Stove of the Week: MSR Whisperlite (pre-shaker jet)

This week's stove is the pre-shaker jet version of the MSR Whisperlite.


HJ

Super Post,no stone left unturned as they say.will you cover the International model that burns kero?

Thanks.

I will eventually cover different versions of some of the stoves that I've blogged about, but it will take some time before I get there. With the XGK line of stoves there are at least 10 versions that I know about (9, 9A, MF, G, GK, XGK, XGK II pre-shaker jet, XGK II shaker jet, XGK II with "X" supports, and XGK EX), so for now I'll cover "new" stoves, and then swing back around and cover different versions where I can.

As for the Internationale, for now let me say that I actually like it better in general than the regular Whisperlite. I like the fact that it can burn fuels other than white gasoline in a pinch, and the priming wick really is helpful.

There have been questions raised about the Internationale's reliability with prolonged use with kerosene. I honestly haven't burned through enough kero in an Internationale to really be able to speak to that.

HJ

Thanks, always a good read for those of us without a garage full of different stoves.

You're welcome.

The Whisperlite is a good stove to know about. It's an affordable workhorse. MSR has produced so many of them, that they're usually pretty easy to pick up for relatively cheap. For winter use, they're great because unlike gas, a liquid fueled stove (e.g. the Whisperlite) isn't really affected by cold unless you're talking about seriously cold temperatures and even then they can be used you just have to make a few adjustments from what I've read (lubricants, seals, that sort of thing).

HJ

Fun, fun, fun! Thanks again.

You're welcome as always. Good to know that people are enjoying these.

HJ

I don't recall in which one of your stove thread I raised question of running alcohol in these white gas/multifuel stoves. Apparently I'm not the only one thought about it, someone actually emailed Primus and they responded. Thought other people may be interested too.



"The fuels that are accepted for OmniFuel are in the chemical group “alkenes”. They differ dramatically from alcohols in many ways but for use as fuel it is mainly two things that matters:
1, The OmniFuel vaporize the fuel before burning it. It is simply done by boiling the fuel by the heat from the flame. Alcohol needs much more heat to vaporize compared to alkenes.
2, The energy content in alcohol is lower than in alkenes.
The two in combination means that the stove needs to transport 300% more heat to the fuel when running on alcohol! This is not what the OmniFuel is designed for and you will get liquid fuel coming out of the jet resulting in large flames and soot. It is possible to make an OmniFuel-style stove that runs on alcohol but then it would not work with alkenes as they would over heat and cause carbon deposits inside."

Thank you; that's very good information. I like to know the physics and chemistry behind things, particularly stoves, so I really do appreciate your passing that information along.

In addition to a stove not performing properly, I would worry about alcohol having a corrosive effect on the stove. I know here in the US, adding ethanol to automotive gasoline has been controversial in part because the alcohol can cause problems in older cars due to such corrosion. I have talked to at least one person who was using aluminum fuel bottles (of the type intended for gasoline or kerosene) to store alcohol and had his bottle damaged.

I do know some stoves can burn both alkenes (as Primus put it) and alcohol, such as the Optimus 111T, but I hesitate to put alcohol into any stove not specifically designed for it.

HJ

HJ, I want to thank you for all the work you have put in. I own a MSR Whisperlite (Intenational), but have been wanting a canister stove I can use like it, I have a Superfly but like you said, using a windscreen can be a hazard.
Well, to make a long story short, I ordered a Windpro based on your review, because you answered the one question about multi-mount to other brands of canisters.
I had a feeling it would, but I don't get to test a lot here, and ordering canisters is not fun due to hazmat fees.

Anyhoo, I'm a 100 bucks shorter right now, and loving it. It's a great stove. Works just fine on the 2 brands I have at the moment (not MSR canisters either).

Many thanks......