Multifuel stoves, tell me about them

[fatbikerbill]

I see a few main contenders.

MSR Whisperlite
Primus omnilite / omnifuel
Fire maple fms f5

What are your experiences and recommendations?

And will they all hold up a alpkit myti mug?

The maple looks to be the bargain, only let down by limited fuel types of unleaded and white gas. As unleaded must be pretty universally available I assume this is not too much of a problem.

[sean_iow]

I've got an omnifuel. I think a 400ml mug wouldn't be a large enough diameter to fit on the pot supports. It would also boil that volume of water in the blink of an eye as it's like a small jet engine once primed I once did a back to back test with my domestic gas cooker using a msr kettle, the omnifuel took less than half the time of a gas hob to boil the same volume of water.

It's great in the winter as the cold doesn't affect it. I only use primus/optimus stove fuel (white gas) in mine. Unleaded petrol is full of additives which aren't very good for you, but if you were travelling and that's all you could get then at least you could still cook.

[sean_iow]

Here's a msr ti mug on the omnifuel, it only just sits on the tips of the pot supports

[fatbikerbill]

That is 'very just' indeed!

I wonder if there are support things like you can get for gas hobs and small pots.

[lune ranger]

Used MSR stoves for years and really like them.
I've got a Dragonfly and Simmerlite.
Dragonfly is pretty heavy but burns just about anything and is really adjustable. Great for basecamp cooking and long term use.
Simmerlite is small and light enough for one person bikepacking. Very fuel efficient, but only burns white gas/ unleaded.
With both stoves I've only burned anything other than white gas or unleaded once. That was kerosene in Nepal. Unleaded is pretty much universally available these days.
Neither would play well with a mug for cooking however. The smallest vessel you'd get away with is probably a Titan Kettle or similar.
Having been using a meths burner of late I miss the ability to boil a litre of water in a minute or two. I also miss the afterburner roar they give off but not the occasional fire balls they burp up when you least expect it.

[benp1]

Wouldn't want anything 450ml size on my omnilite, too small

Mine is currently fitted to my trangia set. Not for bikepacking clearly. I have a canister adaptor to let me use the cheap aerosol-style gas canisters

[fatbikerbill]

yeah , looks like the 450 is definitely too small at 85mm.

the 650 is 103mm - bigger brews - win win,

[benp1]

Why do you want one?

They're overkill for bikepacking use unless you're doing some proper cooking

[Alpinum]

I've had a few (Omnilite, XGK, Dragonfly, Whisperlite Universal) and like the Whisperlite the most. With the Omnifuel I had problems with the connector in two sepparate cases, leading to loosing fuel (was quite dangerous) and in one case rendering it impossible to use. Not fun when high up a mountain range at very low temperatures. Further, the Omni has no shaker needle, less thought through disassembly, but a well thought through and better than MSR fuel pump. Oh, my two Omni would pulse in many cases, as if the mixed in too much air.
Dragonfly is good for proper cooking and groups. Not the most reliable of MSR stoves.
Sold the old style XGK which was a mistake. Most efficient multifuel stove I ever used.

Go by multifuel now is Whisperlite. What I like most about it, is how quiet it runs, even on full throttle. When melting snow for 2 or more people in the morning and evening the loud noise of the deflecor plate on XGK, Dragonfly, Omnilite and likely the Fire Maple. I've used Fire Maple gas stoves and ... well... you get what you pay for.

Wouldn't recommend Fire Maple if you're looking for a stove for a commiting trip. Onmifuel... I must have had bad luck, as many others use them happily. But then, as much as the plastic pumps are crap (yes, after many years of use they develop cracks - for a long expedition bring two - they're about 60 g where as the Primus is about 100 g) all about the MSR stoves is better in my books then the Primuses.

MSR used to make a .6 L Ti fuel bottle. It takes much more beating than all the aluminium bottles and is about the same weight. Tricky to find one but it's worth to invest some time, unless you like to collect dented ali bottles.

They're overkill for bikepacking use unless you're doing some proper cooking

Depends on where, how long for and also when you're heading.
Every fuel type has its place and season.
On certain trips it's also the lightest option when it counts most (early stage of a long trip, when most provisions are carried).

I think any pot smaller than about 12-13 cm in diameter isn't ideal for those stoves.

[benp1]

You're quite right, I forgot to say 'it depends'

I'll be taking my omnilite to the alps at the end of this month as it'll let me melt snow if required. I'll be using it in gas canister mode though, but can flip the canister upside down and can then use it like a remote gas stove.

All my bikepacking has been in the UK with my stove generally used for boiling water (and not melting snow). They're also no more than a couple of nights. Meths is the best solution for me in that situation

[Alpinum]

I'll be taking my omnilite to the alps at the end of this month as it'll let me melt snow if required. I'll be using it in gas canister mode though, but can flip the canister upside down and can then use it like a remote gas stove.

I like to use a remote gas (only, but with preheater) stove for most winter trips in the Alps. They've never failed me, not even at temps beyond -25 °C. My issue though, I go camping/bivying so often in winter, I run through 4-5 L of petrol in one winter and much more when I go on a multi week winter trip. I don't fancy running through that amount of gas canisters.
I get the fuel for free, gas canisters 40 % off, but then all the empty canisters...

There are quite a few things to consider when looking into stoves for long trips and cold weather.

All my bikepacking has been in the UK with my stove generally used for boiling water (and not melting snow). They're also no more than a couple of nights. Meths is the best solution for me in that situation

Same here. As you say, a couple of nights only.
In Iceland I had some 6 day segments without resupply options and given the often single digit temperatures, I was right at the boarder of going with gas instead of meths.

Depending on how much hot/boiling water you'd like, on longer trips meths will be the heavier system due two factors:
- to the inefficiency of the burner and
- the lower energy density alcohols have compared to butane/isobutane/propane/white gas/petrol/paraffin oil/jet fuel etc.

[fatbikerbill]

Why do you want one?

They're overkill for bikepacking use unless you're doing some proper cooking

as has been suggested I have ambitions beyond 2-3 day rides in the UKs sunny climbs.
currently have a kraku - which is perfect for everything I have done so far.

One thing I had heard in favour of the omnilite over the whisperlite is the ability to flush the fuel easier out of the line because the pump
is angled in the bottle.

is that true or not much of an issue ?

[sean_iow]

I've only used an omnifuel but yes the pump sits at an angle in the fuel bottle. When you want to turn the stove off you flip the fuel bottle over and the fuel in the hose is used up and the stove goes out. When you disconnected the hose from the pump there is zero spillage

It does mean that no fuel drips out to contaminate stuff and the stove is easier to pack disconnected from the bottle. Mine's been faultless. I've also run it on gas which is convenient and requires no priming so you're up and cooking straight away. You need to change the jet for gas but the stove is supplied with multiple jets and the little box wrench to change them. I've only used a single fuel type on a trip so put the correct jet in at home beforehand.

[Alpinum]

One thing I had heard in favour of the omnilite over the whisperlite is the ability to flush the fuel easier out of the line because the pump
is angled in the bottle.

is that true or not much of an issue ?

Works just as well with all MSR multifuel stoves. MSR just didn't/still doesn't state it in the user manual.
Flipping surely is the way to go and leaves less residues inside and outside of the hose, preheater and burner. Also I find priming more controlled - I can adjust the amount of fuel for preheating better when I start with an empty system, important when playing around in a vestibule. Packing away leads to no fuel dripping/loss.
Flipping is the way to go. You just need to make sure the feed tube is bent enough and your bottle not too full. With some bottles, going to the max. filling line will make it too full to make flushing possible.

[Alpinum]

Something I forgot about the noise.

There are burner caps which turn the noise down significantly. Expensive, but if price is not important and silence is, you might want to have a look at these

https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Various-C ... B01LW1EY1T
And then there are var. silencer caps by Bernie Dawg too.

[Trail-rat]

my whisperlite is 15 years old , its travelled all round new zealand , austrailia , british columbia , alberta , many of the islands in scotland and all over the mainland - jiggled about in a pannier for many thousands of KM. its never missed a beat.

the versatility is what wins with it - you only get stranded on a sunday with an empty CG gas canister in the western isles once.........youll always get diesel even on a sunday - not ideal but its better than no coffee.

i do make a point to service it before i travel if nothing else just to make sure i dont have issues. Best 115 quid i spent (which was a lot of money when i was a student).

not a chance of a 400mm mug fitting on top though. might get a 600 to sit but i think it would be more like seans photo than comfortable to use.

[whitestone]

I've an XGK stove, definitely not for stealth camping, we nicknamed it the Saturn V Does run on just about any flammable fluid - we used "dry cleaning fluid" in Kenya, the stove worked fine at 4000m on Mt Kenya deep frying chips

I've not used it for years as I've not been on remote expeditions that need it. Probably just needs stripping down, cleaning and it will work.

[Trail-rat]

reminds me i did get into trouble in BC for using it .

On a concrete table on a tarmaced parking area , in the rain with the windshield up.

She thought i was burning wood on the table (priming the stove with maybe slightly too much fuel in the priming cup)

she was going hysterical until i pointed out it was a stove and permitted with caution under their fire ban - i figured a concrete table on a tarmaced parking area in the rain was probably precaution enough.

[benp1]

So far have used my Omnilite with gas and paraffin. Keep meaning to buy some aspen 4t but haven't got round to it, and gas is so convenient (and cheap in the form of the canisters for the briefcase stoves). I tested it with the canister inverted and there was no spitting or flare ups.

I bought a Primus ETA 3l pan to go with it so I could cook family meals but then fitted it into my trangia 25 set and it works brilliantly in there, albeit not a set you want to cart around unless it's for expedition base camping. I'm planning to use it in a national trust bothy with my son in october, will easily cover meals for 2 with that.

I really like the adventures in stoving blog, it's got some real good geekery on there. Check out this comparison of the whisperlite vs omnifuel (the heavier non Ti version of the omnilite)

https://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.co ... rlite.html

EDIT - also found this link to a very helpful post - https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/105687/

[Alpinum]

Oops...

When I wrote about the Whisperlite, I was actually refering to the Universal, not International.
I'll edit it in my previous post.

Difference is two additional jets, meaning you can run the Universal on paraffin oils and canister gas which won't work with the International. I killed a Dragonfly using paraffin oils in a corner of Tibet by clogging the system and was only able to get it running thanks to ultra sonic bath etc. months later in my lab.

So, more options with the Universal.

The hose is stiff indeed, but for packing/unpacking some bending into place works just fine. The reason for the stiffness is the cable inside the hose with which, given you have the small MSR multitool at hand (or something similar) you can clean the hose.