NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/misc/consumer/15870

Internet Message Format | 1992-08-31 | 2.8 KB

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From: [e-mail] (James A. Michael)
Subject: Re: Camp stoves
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Summary: It's Just White Gas
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, CA
References: <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 21:11:36 GMT
Lines: 44



Eric T. Meyer      ([e-mail]) writes:

>Our old propane camp stove died recently (actually, the regulator died
>and the repair would have cost more than a new stove - don't you love it
>when they force you to buy new rather than repair?)  At the store this
>evening, we saw a Coleman Dual Fuel Campstove, which claims it can run
>on either Coleman cooking gas or unleaded automobile fuel, thus saving
>megabucks over propane.  Is this dangerous?  Doesn't car fuel have stuff
>in it that I don't want in my food?  I thought propane was supposed to
>be clean burning, so I am a bit leery of this stove, although the cost
>savings in cooking fuel would be tremendous if it is safe.  (The stove
>costs about the same as a propane one.)  Any ideas out there?
>|

I assume that the Coleman Dual Fuel Campstove is similar to the old
Colemans, which you put Coleman fuel into and then presurized the tank by
pumping it full of air (being sure to hold your thumb over the hole in the
end of the pump stem so that the air wouldn't leak out).  I first camped
with a friend of mine about 35 years ago, and his parents had such a stove.
It apparently was a little known fact that you didn't have to buy the fuel
from Coleman, if you used "white gas".  It turns out that "white gas" is
just gasoline without the lead, which was somewhat uncommon at that time
(you had to go look for it).  I don't think using unleaded gasoline would
be any more dangerous than using the Coleman fuel, and unless you were
using the stove to grill something (I assume you're going to use pots and
pans and such), I wouldn't worry about any of the other car fuel stuff.  A
few years after unleaded gasoline became common, another friend, who also
had one of the old Coleman stoves, insisted on buying the Coleman fuel,
even though it was about double the price of unleaded gasoline.  I believe
that Coleman was making a lot of $ on the fuel at that time, but I guess
they have changed their approach if they are now using this "dual fuel
capability" as a feature.  Good luck and caveat emptor.


                                  Jim Michael
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