I was making some last minute (procrastinated) prep steps for the winter and with the recent storms in the northwest, I came across an old book called “Making the Best of Basics” circa 1974 and found the following information.

Coleman 2 Mantle Gas Lantern (Model Used—Unknown) 1 Gallon should last about 40 hours burning time at a rate of 5 hours each day. The amount of fuel (White Gas) consumed is approximated below.

TIME PERIOD & AMOUNT CONSUMED
Day: 1 Pint
Week: 1 Gallon
Month: 4 Gallons
Year: 50 Gallons


Using a 2 Burner Coleman Gas Camping Stove (Model Used—Unknown) in use for 4 hours per day should use the following amount of fuel (White Gas) which is different from the lantern.

TIME PERIOD & AMOUNT CONSUMED
Day: 1 Quart
Week: 2 Gallons
Month: 8 Gallons
Year: 96 Gallons

Of a more interesting note was the following info.

A kerosene lantern with a 1” Wick will burn approximately 45 hours on 1 quart of kerosene at a burning time of 5 hours per day.

Now if I could find information on how long Coleman Fuel can be stored for, I would be well informed! Ideas?

Stargazer

Coleman is still in business aren't they? Drop them an email. I had to contact them a couple of years ago regarding a replacement owners manual and they were pretty prompt with their reply. Post what you find out.

According to Coleman, 5 - 7 years if unopened and stored properly:

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/faq/faqreturn.asp?question=38

"An un-opened container of Coleman® Fuel stored in a dry area with no rapid extreme changes in temperature will remain viable for five to seven years. An opened container stored in the same area will remain viable for up to two years though will be at its best if used within a year.

Coleman® Propane Cylinders can be stored indefinitely in a dry area. The propane fuel inside the cylinder will not break down."

In my experience, these are conservative numbers, especially for the unopened fuel. They are right on about opened fuel being best used within a year, but it will still work long after that - just a little crankier to get to stable burn and a bit stinkier on shut-down.

I'm guessing that the new plastic bottles will NOT keep fuel usable as long as the traditional metal cans - the plastic probably still allows some oxygen exchange thru the plastic walls.

Note the "dry" - I've had unopened cans develop a leak twice after several years storage - cool nights + humid days = rust from condensation. Garages are not ideal storage locations...

The indefinite on propane only applies to factory filled disposable bottles. Bulk propane has water and other crud in it, which is the main reason why the tanks are heavier and have to be inspected/tested every so often. Factory filled bottles are filled with DRY and filtered propane.

FWIW, sealed up kerosene has an extremely long shelf life - probably in excess of 20 years for all practical purposes.

Last note: The fuel consumption figures cited for the 2 burner stove (hardly matters which model) are high if you have liquid water and low if you're melting ice or snow. There is no reason to run a stove 4 hours/day to cook for 1 - 8 folks.

HTH,

Tom

I used to use a white gas stove for backpacking. IIRC, fuel, once opened, gets "dirty", and doesnt burn as efficiently. It had a tendency to clog up my stove quite a bit. Something about the way it reacts in air, with the metal inside the container. I recall thinking that my stove sucked, then I came upon an article about how that happens. AS it was quite a while ago, I naturally dont remember the article. You may be able to find it by googling it.

Depends on the stove, but persistance can pay off with old fuel. My oldest remaining stove, a no-model-number Peak I (400 type), still has the original generator on it and it has burned quite a bit of nasty old fuel - the gen cruds up for a bit, but keep running it and it burns out the crud and behaves well. (Stinks badly on shut-down with old fuel tho - baked varnish smell) My original MSR XGK, almost as old, doesn't care - if I can light the fuel, it burns it. My even more ancient Svea 123 was the same way.

The difficulties with old fuel go up rapidly as the temps drop. What is a PITA at 50 deg-F is frustrating at 0 Deg-F and dang near impossible - depending on the stove - at -40 deg-F. (Actually, I found that locally refined Blazo was noticably better in extreme cold than Coleman Fuel when both were fresh. Crummy shelf life, compared to Coleman fuel, though. YMMV)

Fresh fuel is a LOT easier and nicer to use, though.

Having written that... these days we almost always use a PowerMax or MSR WindPro for backpacking trips of a week or less - PowerMax exclusively in cold weather. Big green box in base camp, of course - can't beat those. If we were back in the interior of Alaska, I'd stick to naptha stoves, of course.

Regards,

Tom (another old soldier)

I recently pulled out of storage my old Coleman 2-burner stove (with the old red fuel tank). Though I don;t use it anymore because I have better stoves, I still felt like a dummy for leaving the fuel tank full of fuel. It was last used in 1996 and the fuel had been sitting in there the whole time.

Deciding to see what damage had been done to old trusty, I pumped her full of air and she fired right up! I burned that entire tank before rinsing and refilling, and there was not one hiccup in the burners. In fact, when I lit the new fuel, there was no noticeable difference. None.

Now, this is not to say I refute claims that fresh fuel burns cleaner... not at all, I wholeheartedly believe it. But I tell you this story just so you know: in this case 10-year-old Coleman fuel can (and did) work just fine, even though it was a fluke to be stored that long.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way, Coleman is still in business and as dedicated as ever. Just two weeks ago, I bought a new check valve and valve assembly from them (for a 440 Ultralight), and asked some questions about an old 2-mantle lantern that, incidently, was stored with the Coleman 2-burner stove. They replied to 2 different emails and even dug up and emailed an old parts diagram for the lantern that wasn't available on their internet site.

Tom:

Thanks for finding that information on the Coleman website. I searched and searched and could not find that page <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />, Oh well, I appreciate the info.

I think would only need 4 gallons total for me. I have the Optimus Svea 123 stove and an older Coleman 502 camping stove (single burner) I also have a single mantel model 242 Coleman lantern. If I camp, bug-in or whatever, I think I would need the fuel I mentioned. I also have a small gas BBQ (propane) and a small Propane heater that both run on bulk cylinders. Based on the information I have and the link you provided, I should store some propane cylinders for the heater and BBQ as well they can both use the small bottles, but I did the conversion for bulk to save money. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Any other ideas (anyone) pass them along. Again thanks and take care,

Stargazer

I pasted the link provided by (dang...can't remember who now) and this is what displayed:
"What is the shelf life of Coleman® Fuel?

An un-opened container of Coleman® Fuel stored in a dry area with no rapid extreme changes in temperature will remain viable for five to seven years. An opened container stored in the same area will remain viable for up to two years though will be at its best if used within a year.

Coleman® Propane Cylinders can be stored indefinitely in a dry area. The propane fuel inside the cylinder will not break down. "

When my folks moved I found a gallon of Coleman white gas in the garage, it had to be close to twenty years old. Aginst all advice from my Dad and friends I put it in a lantern and to their surprise it burned. I nor any one else could see any difference in the quality of light that it gave off.

I don’t know if it was a fluke or what but I used up the gallon with no problems.

I have used both a Coleman stove and lantern that were stored with fuel in the tank for at least 20 years (really!). They fired up and worked just fine...