JetBoil Stove

[Guest ThePunisher]

Anyone have the JetBoil camping stove, and what are your experiences and thoughts about it?

[MacGyver]

If your plans include all dehydrated food, there's nothing faster or more efficient for boiling water. It's limitation is that it really is primarily just for boiling water.

The thing is amazing. It sips fuel while capturing almost all of the heat.

[whiskey]

It's one of the most popular canister stove systems among backpackers. Not good for frying bacon and eggs... Great for making coffee and ramen noodles.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Although I have not used them I personally would not even consider it.

The reason is the fuel, more specifically that it can only use its own fuel. I have had several stoves over the years and for me I want a stove that can use ANY flammable liquid as fuel. That feature has come in handy on more than one occassion while in the military. I have ran out of gasoline and had to use diesel. I have even tried various types of alcohol and they worked also. That was the best stove I have ever owned, unfortunately I let my brother borrow it because he said he was going camping. Instead he sold it for drugs.

Walmart sells a nice multifuel stove for under $50. I have used it with straight gasoline as well as weedeater mix. Both times was when our power had went out for an extended period. I haven't used alcohol in it yet but the enxt time I pull it out I might try it. It should work because the burner setup is identical to the stove above. It isn't the smallest or lightest stove but it does work well.

Dolomite

[whiskey]

I have been seriously considering picking up one of the Caldera Cone stoves as a multi-fuel option. I use a canister stove for backpacking for the convenience, but like Dolomite pointed out, it isn't the best option in long term survivalist situation. The Caldera Cones can run off wood or alcohol or just about anything else you can set fire too.

Here is a good article.

http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com/2012/01/ti-tri-caldera-cone-ultimate-ultralight.html

[MacGyver]

I'm a multi-fuel guy for survival, but love canister stoves for backpacking. That's actually something I would not have foreseen myself saying even a couple of years ago, but there's a reason for my switch.

In a survival situation, I'd like something that'll burn anything. But if I'm backpacking and run out of fuel, being able to burn multiple fuels isn't going to help me. I'm in the middle of nowhere, and would simply revert to fire. Plus 90+ percent of backpackers you encounter now are using canister stoves, so I'm more likely to be able to borrow fuel.

It really depends on your usage plans. For teotwaki type scenarios, go multi fuel. For weekend backpacking, make a choice that's appropriate for you and those you hike with. I love the fact today I can pack for a week with a base weight of less than 12 pounds minus food and water. Backpacking is a lot more fun this way. The days of 45-60lb. packs are over as far as I'm concerned.

There is one more potential plus for canister stoves that I've not thought all the way through, but will post anyway. I think they're hands down safer in the hands of the average backpacker. As a ranger, we transported burn victims on a fairly regular basis that had done something stupid with a stove. Nothing will ruin your day faster than a whisperlite turned flamethrower.

[Mark@Sea]

Svea 123, or an Optimus 111T. Ebay is a good source, lots of folks get lucky at yard sales.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I was remembering wrong, thought my coleman 533 was trifuel but its only dual fuel and "officially" burns coleman fuel (naptha) or gasoline. Have had it many years and it works fine but isn't the smallest or lightest stove you can tote, but OTOH it isn't real huge either.

Ain't saying it is what anybody ought to buy, just saying it seems to work OK for me so far. Everybody else who posted knows more about it than me. I like that the coleman will run several hours on one fill, and that it is a one piece gadget where you don't have to hook up hoses or whatever every time you want to use it. People like real small and light weight for back packing, but some of the lightest stoves look light enough to be flimsy to me. Not saying they really are flimsy, just that it so far kept the money in my pocket as far as buying a real light expensive campstove.

I found a heavy-duty transparent plastic "tupperware" style container that is almost exactly the same diameter and height as the coleman. Seals tight and not even a quarter inch of extra space to rattle around inside the plastic container. So even if the stove might have a whiff of fuel smell after use, just seal it up in the plastic container for packing or storage. Protects against odors or spills. You could probably manage to handle it rough enough in the plastic container to break something, but not much chance of any of the little metal parts getting bent or snagged on other gear in the pack.

One thing about lighting it and avoiding flame thrower syndrome, also helps in cold weather-- Long time ago I think back in the 1970's bought a big case of "military sterno" or whatever its called. 100 little olive drab tubes, each containing 5 or 6 cylindrical paraffin + alcohol fuel pellets. Still got a bunch of em and they still work good as new. Anyway, rather than starting the stove with a match, after its pumped up and ready to go I put a little bit of that sterno stuff under the "fuel heater tube" and near the burner and light it. Let it preheat the "heater tube" a minute or two then I can open the valve "standing back" from the stove. So its less likely to flare, and if it does flare I'm as far away as possible and can quickly back off further.

[Mark@Sea]

If you call Coleman today and ask, they will deny that they ever made true multi-fuel lanterns or stoves. I'm not talking about duel-fuel; the difference between Coleman fuel and unleaded from the pump is about like the difference between 6 and half a dozen.

I have, however, Coleman lanterns made in the late 40's and '50's that have directions for both kerosene and gasoline stamped on the collar band.

Similiarly, the coleman pocket stoves from WWII, and their descendant, the M1950, will burn just about anything. They're on the heavy side these days, but are better built than anything on the market today. I particularly like the M1950 because a full set of spares is in a compartment inside the pump handle, and a multi-wrench is attached to the stove.

The sterno is a good trick. The M1950 has a cup underneath the burner that (should) have an asbestos rope donut in it. Pump the stove, open the valve halfway for 15 seconds, shut the valve. The donut is now soaked with fuel. Light it and let it burn almost out, and you've preheated.

As far as latter-day coleman single burners go, I don't think any of them can beat the 502. Unlike a lot of stoves, it simmers very well, and the bowl around the burner functions well as a wind screen.

Lester, if your stove ever needs service beyond what you can do, give me a shout.

[MacGyver]

The 502 is one of the best stoves ever made. Same for the old Sveas if you can find one. I wouldn't backpack with an M1950 these days, but did all through Boy Scouts. They were reliable, and all but bulletproof.

I remember replacing a couple M1950s with late 80's vintage Coleman backpacking stoves and wishing we had the M1950s back.

[Mark@Sea]

I have a few of each, actually... Unfortunately, can't help the OP with the jet boil. I'm sure they're fine stoves, just not my style.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Thanks Mark and McGyver for the interesting info. Looked up the 502 and M1950 and they are neat.

That aluminum carry case for the M1950-- Did it vapor-seal or just protect the stove from damage? Just curious if the stove happened to be reeking of fuel when you put it up, if the carry case was capable of keeping the smell out of everything else in a pack?

In the pictures the 502 looks "heavier duty parts" than my 533 though functionally similar. I wouldn't say the 533 is built cheap but the plumbing and valves on that 502 looks more substantial, at least in the pictures. And it looks like the 502 might survive sitting under a heavier pot. That 502 valve structure, dunno if this it true, but looks like what a company might design to solve the problem, "We want to make one valve design that we can use across an entire line of both big and small camp stoves."

Ya'll surely know the following trivia. Merely reporting it "in case it is interesting to somebody" from a little reading yesterday--

I wasn't taking notes but googling yesterday to try to find out why in the world I had got the "wrong memory" that the 533 might run on alcohol if necessary-- Found forum discusssion about a couple of current models of coleman said to run on kerosene as well as naptha/gasoline. Said something about the kerosene not evaporating as quickly and needing a different burner design, and said some coleman stoves have interchangeable parts or whatever. Maybe that is only on international models? Didn't find much reference to alcohol in the searching I did. So it remains an open question what would happen if somebody tried to use alcohol. Hopefully it would merely "not work" rather than turning into a molotov cocktail. It sounds like a bad idea to cook with methanol anyway, though properly combusted ethanol or perhaps even isopropyl wouldn't be a problem (from the health aspect, not running it in a gasoline stove). Anyway methanol likes to eat seals and aluminum, but as far as I know ethanol and isopropyl are not so bad on rubber or metals.

There was some discussion from folks in nations where kerosene, diesel, ethanol and gasohol are lots easier to come by than naptha and no-lead gasoline. Some folks reported success with the gasoline stoves running half-and-half kerosene and gasoline. But kerosene is so stinky a fella might be pretty hard-up to want to cook on it?

Wikipedia said the coleman fuel used to be called white gas "back in the day". It said the coleman fuel is real similar in evaporative characteristics to no-lead gasoline and burns in a camp light or stove near-identical. But it said coleman fuel has a real low octane and no additives, and you run the risk of quickly ruining a gasoline engine on coleman fuel and you shouldn't try to run a gasoline engine on coleman fuel in an emergency.

Am not doubting the accuracy of those references, but when I was a kid back in the 50's "got the impression" listening to adults that "white gas" was about the same thing as no-lead nowadays. May be remembering wrong, but in addition to white gas for camp stoves and occasional cleaning/degreasing purposes, that sometimes people would run a tank of white gas thru a car to "clean it out" or whatever. I vaguely remember other uses, but can't recall details. Maybe remembering wrong, was just a kid. Just wondering if maybe the old white gas might have been very similar but not the same as coleman fuel? Will have to ask old dad next visit.

On the cleaning issue, this may sound bizarre, but out in the country we had an old lady neighbor who was proud of her beautiful unfinished wood floors. Her whole life she had been in the habit of occasionally mopping down the floors with white gas. One day after mopping her floors, she flipped on the living room light and the spark from the switch blew the house to smithereens. But she managed to get real old before blowing herself up in that fashion!

[monkeylizard]

It depends on the use. For backpacking, JetBoils are very popular. I'm trying to decide between a Flash and a Sol/Sol Ti now. They're compact and light weight. Just boil the water, pour it into the pouch of dehydrated food, wait, eat. No need for pots/pans/plates. For EOTWAWKI, a multi-fuel burner would be much better.

Edited July 9, 2012 by monkeylizard

[MacGyver]

Lester, to my memory, the mess kit with the M1950 did not seal, though it did generally protect the stove from dings.

[Mark@Sea]

Coleman fuel is, for all intents and purposes, 54 octane unleaded gasoline. It does not have the many additives the fuel at the pump has. If your engine isn't high compression it will run (very very poorly) on Coleman fuel - but obviously you'd be more likely to try the reverse, running your white gas appliance on regular unleaded.

You'll hear that regular will clog your generator, damage your valve, and collapse your arteries. For new(ish) stoves and lanterns, this could be an issue. Not the generator, but the valve. The fuel pickup tube, to be precise, is more than likely made of plastic. The additives in pump fuel will attack it. For older appliances (the 502 and before, the 200A or 220F or before) it isn't an issue. Everything is brass or bronze. It is true that using pump fuel will clog your generator faster than using Coleman fuel - but frankly, it is far, far cheaper to use the pump fuel and replace the generator. It isn't an issue - really. You'll burn something like 25 gallons of fuel before it becomes a problem. A generator costs, on average, $6 or $7. The savings in fuel cost over the life of the generator is in the neighborhood of $175.

The 502 valve was relatively new. It came from the 501 (quickly withdrawn from the market - if you run across a Coleman 501, snap it up!). Totally different from the 500, an earlier series of stove. The valve design worked very well, and isn't far from what is on modern offerings - although the fuel pickup tube is much superior to anything that came after.

Kerosene - in a properly designed stove odor isn't an issue, the kero is totally combusted. I have some dedicated kero stoves, if you're interested you ought to drop by sometime. The burner is similiar to that on the M1950, the big difference being jet orifice size. The generator has enough thermal mass to vaporize kerosene. The 502 and newer, not so much. The M1950 will, in fact, burn kerosene, although not as well as a dedicated kero design. There isn't a chance you could 'swap parts' in any modern coleman stove and get it to burn kero

. As for alcohol, the company has released 1 lantern (it was green and yellow) that would burn alcohol or gas, and it did so poorly. As much as it pains me to say it, if you want to burn alky you might want to look at a petromax. As it happens, I have a matched set of P-max lanterns in a military shipping case with a very complete set of spares and accessories, a relic of cold war years that was never used. Truly multifuel, they'll burn anything from bourbon to jetfuel.

I also have multiple 502's, M1950's, and one or two of the original squad stoves Coleman designed in WWII. (great story there - 30 days from RFP to the company loading the first 5000 on a boxcar for shipment to Europe - on a first-of-its'-kind design), and some real oddballs you'll never find 'in the wild'.

I collected and restored gas and kero pressure appliances for many years, so I am a font, so to speak, of entirely useless trivia on the subject.

MacGyver - dead on the money. Good tight closing mechanism, but nowhere near airtight. I have several - if anyone is really interested shoot me a PM and I will get photos and start a new thread.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Mark@Sea

[peejman]

It depends on the use. For backpacking, JetBoils are very popular. I'm trying to decide between a Flash and a Sol/Sol Ti now. They're compact and light weight. Just boil the water, pour it into the pouch of dehydrated food, wait, eat. No need for pots/pans/plates. For EOTWAWKI, a multi-fuel burner would be much better.

Re: JetBoil... this.

I've got two old Coleman stoves from the '70's, I think. My parents got them when they used to camp before they had me. One is a single burner that google suggests is a 508. The other is a big 3 burner model. Both still work fine and have been known to hold pressure for more than 10 years. Lanterns too...

[Dolomite_supafly]

I just looked up the M1950 and they were issue when I was in the military.

I remember in about 1994 the US government was downsizing all American bases in Europe. During that time they were detroying tons of equipment rather than ship it back. They justified destroying the stuff to prevent it getting into "enemy" hands. I do recall seeing these neat stoves that were in their own aluminum container, a M1950 I guess. They had them in brand new condition in piles waiting for the front loader to pick them up to load them into the dump trucks on the way to be destroyed. They also had piles of new NBC suits 10 feet high and 100 yards long waiting the same fate. The reason? They were OD green and not woodland. I saw dumpsters of new phones as well as just about every item that might have been issued a soldier back then other than weapons.

They also had kerosene space heaters still in plastic waiting to be destroyed. Not little ones but some that were about five feet tall.

Had I not had a conscience I would have walked away with a lot of nice stuff with no one the wiser. We did catch a LT with several "disposed of" NV scopes. Upon investigation it was him they signed off on the destruction document. And considering he had been in charge for months I wonder how many of those, as well as other items, made it out onto the black market. In the end he was arrested and received a courtmartial.

Dolomite

[monkeylizard]

I was at Bitburg from '92-'94 and was friends with a sergeant in the base alarm shop. He told me that a few years back he had been sent to strip out the sensitive equipment from a missle launch site before it was turned back over to the German gov't. One item was a retina scanner. It was sitting in the shop at Bitburg with no paperwork on it at all. Nobody knew what to do with it. He said something along the lines of "Morals and courtmarshal aside, who would want it that could afford to pay the black market price for it and would actually pay me for it and not shoot me and take it instead?" To my knowledge, it was sitting there when Bitburg was shut down. Now it's probably sitting in the Spangdahlem alarm shop tempting someone else.

It would sure be ultra-cool to have, but how do you explain to someone that you have a military-grade retina scanner to get into your man-cave?

[/tangent]

Edited July 9, 2012 by monkeylizard

[Mark@Sea]

Back to topic - looked at the jetboil. Looks like it would be fine for light hiking and instant foods.

Liquid fuel stoves have a couple of advantages. First, it is very easy to tell how much fuel is remaining. Not sure how you'd do that with a cannister unless you had an accurate scale along. Second, if you've got 6 or 8 feet of aquarium tubing, fuel can be very easy to find* - without having to find an REI or other outfitters that will carry the one cannister that fits your stove. Lastly, IMO liquid fuel stoves are less affected by extreme temperatures.

As far as SHTF, I'd carry a liquid fuel stove, and one of these for when fuel can't be had or I'm planning on living off the land. Again, my hiking stove of choice would be the svea 123 because of size and weight. If I've got more than a couple other people along I'd go with the bulletproof M1950, because it puts out the heat, but it does have some weight to it. The Coleman 502 is probably the finest liquid fuel single burner stove ever produced, but the size and weight make it unsuitable for anything more than short hikes. Great for car or motorcycle camping, though!

*flag down a passing motorist, any sort of vehicle, and buy a pint on the spot. What did you THINK I was suggesting?

[greyofk]

I had JetBoil malfunction at 11000 ft altitude. The night before climbing Mt Harvard in Colorado. Fortunately we had an alcohol stove for backup

The reason for malfunction was blown gasket

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I collected and restored gas and kero pressure appliances for many years, so I am a font, so to speak, of entirely useless trivia on the subject.

Thanks Mark for the interesting info. Hadn't paid historical attention to these gadgets til the last couple of days. Just studied on em years ago long enough to pick out a tiny stove. We had the old coleman 2 burner stove for van camping since early 1970's but it wasn't appropriate for stuffing in a pack. I guess a smaller stove than the 533 would be better for a backpack but in that cylindrical rubbermaid container the 533 isn't THAT big and I have a large pack. Found a picture of a square coleman plastic case for a 533 that makes the thing ginormous.The case appears constructed like typical pistol cases, injection molded with an inside and outside layer and air in the middle, which probably protects the stove good but lots of wasted cubic inches taken up by air, just to make a round thing square.

Wasted lots of time last couple of days reading on the liquid fuel lights, stoves and such. This site is guaranteed wasted hours for anyone who enjoys looking at old machinery-- Nearly 2000 pictures of fabulous old gasoline powered stoves and such-- http://tgmarsh.facul...rl.edu/lantern/ They have sections on gadgets I never knew existed-- Whooda thunk gasoline-fueled clothes irons? The rural electric initiative kinda spoiled that market niche.

That svea 123 you mentioned is charming. The new ones at campmor look about as nice as the older ones and the price isn't bad.

The one I was closest to buying before getting the Coleman 533 was an Optimus (can't recall if they were selling 8 or 111 at that time). That was pre-internet shopping and it was difficult to judge looking at black'n'white catalog pictures. If I had seen one in person might have bought it but the price was a little high to buy a sheet metal box based on a black'n'white picture and a paragraph of text. Campmor sells an Optimus Hiker and supposedly it still has a brass tank but the tank is painted green. Nutty idea as brass is prettier. But there are some vintage photos of Optimus 8 all brass and nickel plate, and some other manufacturers that sold handsome copy cat products. If I could buy a brand new brass and nickel plate Optimus 8R today like was made in the past, they would have a lot better luck getting my money than with the current Optimus Hiker, though possibly the current model is somehow "technically superior". They make lots better paint formulations nowadays and metallurgy is most likely better nowadays assuming a company doesn't cut corners. But that Optimus 8R sure is a tiny little cutie.

[Mark@Sea]

Yeah, Terry has a lot of good pictures on his site. I think if you look long enough, you'll see a couple of my lanterns on there. I was very lucky and came across what is probably a prototype for the Coleman 327. Great lantern. I also had one of about 3 known factory plated 201's. I still have a plated Peak lantern (the really tiny one) which is a very rare bird indeed - about as common as rocking horse poo.

The Optimus 8R is just a fantastic stove. Be aware, though, there are some low-quality clones out there... Avoid the clones! Although it's gone now (victim of my forced retirement) I picked up my 8R at a verrry reasonable price in a little shop in Australia. If you get the real McCoy, you'll never want another stove. They're grrreat!

If I can ever get another shop built, I've got the plating equipment stored under the house. Most older lanterns were nickel plated. If you find a stove you want plated, I'll do it for you. Well, the fuel tank, anyway - I'm not gonna plate steel. Too much of a pain in the nethers.

By the way, although the svea 123 is a self-pressurizing stove, it is possible to buy an external pump (about the size of a pack of rolaids) and fuel cap that will allow you to put a bit of pressure in it whilst it is cold. I have one, don't bother with it. I put about half an eyedropper of gas in the donut-shaped depression in the top of the stove and light it (thats' why the depression is there). It preheats the generator and expands the fuel enough to give you adequate initial pressure, no pump needed.

You've probably discovered by now that there was an aluminum carry case / cookpot combo available for the 502 (as well as a heater drum). You can usually find a set on e-bay.

If you get to where you're really interested in a svea, or an M1950, and are seriously considering taking the plunge; I will, if you like, mail you one for T&E, so you'll have a better idea of what you're getting into. You gotta pay shipping, and you gotta mail it back, of course. I'll also write up and send a 'real world' users guide with the tips and tricks you don't get from the manual.

[RichardR]

I've got an old Coleman 2 burner white gas camp stove thhat I have had since the late 1970's and it is still going strong, in fact I made breakfast on it this morning, eggs sunnyside up, bacon, and hashbrowns, it is a great camp stove but it is to big and bulky not to mention heavy for backpacking.

For backpacking I have been using a small surplus alcohol stove that I picked up about 20 years ago at a gun show, neat little kit, has the stove, and pots and stuff that all nests together in one small, light, easy to carry package, I use it all the time for hiking and picknicking and stuff, I'll try to take some photos of it a bit later, maybe someone can ID it a bit better for any folks interested in something like it.

[RichardR]

A quick google search and I found out what that little surplus alcohol stove/mess kit that I have is called, a Trangia or something like that, anyway great little kit, indestructable so long as you let it cool down before putting the lid back on the stove, if you dont let it cool down you will melt the seal, otherwise you can run the thing over with a tank and it will still work.

Only use 90% + ethonol though, anything less wont vaporize and jet as well.

[DAdams]

_{I have a Jet Boil and have used it for 3 years. They are very efficient for liquids. What makes it such is the built in wind defector and coil system concentrator that keeps the heat on the dedicated pots. Great for backpacking since all items store in a pot and are light weight.}

_{The peizo ignitor on mine was DOA, I didn't bother sending it back or getting another. I always pack sufficient fire sticks/lighters etc to light it.}

_{The fuel cannisters come in two sizes now. The smaller ones will prepare sufficient coffee and dinner for two for three to four days.}

_{I have whipped up some wicked one pot meals with mine. Progresso Wedding soup heated to a boil with four brats boiling at the same time. Yum.}

_{I also have a single burner Coleman propane in my "survival" gear along with other types of stoves. Wish I had my Optimus Stoves from the 70s. Those things were self pressurizing and burned anything. We cooked on them with Pemex Gasoline for months in Mexico. White gasoline was a US luxury.}