems with your HEAD!! The fumes are exceedingly poisonous, yet you continue to use that fuel, over and over again" "burning both stoves on a regular basis in my garage" Too late In saying that though I have a Radius 42 here that ran leaded fuel for the first 20 years of its life and to the best of my knowledge has never been stripped and cleaned. There are no tool marks on the riser. (no it was not run in a garage by me on unleaded)
Hi gents, using the correct fuel in any stove is absolutely no problem in the USofA or Europe. My sister & husband however have travelled many African, Asian and South American countries and often found it VERY difficult to find decent fuel for their MSR stove. I think it is good to know which make/model/whatever will last the longest on low quality or alternative fuel without to much trouble! (admit it, we ARE spoiled! ). Best regards, Wim
Well you got it right ... I am trying to push thee pedal to the metal ...I am deliberately trying to make them fail and that's the whole point. It is an experiment and the amazing thing is that time after time, the XGK EX is failing long before the Whisperlite Int 600.... Yes, I did boast about the XGK being the best thing since sliced bread but now my opinion is changing. For some reason the Whisp Int takes almost forever to clog and the "choice of Expeditions workd over" XGK repeatedly clogs and I am wondering why that happens... All this epxerimentation has proved to me that XGK is just not as robust as the Whisp Int 600 ... It is way overrated ... Who really cares about the heatoutput in the Himalayas, when every 20mins you are cleaning your stove??? Please know that this is an epxeriment ... I love my stoves but also want to know how far I can push them... the dirtier the fuel I can put in them, the better the experimental results ... if someone can recommend some seriously clogg cusing fuels, may be crude oil! haha ha ... then let me know...right now it looks as though the XGK EX is a big sissy when compared to the Whisp Int 600...
I think there is benefit in knowing how stoves might perform under less-than-ideal conditions or with alternate fuels. The results probably could have been reported in a different manner, but XGKissomethingorother has at least remained consistent with the inflammatory style.
Which one is easier to clear? I don't know the international but the XGK EX is very easy to clean or perform PREVENTATIVE maintenance. Like after I tested some sketchy fuels I CLEANED it. I'd rather clean slightly more often if the process is easier. Is the International as quick to clear?
XGK is definitely easier to clean. FLipff the flamespreader, screw open the jet and start cleaning. The Whisp Int, well you got to take that screwoff the top that is holding a bunch of flamespreader plates... then got to undo the little cup at the bottom... then force down the burner assembly through the slit cut in the main big "dish" ...then you got to make sure that the stands do not go out of order otherwise the stove will become unblanaced ...a little more complicated than the XGK and more time cosuming to put it all together...
Once the XGK EX would get clogged, I would invert it an let the shaker needle do its job ...NOT WORKING!!! I have to open it, clean it, clean the long steel wire and all, externally poke at the jet so I can see light through it out it all back and then it works well for 2 more rounds and clogs again ...
Morning, All, Testing for fuel compatibility is all well and good, but I'm betting that the OP did not clean his stoves, either the X-GK, or the WPLI600, after each and every use. THAT is how you are supposed to use stoves with less than good fuel. IF you do it that way, you will have very little problems with either stove. Some may remember that it was the original Whisperlite International which choked on us, and refused to burn any more kerosene, DESPITE my complete and regular maintenance of the stove, back when we were on the PCT. After many calls to MSR, and lots of talking to their stove Techs of that time, MSR redesigned the size of the generator loop, and now the newer versions of that stoves do work better with heavier fuels. THAT, my friends, is proper testing. Doing otherwise, IMHO, is nothing more than whistling in the wind, and stirring the pot...... Each to their own, I guess..... God Bless us all! Doc
Doc, You are absolutely right: I did not clean the stoves in between. That was the whole point. The goal was to see who clogs first. MSR can do all the experiments and research they want. Harvard, MIT and Caltech can get involved too, it does not matter to me. The only research that matters to me is what I do in my garage. How the equipment performs based on the conditions I force upon it. When the XGK clogs at 14,000ft, MSR will not be coming to my rescue. I need to know how far I can push my equipment before it breaks down. I know I am doing things the wrong way. THe goal is not to keep the stove operational. The goal is to see which one stops working first. That's it...
Sir, You may do things however you wish. To me, the "results" of your "testing" have no validity, at all. Back when we did our first 850 miles of the PCT, we used the first version of the Whisperlite International. We burned kerosene, because MSR told us we could, and we even primed with kero, again, because it was said to be doable. Using the stove 2-3 times each day, and cleaning it regularly on the trail, the stove failed on us before we got to Wrightwood. No matter what I did, I could NOT keep using that stove, with that fuel, on our trip. So, we had a new stove, a Coleman 550 Multifuel, shipped to Aqua Dulce, where we picked it up, and continued our trip, with no problems whatsoever. Many talks with MSR took place during that time, and they realized, through my, and others, TESTING, that their stove was not up to snuff, and redesigned it to the way it is today. THAT, Sir, is real testing, on real trips, where the stove in question will be used, AND SERVICED, as it should be. Anything else is proves nothing. I can make ANY stove fail, if I treat it poorly enough, which is what you call "testing". If this is pleasing to you, and apparently it certainly is, then by all means, continue to your heart's content. But, please do not confuse what you are doing with real testing, in a real situation, where actually cooking and boiling water is the goal, and NOT causing the stove to fail in your garage. 'Nuff said, on my end. Flail away, if you wish...... God Bless! Doc P.S. Other Countries have unleaded gasoline which is much less prone to clogging when used in stoves. US gas, we are all know, is filled with additives which clog the stove, and muddle up the brain. With proper care, most any reliable stove today can be made to work with poor fuel, in Countries where good fuel is not available. BUT, regular service is the key to success. Don't do your service, and your stove fails. It's that simple....
Doc, I do not disagree with you, you have valid points. I think it is important for a guide or for whoever ventures out into the openness, to know how many minutes of continuous burning unleaded gasoline leads to a clog ....this way you do not clean your stove unnecessarily. On expeditions,seldomly are stoves cleaned unless they clog. So I think the test I am doing is pretty significant if I can establish the number of minutes it takes to clog a whisperlite... And on big trips, it is the continuous burns that count .. no one cleans a stove unnecessarily .. there are way too many other things to worry about than cleaning your stove... like trying not to freeze to death ...
Just being curious - for the experiment report to be meaningful, you should report the burn time (or the amount of fuel burned) until the stove clogs. Otherwise this is just rumors. And for travelling in third world countries, I believe kerosene is readily available in most regions, and does not clog stoves that can burn it. Yonadav
Yonadav, my sister can tell you horror stories about the quality of kerosene in certain countries! And no, filtering did not help much... Best regards, Wim
If you are out on an expedition worrying about freezing to death, the nearest gasoline pump is probably far, far away. And if you're stopping by a small town to restock on food/fuel for your expedition, you don't leave town if the only available fuel is unleaded gasoline. Then you know you will freeze to death, and whether it takes X minutes with the XGK or Y minutes with the Whisperlite doesn't really matter, does it? I would at least never use a fuel not recommended if I'm relying 100 % on my stove to survive.
Well, when I was on Denali, we used nothing but white gas and had 2-3 XGKs under each pot ... When I was on Mt Baker, I carried a whisp int ...since I flew, I could not carry white gas with me and at the guide shop, they were selling this MSR Fuel for like $20 a liter .. totally ridiculous prices... Right next to the guide shop, was a gas station. I dropped in and filled up my 33oz bottle with unleaded gasoline ... all I paid was like 87cents... Then there were other clients who brought these little cannister stoves with them...once we hit camp at 7K ft, the whisp int just came to life... Other clients' stoves did not do too well... Now I was boiling water for 5 people for 3 days, with that whisp int ... it performed beautifully..I was very impressed..
