Hats off to those who take the time, energy and money to teach others. Without people like you, nothing of value would be passed down. people like you fill the void of knowledge of elders long passed and gone. Thank you for what you do!
This was one of the most informative videos I’ve seen on these legendary stoves. Coleman stoves are just solid workhorses. Troops used them in WWII, millions of families have enjoyed decades of camping with them, and I’ve used mine in 3 natural disasters as well as camping. They’re just hard not to love.
Thank you for the exhaustive comparison of fuels! I'd bet that many of us Coleman users have always wondered about alternative fuel use but would have never taken the time to do what you did.
Due to work requirements, I just picked up my Coleman 425C that I had as a kid from my parent's house. After sitting for 25 years, she fired right up and ran fine off the Coleman fuel from the same time. I am running the last quart and a half before I start feeding fresh white gas I just picked up a few days ago. I was very excited to watch this video and was pleased to see the results. Great idea, thanks for doing it.
I don't use gasoline even in duel fuel stoves and lanterns , but I do use a small amount of acetone mixed with white gas for an occasional internal cleaning of stoves and lanterns. The key word is an Occasional burn and cleaning with aprox. 1 tablespoon acetone per quart of fuel. This also works well with lawnmowers and other internal combustion engines. Thanks for your video and all the best.
Boy...happy to have turned into this video, just getting ready to buy my first Coleman stove and was wondering just like your other viewers on what's best to get. This is very educational. GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. Gracias
Thank you! Just heading back from my first over landing trip and looking for a stove. This is perfect! Gasoline is the way to go! Minimizing the need to carry many fuels. Just gasoline and then diesel for the heater. DONE. Thank you again. Very informative.
love the old Colemans. If you look at estate sales you can pick them up for $5-$10. Add $20 for propane adapter and you have a true multifuel stove. A .22 cal brush and some Carb cleaner and you are good to go. Nice video, thanks for taking the time to make it.
My friend you answered all my ? I had in my mind your Colman fuel testing are the best on TH-cam thank you for showing the difference and what fuel works in a pinch 👍
Amazing video, thank you! I had no idea you could run regular gasoline in these stoves! Not only that, it’s clearly efficient. I just got myself one of these for $2 at an auction and I’ll be following along your clean-up and rebuild video to prep it for use! Thanks again!
The multi fuel stoves allow use of regular gas as well as the clear ethanol free because they don't have the standard coating inside the tank. The standard coating is eaten up with regular gas and becomes a problem sooner or later. That said, it'll burn just fine for some time before it clogs up.
And may I also add that this is the most thorough, scientific, in-depth, nerdy-cool, stove video I have ever seen. It still amazes me that people take the time to share their knowledge, time and creativity on TH-cam.
Excellent video. My dad hunted and camped all over the Midwest. He always told me if I am going to bring/use a Coleman stove or lantern, that White gas was best for the exact reason demonstrated here. It burns perfectly and doesn’t foul components like other fuels. In a desperate situation, sure you use what you can get your hands on.
It was a fair test, but not scientific. A sample size of one iteration per fuel ignores 2 crucial factors of the scientific method. Consistency and repeatability. We also don't account for several factors here like, water temperature, ambient temperature, accuracy of water measurement, wind speed and direction, starting temperature of the pot, time from throttle up to pot placement are a few. These should be measured and recorded for each iteration of the test. Again, I'm not complaining about the test, it was fair and you likely wouldn't see much variation, but some items are concerning. For instance, why would kerosene boil the large pot 55 sec slower that pump gas, but boil the 1 cup 5 seconds faster than pump gas? That alone is a HUGE red flag that would invalidate a scientific test. At least that iteration would have to be thrown out. Until consistent, repeatable results are recorded, we can draw any conclusions at all. That's why we can't rely on anecdotal data and non-peer reviewed studies. We don't repeat and review because we think tests are cheated or rigged. We do it for accuracy and validity. Career scientists run into outlier data points all the time. But over many iterations of tests, patterns will form and data points will cluster at the best result. When we get multiple outliers we investigate what could have caused it and we test those ideas to see if we can repeat those results. Science doesn't dictate truth, it gives the best estimates of what is likely true with a given data set. It get even better when we have multiple studies that produce data consistent with other studies. About the only conclusion we can come to here is that the best fuel for these stoves is likely what the manufacturer, who did a lot of testing, recommended in the first place. Fresh white gas/camp fuel/naptha. But it also is of significant value to demonstrate that in a pinch, other fuels can be used.
Thank you for a brilliant video. I use my 425 everyday (my only cooking device), and I cook all the time. I appreciate learning that e-85 works well in my sole kitchen stove. In gratitude, all the best with good health.
@@greatwhitenorthlife2327 Yes you are correct, the burner does degrade with constant use, but I have gotton many years of use. The outer cup will disintegrate first, but the burner will still work with a damaged outer cup. Good luck with your unit, and all the best from New Rochelle N.Y.
This is awesome real-world evidence of what can be used and what the pros & cons are, rather than reading multiple cut n paste blog entries saying "not designed for this fuel". Thanks and one comment/question is that the 425 isnt even considered the dual gas stove (the 424 is) but still works! Thanks for confirming my decision to buy!
Great point. Coleman fuel and white gas does degrade as does Kerosene ( paraffin for those in Europe) Worked as a Coleman and other repair jockey for years, and old fuel works, but has less energy. Even kerosene goes bad. Much more common degradation with partially used cans. Great video, thanks!
@12:21 for the gasoline test. You're welcome.... Update: I've read that if you wrap some copper wire around the generator it'll absorb more heat, turning the liquid fuel into gas.
I've just restored a 48 year old Coleman 2 burner stove and did a boil test using fresh Naptha fuel to compare results. Interestingly my time was 6:44 minutes. I may not have had the flame turned up as much and my pot size was a smaller area but taller (Hiking style pot) so the heat transfer would have been different. Still, I'm more than happy to have it working again.
I can compare between fuels and so can you, but we cannot compare between stoves because of the variables, weather, pot metal, thickness, and other such conditions.
Excellent job. 👏 I rarely comments on TH-cam videos but you did such outstanding informative video that it is quite useful for other countries where we don't have white gas. Thanks.
Nice to have this information. There are people who want to do this with the kerosene. I bought both the dual fuel, and the kerosene models. I'll see how the maintenence compares.
What a great, thorough review! Thanks so much for putting this info out here to the masses. I've always wondered about using gasoline but was reluctant that I might ruin my stove but looks like it will just need a more frequent cleaning. Really, Thanks again for a comprehensive test that should answer 90% of our questions!
Yesterday my neighbor threw out a Colman 425 D stove, made May 1966. So I grabbed it. I have always used propane stoves and knew nothing about these stoves. After tinkering with it, and figuring out how it works, the darn thing worked great with old fuel in it. Now after watching this video, the Colman stove is my first choice to use. Darn things are built like tanks. Great for when SHTF.
awesome info, this is just what i was looking for as i just started getting some naptha stoves for SHTF and camping. good to know old fuels still work amazing just take longer.
Thank you. Just got my late Father-In-Law's old Coleman and was looking what to burn in it. After 10 years plus..it fired right up. I wish I knew what he put in it last.
To burn alcohol in those stoves, the orifice needs to be larger to get more fuel to mix with the air. That's why alcohol burns a little better with the lever up. It takes a resizing of the generator's orifice. Otherwise, you're burning a lean mixture. The generator turns the liquid fuel from tne tank into a vapor.
Your denatured alcohol test was informative. I think that the alcohol has a higher flashpoint that inhibits the vaporization need to keep the cycle going.
Cool test. I have a 4-5 year old can but was stored most of its life inside. Has some rust since being outside. Trying to burn through it now. Got some crown gallons from Walmart. Half the price of Coleman.
Lot of good info. Thanks for taking the time to put this out. I was wondering if Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer would make much of a deference in the fouling of the generator?
No doubt you probably know this about kerosene by now: if you use a propane torch to heat up the full length of the generator before you open the valve you won’t get the soot and smelly kerosene odor. If you take a lesson from the old Coleman kerosene burning lanterns you’ll see the spirit cup surrounding the base of the generator. This is so you can preheat the generator to a temperature that vaporizes the kerosene. Roughly 428 degrees F. Then when you open the valve the kerosene immediately vaporizes, mixes with air and burns with a nice hot blue flame. No soot. No smell. Just very hot blue flame for cooking your food etc.
Love this video. How come Coleman makes duel fuel stoves if other fuels work just as well with their white gas models? I'm asking as I recently got a 413H Powerhouse and there's no white gas or coleman fuel sold in my country. I resorted to using kerosene.
I'm using RUG. Before lighting the stove, I always preheat the generator with a blow torch, then start using the stove with the lever down position from the start. Pure blue flames without any flares.
Switching between fuels: you need to change the jet orifice size to accommodate each fuel. Then the alcohol would work great. I use alcohol on one of my stoves.
@@danmartens2668 technically alcohol has less BTU's compared to naptha, also known as white gas or coleman fuel, so alcohol should take a larger orifice, but with this man claiming overfueling and flooding, the actual amswer may be much more complicated, includimg generator sizing or design differences
@@danmartens2668 it should never be dangerous unless you let the pressure vessel or fuel tank fumes reach the flame, it only puts out about enough to keep the burners going
Awesome video!! I absolutely love my coleman gas camp appliances. I have used both gasoline and camp fuel in mine, and I too have found that the camp fuel runs hotter and cleaner. Thanks for sharing!!
I couldn't fine Coleman fuel but only Crown and haven't found any reviews on Crown white gas. This answers my questions about this brand. I will use old Coleman fuel for lanterns and new gas for stoves. Thanks for making this video.
Awesome video! As you said... Kerosine will pool if you cook on low. Need to keep heat on at least medium. It is easy to toss an alcohol stove inside the suitcase stove as long as you adjust the height, etc. so that it sits under the grate and the suitcase provides wind resistance and a little safety when using the stove. Just make sure to remove the little Swiss burner when using the Coleman stove burners. Other than necesitate cleaning, I am wondering if this would be a useful and practical way of getting rid ofl older gaseline by running in the stove. Have you tried one of the multi-fuel newer suitcase stoves to see how they function?
Curious if adding a little bit of methanol would help that old fuel burn a little better? I know it seems like a crutch but honestly if it works it's cheaper than buying a new gallon of white gas. Plus it's just fun to tinker with stuff. Great video! I see I'm 3 years late to the party lol
Thanks for sharing, bro, a good prospect on old fuel. I knew they would work ok, I ran through a can of 10-year-old fuel with no issue. But the amount of BTU is definitely reduced with old fule.
I used 'white gas' in a coleman lamp, I didn't know it was gasoline. And when it is first lit, it shoots up a flame like 4 feet high. I was lucky I didn't melt my face off. After it is lit a few minutes and all the parts heat up, is calms down. I didn't know camp fuel was gas - like gasoline you ran in your car. And you can't beat a coleman, they were built to last forever.
So I hadn't ran either of my stoves, a 425 and a multifuel, for like 15 yeara. Both had left over coleman fuel in them from last use. 1t years. Both when I removed the fuel cap had air preasure. I closed both up. They both lit and burned on 15 year old fuel. Had 3/4 full can of coleman fuel say at least 10 year old. The upper two thirds of the can burned fine in my stoves and lantern. But the lower portion would burn in my 4wt stove but sounded like a sick jet engine. The throat of the venturi tube heated and glowed red. Amaxing what these devices do.
The fuel is hydroscopic, theres a good chance the container may have lots of rust in it and should be cleaned out. The pressure is only caused by a difference in air temperature outside and inside the container. Eventually you end up sucking in water and rust fragments into the generator section.
I live in a country where white gas or coleman liquid fuel is not longer available, so what kind of fuel can i tun in my coleman campstove? Regular unlead gasoline or kereosene? Thank you!
Could you test with Seafoam(the kind you get from the auto parts store)? From what I can find online its 3 ingredients are naptha, pale oil, and isopropanol(isopropyl alcohol)? I've tested it in lighters and vintage fuel handwarmers. Those seem to not be the best as it could hinder spark flames but maybe work better in flame lit applications.
I know this is an old vid but you can get coleman gas caps for their lanterns and stoves that have a pressure guage in them so you can see when you need to pump
My mom grew up a share cropper, thus they didn't have electricity or running water. At some point they went from a wood burning stove to a kerosene stove and they thought they were really high class then. No wood to chop. In the 1950's they upgraded to a ranch house with electricity, but still no running water till 1969. Oh, the good old days. I think the stoves that were built to use kerosene might not have imparted such a strong kerosene taste to their food, as I would imagine a lot of them were sold to farms and people who lived in the country who didn't have electricity or city gas. I know the 'blue flame' kerosene stoves were heavily advertised in the 1920's and 1930's.
Very well done video RETRO. I would of liked to see the adapter used that you can use a propane cannister with just cause you have me curious now,. Excellent video, thanks..
@@RVingwithG I was wondering if that HEET would help to remove any moisture in the fuel. I have a couple of gallons of Coleman fuel that's been out of a protected environment and thought about giving it a try. Thanks for reinforcing my thoughts.
Hello .... I have a single mantle (kerosene powered) Coleman lantern that was made back in the 1950's. It has a small cup that alcohol is placed into and lighted to pre-heat the generator. Because kerosene became difficult to find, I decided to give common charcoal lighter (as in BBQ pits) a try and it worked amazingly great and still to this day is an easily available fuel source. Likely too late now, but I would liked to have seen you use the charcoal lighter as a fuel for the camp stove... 99% sure it would work without problems. Also suspect that mineral spirits ( as in paint thinner) will also work in place of kerosene. Also wonder if a mixture of "kerosene" type fuel and unleaded gasoline might do well.... Thanks for the video....
Enjoyed the video. Based on how clean the generator looked after using the Coleman fuel, I think I'll stick with that unless it's an emeergency situation. I keep thinking about getting a Blackstone, but the Lodge 16.75" griddle fits perfectly on top of my 425 so that works for me.
Thank you for this! I'm slowly moving more off grid in my trailer and I hate propane. Super difficult to fill 100 lb tanks; heaters use propane like it costs .00001 a lb; more than one item that uses it and you need a ton of pipes, adaptors, etc etc; if you only want one off grid fuel propane doesn't cover everything. I have a dual fuel stove and a catalytic heater. Looking for a lamp, which is somehow more difficult. The less fuels I have to carry around and store, the better!
Last time I bought a can of Coleman fuel, it was like $2.50 for the gallon can. Cheaper than gasoline at the time as you got the free can with the gas. Coleman fuel is now $18.99 for the gallon can. Lowest octane auto gas hovers around $5+ gallon here. Summer grade burns a little cleaner and it more expensive thn winter grade. Have you tried stuff sold as lamp oil? I see it free or cheap at yard sales now and then,
The main reason one would pick kerosene is indeed cost. Buying it in the one quart can is very expensive. In the northeast, where oil furnaces are common, it is not uncommon to find kerosene for sale at rural gas stations from a pump. At $3-4/gallon beats even crown camp fuel by quite a bit. It’s a bit annoying to get running on a stove designed for white gas, but for long term use it is far cheaper. It’s also more pure and stable than gasoline.
@@retrotechandelectronics To reduce Kerosene smell, turn the lever up one minute before you shut it off, which will burn off most of it in the generator. Bur burning kerosene will quickly clog up your genny, which requires constant cleaning and maintenance. If it's for cost reasons, just run low octane regular unleaded, it's much more volatile, less sooty thank Kerosene. Coleman stove is designed to run on white gas, it burns cleaner, you will have less headache long term. But if you don't mind constant maintenance, it works on unleaded or kerosene. Cheers!
@@ClaraXu2014 you can actually distill gasoline from its additives relatively easily w/ a standard electric hotplate you'd find in chem class. The additives, like the detergent package, do not evaporate easily, though the other 150 or so components of gasoline like toluene/benzene/xylene/etc can. You don't need the fancy glassware like the graham oil condenser, but it does make it a lot faster. Just do everything outdoors so you don't have to worry about the buildup of combustible fumes in home, unless you have a lab rated fume hood.
Great review and results. On ke ro turn up the light lever for a minute before shutting down the stove, that helps to burn 3xcess fuel out of the genny. That's how the older stoves operated
Because kerosene will not burn at room temperature as a gas and needs to be pre-heated to start the reaction of the burner then heating the pipe that heats the kerosene.
@@JDsModernMartialArts kerosene will not ignite at room temperature it needs to be pre heated. I used this to get it hot enough so that the combustion process would start.
Saw a guy do it with Kerosene and wrap copper wire around the bar over the element. He got it up to temp by using hand sanitizer, but say you could use fire paste, iso alcohol or like you did, give it a little fire under the bar to preheat it. After it's going Kerosene can work quite well actually, yup.
Perhaps I missed it, but did you show what the generator looked like after using white gas? I wanted to compare the automotive gas generator cleanliness to the white gas?
Hats off to those who take the time, energy and money to teach others. Without people like you, nothing of value would be passed down. people like you fill the void of knowledge of elders long passed and gone. Thank you for what you do!
It's my pleasure
This was one of the most informative videos I’ve seen on these legendary stoves. Coleman stoves are just solid workhorses. Troops used them in WWII, millions of families have enjoyed decades of camping with them, and I’ve used mine in 3 natural disasters as well as camping. They’re just hard not to love.
Ive recently released a video on one of the civilian editions of the WW2 model, restored.
Is the Coleman better than the Svea 123r?
One of my most intriguing memories as a young boy was watching my father fuss with and cuss at, his green stove! Lol!
Also more rural locations in the early 20th these were everyday cooking stoves.
Thank you for the exhaustive comparison of fuels! I'd bet that many of us Coleman users have always wondered about alternative fuel use but would have never taken the time to do what you did.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Due to work requirements, I just picked up my Coleman 425C that I had as a kid from my parent's house. After sitting for 25 years, she fired right up and ran fine off the Coleman fuel from the same time. I am running the last quart and a half before I start feeding fresh white gas I just picked up a few days ago. I was very excited to watch this video and was pleased to see the results. Great idea, thanks for doing it.
You're welcome, it was a fun project.
Brilliant concept and so much good information. And thank you for feeding my weird obsession with Coleman stoves!
Here to feed, I have a few new ones planned.
join the club..also addicted to Colemam stoves !
And don't forget the lanterns! Every opportunity I get I fire up the lantern...it always accompanies the portable 🔥 pit.
@@mtbse789 l
lol
lol.
instablaster.
Just got myself a 425 the other day and watching YT videos on how to use it. This is one of the BEST videos I've seen.
THANK YOU man, this is perfect.
Thank you, I appreciate the feedback.
I don't use gasoline even in duel fuel stoves and lanterns , but I do use a small amount of acetone mixed with white gas for an occasional internal cleaning of stoves and lanterns. The key word is an Occasional burn and cleaning with aprox. 1 tablespoon acetone per quart of fuel. This also works well with lawnmowers and other internal combustion engines.
Thanks for your video and all the best.
A concise and most informative presentation. High value; no fluff. Thanks.
I try to minimize fluff.
Boy...happy to have turned into this video, just getting ready to buy my first Coleman stove and was wondering just like your other viewers on what's best to get. This is very educational. GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
Gracias
Glad I could help!
Thank you! Just heading back from my first over landing trip and looking for a stove. This is perfect! Gasoline is the way to go! Minimizing the need to carry many fuels. Just gasoline and then diesel for the heater. DONE. Thank you again. Very informative.
love the old Colemans. If you look at estate sales you can pick them up for $5-$10. Add $20 for propane adapter and you have a true multifuel stove. A .22 cal brush and some Carb cleaner and you are good to go. Nice video, thanks for taking the time to make it.
Thanks for the tip!
My friend you answered all my ? I had in my mind your Colman fuel testing are the best on TH-cam thank you for showing the difference and what fuel works in a pinch 👍
Glad they helped!
Amazing video, thank you! I had no idea you could run regular gasoline in these stoves! Not only that, it’s clearly efficient. I just got myself one of these for $2 at an auction and I’ll be following along your clean-up and rebuild video to prep it for use! Thanks again!
Unleaded gas can clog the generator tube. Coleman fuel has less additives
Thank You for the Test results. I was wondering about burning regular gasoline.
You are welcome!
Great consistent testing model. Answered a few questions that I had as a new camper / prepper.
Glad it was helpful!
The multi fuel stoves allow use of regular gas as well as the clear ethanol free because they don't have the standard coating inside the tank. The standard coating is eaten up with regular gas and becomes a problem sooner or later. That said, it'll burn just fine for some time before it clogs up.
This video answers the exact question I had. Thank you, sir. You are amazing! Thanks for your hard work and effort!
And may I also add that this is the most thorough, scientific, in-depth, nerdy-cool, stove video I have ever seen. It still amazes me that people take the time to share their knowledge, time and creativity on TH-cam.
Glad to help!
Someone was just throwing out the same Coleman stove so I put it in my garage and wondered what fuel I could burn it that’s how I came to your video.
Nice… free stove
You answered my question without me asking. I loved the test with gas. if we have an emergency, gas is more easy to buy. Thank you for your video!!
Yes in an emergency petrol would be a life saver
Thank you! I think this is the first video that test gasoline
And it works really good, it’s just like naphtha but with additives.
Gasoline being easier to find and cheaper this is good info .
Excellent video. My dad hunted and camped all over the Midwest. He always told me if I am going to bring/use a Coleman stove or lantern, that White gas was best for the exact reason demonstrated here. It burns perfectly and doesn’t foul components like other fuels. In a desperate situation, sure you use what you can get your hands on.
Fantastic video! I learned a lot and was surprised by the degradation. To be fair the old fuel still performed quite well.
Oh and very scientific.
It was a fair test, but not scientific. A sample size of one iteration per fuel ignores 2 crucial factors of the scientific method. Consistency and repeatability. We also don't account for several factors here like, water temperature, ambient temperature, accuracy of water measurement, wind speed and direction, starting temperature of the pot, time from throttle up to pot placement are a few. These should be measured and recorded for each iteration of the test.
Again, I'm not complaining about the test, it was fair and you likely wouldn't see much variation, but some items are concerning. For instance, why would kerosene boil the large pot 55 sec slower that pump gas, but boil the 1 cup 5 seconds faster than pump gas? That alone is a HUGE red flag that would invalidate a scientific test. At least that iteration would have to be thrown out. Until consistent, repeatable results are recorded, we can draw any conclusions at all. That's why we can't rely on anecdotal data and non-peer reviewed studies. We don't repeat and review because we think tests are cheated or rigged. We do it for accuracy and validity. Career scientists run into outlier data points all the time. But over many iterations of tests, patterns will form and data points will cluster at the best result. When we get multiple outliers we investigate what could have caused it and we test those ideas to see if we can repeat those results.
Science doesn't dictate truth, it gives the best estimates of what is likely true with a given data set. It get even better when we have multiple studies that produce data consistent with other studies.
About the only conclusion we can come to here is that the best fuel for these stoves is likely what the manufacturer, who did a lot of testing, recommended in the first place. Fresh white gas/camp fuel/naptha. But it also is of significant value to demonstrate that in a pinch, other fuels can be used.
@@mikemorgan5015agreed, but not bad for a YT vid. I thought he should have also tried some fresh fuel since that was oldish too.
Thank you for a brilliant video. I use my 425 everyday (my only cooking device), and I cook all the time. I appreciate learning that e-85 works well in my sole kitchen stove. In gratitude, all the best with good health.
How long does a stove last? I would have thought the burners would wear after a while.
He didn't use E85. He used E10, standard auto gasoline.
He did show that alcohol does not work well and E85 is 85% alcohol.
@@trustme7731 Thank you for the clarification, and my miss understanding. All the best to you, for your input.
@@greatwhitenorthlife2327 Yes you are correct, the burner does degrade with constant use, but I have gotton many years of use. The outer cup will disintegrate first, but the burner will still work with a damaged outer cup. Good luck with your unit, and all the best from New Rochelle N.Y.
This is awesome real-world evidence of what can be used and what the pros & cons are, rather than reading multiple cut n paste blog entries saying "not designed for this fuel". Thanks and one comment/question is that the 425 isnt even considered the dual gas stove (the 424 is) but still works! Thanks for confirming my decision to buy!
It could just be seals and marketing. A side by side comparison would be interesting.
Great point. Coleman fuel and white gas does degrade as does Kerosene ( paraffin for those in Europe) Worked as a Coleman and other repair jockey for years, and old fuel works, but has less energy. Even kerosene goes bad. Much more common degradation with partially used cans. Great video, thanks!
You're welcome.
@12:21 for the gasoline test. You're welcome....
Update: I've read that if you wrap some copper wire around the generator it'll absorb more heat, turning the liquid fuel into gas.
I've just restored a 48 year old Coleman 2 burner stove and did a boil test using fresh Naptha fuel to compare results. Interestingly my time was 6:44 minutes. I may not have had the flame turned up as much and my pot size was a smaller area but taller (Hiking style pot) so the heat transfer would have been different. Still, I'm more than happy to have it working again.
I can compare between fuels and so can you, but we cannot compare between stoves because of the variables, weather, pot metal, thickness, and other such conditions.
This is the best video about multi fuel in Coleman camping stoves
Thanks!
Excellent job. 👏 I rarely comments on TH-cam videos but you did such outstanding informative video that it is quite useful for other countries where we don't have white gas. Thanks.
Nice to have this information. There are people who want to do this with the kerosene. I bought both the dual fuel, and the kerosene models. I'll see how the maintenence compares.
Glad you found it helpful!
What a great, thorough review! Thanks so much for putting this info out here to the masses. I've always wondered about using gasoline but was reluctant that I might ruin my stove but looks like it will just need a more frequent cleaning. Really, Thanks again for a comprehensive test that should answer 90% of our questions!
Glad it was helpful!
Yesterday my neighbor threw out a Colman 425 D stove, made May 1966. So I grabbed it.
I have always used propane stoves and knew nothing about these stoves. After tinkering with it, and figuring out how it works, the darn thing worked great with old fuel in it. Now after watching this video, the Colman stove is my first choice to use. Darn things are built like tanks. Great for when SHTF.
Great find!
awesome info, this is just what i was looking for as i just started getting some naptha stoves for SHTF and camping. good to know old fuels still work amazing just take longer.
Glad it was helpful!
Very informative video. I’m prepping my Coleman 425f . Thanks so much for taking the time to do it it helped
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you. Just got my late Father-In-Law's old Coleman and was looking what to burn in it. After 10 years plus..it fired right up. I wish I knew what he put in it last.
Coleman fuel [naptha] is the standard, use that
Great video. I'm interested in if propane is any better (using one of those propane converter).
Great video. I would never even thought to put kerosene in the stove.
Not a first choice. But possible
To burn alcohol in those stoves, the orifice needs to be larger to get more fuel to mix with the air. That's why alcohol burns a little better with the lever up. It takes a resizing of the generator's orifice. Otherwise, you're burning a lean mixture. The generator turns the liquid fuel from tne tank into a vapor.
Your denatured alcohol test was informative. I think that the alcohol has a higher flashpoint that inhibits the vaporization need to keep the cycle going.
Cool test.
I have a 4-5 year old can but was stored most of its life inside. Has some rust since being outside. Trying to burn through it now.
Got some crown gallons from Walmart. Half the price of Coleman.
Awesome testing! Thank you for all your hard work.
You're welcome.
Lot of good info. Thanks for taking the time to put this out. I was wondering if Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer would make much of a deference in the fouling of the generator?
No, sta bil just puts a coating of oil on top of fuel for short term storage to keep down oxygen degeneration. Like a 3 month seasonal storage period.
No doubt you probably know this about kerosene by now: if you use a propane torch to heat up the full length of the generator before you open the valve you won’t get the soot and smelly kerosene odor. If you take a lesson from the old Coleman kerosene burning lanterns you’ll see the spirit cup surrounding the base of the generator. This is so you can preheat the generator to a temperature that vaporizes the kerosene. Roughly 428 degrees F. Then when you open the valve the kerosene immediately vaporizes, mixes with air and burns with a nice hot blue flame. No soot. No smell. Just very hot blue flame for cooking your food etc.
Love this video. How come Coleman makes duel fuel stoves if other fuels work just as well with their white gas models? I'm asking as I recently got a 413H Powerhouse and there's no white gas or coleman fuel sold in my country. I resorted to using kerosene.
Thank you. This was enlightening to say the least.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for making this video! I've always wondered about alternative fuels, but never had the guts to try them :)
Now you don’t have to.
I'm using RUG. Before lighting the stove, I always preheat the generator with a blow torch, then start using the stove with the lever down position from the start. Pure blue flames without any flares.
What color powder coat did you use. Great color that is close to the Coleman red!! Great job on the restoration, thank you.
My instructions say Coleman camp fuel only ... but in a oh crap time Is why I'm here.. can I use other fuels?
Answer seems to be YES
I could swear I made a video about testing other fuels in this stove, now where did i put it????
Just answered so many questions I wanted to know. Save me a lot of personal time
What was the residue like on the bottom of the pot from each fuel? Any differences in the cleanliness of the burn?
Kerosene is also used for rocket fuel. It looks like once he got it going it did as good as the white gas?
Switching between fuels: you need to change the jet orifice size to accommodate each fuel. Then the alcohol would work great. I use alcohol on one of my stoves.
Would alcohol need a larger or smaller orifice
@@danmartens2668 technically alcohol has less BTU's compared to naptha, also known as white gas or coleman fuel, so alcohol should take a larger orifice, but with this man claiming overfueling and flooding, the actual amswer may be much more complicated, includimg generator sizing or design differences
@@mikem5475 awesome ! Now going to experiment with an explosive discovery 😳🥴😅
@@danmartens2668 it should never be dangerous unless you let the pressure vessel or fuel tank fumes reach the flame, it only puts out about enough to keep the burners going
Awesome video!! I absolutely love my coleman gas camp appliances. I have used both gasoline and camp fuel in mine, and I too have found that the camp fuel runs hotter and cleaner. Thanks for sharing!!
I couldn't fine Coleman fuel but only Crown and haven't found any reviews on Crown white gas. This answers my questions about this brand. I will use old Coleman fuel for lanterns and new gas for stoves. Thanks for making this video.
Glad I could help!
Excellent video. Answered a lot of my questions. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Very welcome!
Awesome video! As you said... Kerosine will pool if you cook on low. Need to keep heat on at least medium. It is easy to toss an alcohol stove inside the suitcase stove as long as you adjust the height, etc. so that it sits under the grate and the suitcase provides wind resistance and a little safety when using the stove. Just make sure to remove the little Swiss burner when using the Coleman stove burners.
Other than necesitate cleaning, I am wondering if this would be a useful and practical way of getting rid ofl older gaseline by running in the stove.
Have you tried one of the multi-fuel newer suitcase stoves to see how they function?
Being a prepper this is good info .
More on the way
Curious if adding a little bit of methanol would help that old fuel burn a little better? I know it seems like a crutch but honestly if it works it's cheaper than buying a new gallon of white gas. Plus it's just fun to tinker with stuff. Great video! I see I'm 3 years late to the party lol
Thanks for sharing, bro, a good prospect on old fuel. I knew they would work ok, I ran through a can of 10-year-old fuel with no issue. But the amount of BTU is definitely reduced with old fule.
I am glad I finally found someone who actually used gas , I have been afraid to try it. I guess I thought that gas would just blow up if lit..
Naphtha (whitegas) is just distilled petrol. Thats coleman fuel.
what he said, white gas is still pretty much gasoline
I used 'white gas' in a coleman lamp, I didn't know it was gasoline. And when it is first lit, it shoots up a flame like 4 feet high. I was lucky I didn't melt my face off. After it is lit a few minutes and all the parts heat up, is calms down. I didn't know camp fuel was gas - like gasoline you ran in your car. And you can't beat a coleman, they were built to last forever.
So I hadn't ran either of my stoves, a 425 and a multifuel, for like 15 yeara. Both had left over coleman fuel in them from last use. 1t years. Both when I removed the fuel cap had air preasure. I closed both up. They both lit and burned on 15 year old fuel. Had 3/4 full can of coleman fuel say at least 10 year old. The upper two thirds of the can burned fine in my stoves and lantern. But the lower portion would burn in my 4wt stove but sounded like a sick jet engine. The throat of the venturi tube heated and glowed red.
Amaxing what these devices do.
The fuel is hydroscopic, theres a good chance the container may have lots of rust in it and should be cleaned out. The pressure is only caused by a difference in air temperature outside and inside the container. Eventually you end up sucking in water and rust fragments into the generator section.
wonderful!! this is the first video I've seen that checks the deposit as well. good job!!
Thanks.
I live in a country where white gas or coleman liquid fuel is not longer available, so what kind of fuel can i tun in my coleman campstove? Regular unlead gasoline or kereosene? Thank you!
top information and testing well done sir appreciated
Thanks 👍
Could you test with Seafoam(the kind you get from the auto parts store)?
From what I can find online its 3 ingredients are naptha, pale oil, and isopropanol(isopropyl alcohol)?
I've tested it in lighters and vintage fuel handwarmers. Those seem to not be the best as it could hinder spark flames but maybe work better in flame lit applications.
I don’t test everything flammable. I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d want to cook with Seafoam. I’ve seen and smelled it from an exhaust
Great analysis. Only prob with kerosene if the generator will clog in short order, might work a few times b4 failure of generator.
I know this is an old vid but you can get coleman gas caps for their lanterns and stoves that have a pressure guage in them so you can see when you need to pump
The performance also dictates when pressure is too low..
Thank you for the info.
The issue with kerosene is the owful smell which c and end up in your food taste too.
Once its up to temperature, kerosene has no smell.
My mom grew up a share cropper, thus they didn't have electricity or running water. At some point they went from a wood burning stove to a kerosene stove and they thought they were really high class then. No wood to chop. In the 1950's they upgraded to a ranch house with electricity, but still no running water till 1969. Oh, the good old days. I think the stoves that were built to use kerosene might not have imparted such a strong kerosene taste to their food, as I would imagine a lot of them were sold to farms and people who lived in the country who didn't have electricity or city gas. I know the 'blue flame' kerosene stoves were heavily advertised in the 1920's and 1930's.
I got 3 kerosense wick stoves...they dont smell
Thank you for spending so much time on it very informative enjoyed it save me a lot of time
You're very welcome!
Grest video RTE and thank you. I have used crown in both my lanterns and stove with no problems. Gas, I guess would be a last resort.
Right on
Wonder how the Coleman stove would work on common #2 diesel fuel? I would expect very similar to 1K.
Very well done video RETRO. I would of liked to see the adapter used that you can use a propane cannister with just cause you have me curious now,. Excellent video, thanks..
I thought of it, but in a pinch nobody runs out to buy a propane adapter. that wouldnt be an emergency auxillary fuel.
I really enjoyed your review!!!! Thank you very much for taking the time.
Cheers,
David T.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great information, thank you for sharing. I just got one of these old stoves.
Its a great stove.
@@retrotechandelectronics If I may... Try adding a CAP or two of (yellow) HEAT to your OLD White gas and Test it!? :)
@@RVingwithG I was wondering if that HEET would help to remove any moisture in the fuel. I have a couple of gallons of Coleman fuel that's been out of a protected environment and thought about giving it a try.
Thanks for reinforcing my thoughts.
Hello .... I have a single mantle (kerosene powered) Coleman lantern that was made back in the 1950's. It has a small cup that alcohol is placed into and lighted to pre-heat the generator. Because kerosene became difficult to find, I decided to give common charcoal lighter (as in BBQ pits) a try and it worked amazingly great and still to this day is an easily available fuel source.
Likely too late now, but I would liked to have seen you use the charcoal lighter as a fuel for the camp stove... 99% sure it would work without problems. Also suspect that mineral spirits ( as in paint thinner) will also work in place of kerosene.
Also wonder if a mixture of "kerosene" type fuel and unleaded gasoline might do well....
Thanks for the video....
I heard 30°/, camp gas and 70°/, kerosene for kerosene lanterns.
Enjoyed the video. Based on how clean the generator looked after using the Coleman fuel, I think I'll stick with that unless it's an emeergency situation. I keep thinking about getting a Blackstone, but the Lodge 16.75" griddle fits perfectly on top of my 425 so that works for me.
Yeah I would use different fuels for any old reason, I stick with coleman fuel unless I have no other means.
Thank you for this! I'm slowly moving more off grid in my trailer and I hate propane. Super difficult to fill 100 lb tanks; heaters use propane like it costs .00001 a lb; more than one item that uses it and you need a ton of pipes, adaptors, etc etc; if you only want one off grid fuel propane doesn't cover everything. I have a dual fuel stove and a catalytic heater. Looking for a lamp, which is somehow more difficult. The less fuels I have to carry around and store, the better!
White gas works. But isnt cheap.
Great video very informative. Would have loved to have seen how fresh gas would have performed compared to the older gas.
Older gas with ethanol, would have less energy per litre, and older gas would absorb water, having even less energy density.
That was information I was looking for. THANK you. Subscribed.
Welcome!
Yes the older the fuel the less btu's. Good testing.
Thank you.
Awesome. Answered my questions on my newly purchased stove.
Awesome. Enjoy it.
Last time I bought a can of Coleman fuel, it was like $2.50 for the gallon can. Cheaper than gasoline at the time as you got the free can with the gas. Coleman fuel is now $18.99 for the gallon can. Lowest octane auto gas hovers around $5+ gallon here. Summer grade burns a little cleaner and it more expensive thn winter grade. Have you tried stuff sold as lamp oil? I see it free or cheap at yard sales now and then,
The main reason one would pick kerosene is indeed cost. Buying it in the one quart can is very expensive. In the northeast, where oil furnaces are common, it is not uncommon to find kerosene for sale at rural gas stations from a pump. At $3-4/gallon beats even crown camp fuel by quite a bit. It’s a bit annoying to get running on a stove designed for white gas, but for long term use it is far cheaper. It’s also more pure and stable than gasoline.
Kerosine works just fine, just harder to start, and stinks to holy hell when shut off.
@@retrotechandelectronics To reduce Kerosene smell, turn the lever up one minute before you shut it off, which will burn off most of it in the generator. Bur burning kerosene will quickly clog up your genny, which requires constant cleaning and maintenance. If it's for cost reasons, just run low octane regular unleaded, it's much more volatile, less sooty thank Kerosene. Coleman stove is designed to run on white gas, it burns cleaner, you will have less headache long term. But if you don't mind constant maintenance, it works on unleaded or kerosene. Cheers!
@@ClaraXu2014 you can actually distill gasoline from its additives relatively easily w/ a standard electric hotplate you'd find in chem class. The additives, like the detergent package, do not evaporate easily, though the other 150 or so components of gasoline like toluene/benzene/xylene/etc can.
You don't need the fancy glassware like the graham oil condenser, but it does make it a lot faster.
Just do everything outdoors so you don't have to worry about the buildup of combustible fumes in home, unless you have a lab rated fume hood.
I got a few of these old things and have them for backup. I have the coleman 533 for the single burner gotta go carry in woods backup. Works well.
Coleman Fuel is White Gas but it has a stabilizer and a rust inhibitor added, so it should last longer.
Great review and results. On ke ro turn up the light lever for a minute before shutting down the stove, that helps to burn 3xcess fuel out of the genny. That's how the older stoves operated
I was not aware of this, but I guess that would purge off the rest as fumes, vice fuel.
Why did you add balls of tin foil with the paper towels when you were heating up the coil for the kerosene?
Because kerosene will not burn at room temperature as a gas and needs to be pre-heated to start the reaction of the burner then heating the pipe that heats the kerosene.
@@retrotechandelectronics I believe she is asking what does tin foil balls do for this heating process? Me too 🙂
@@JDsModernMartialArts kerosene will not ignite at room temperature it needs to be pre heated. I used this to get it hot enough so that the combustion process would start.
This was very informative. I wonder where the propane adapter fits in this test?
That would be a mod, and not a different fuel.
Tnx for the info! Question.. does the burning gasoline smells?? Does it leaves black stains on the pot?
If everything is setup right and it is fresh gas it burns clean with little smell and no soot.
Nice, I love kerosene and don't mind the smell. I've never had any go bad on me.
Its not my first choice.
Do you have any information on how do the dual fuel Colman stoves perform with ethanol free gas?
Probably about 7% better than e10
Saw a guy do it with Kerosene and wrap copper wire around the bar over the element. He got it up to temp by using hand sanitizer, but say you could use fire paste, iso alcohol or like you did, give it a little fire under the bar to preheat it. After it's going Kerosene can work quite well actually, yup.
There are several good techniques for this.
Perhaps I missed it, but did you show what the generator looked like after using white gas? I wanted to compare the automotive gas generator cleanliness to the white gas?
Interested to see if this would work with VM&P Naptha, which should be similar to the camp fuel but technically different.
Coleman fuel is very close to naptha, naptha is quite pricey!
Great video, we got one of these as a gift. Now I dont need to test fuels out myself
Glad to help...
Definitely a very informative video, thank you.
Great video! Thanks! Can you do one that compares the White Gas vs Propane?
These do not run on propane.
Hi could you use. K 1. And. E 10 mixed as a cheap safe. Clean. Lantern and stove fuels?
I wouldnt use kerosene if I could avoid it..... great in an emergency...
What an amazing video. VERY useful
Glad it was helpful!