oil stove?

[Lumberjack]

Since oil has 3 times the btu potential of alcohol I am somewhat curious if any here has played with it?

I grabbed some lamp oil not to long ago and played with it a bit so here are a few of my comments...

Much harder to light, Almost impossible with out some type of wick
Tends to soot up a lot if not enough air availible.
Burns alot slower then alcohol.

If a light and workable design could be done then it would cut fuel weight by maybe half - just a random neuron at work......

[MadAussieInLondon]

sounds very dangerous. oil.. burns wherever it is, be it floating on water or whatnot.. and hard to put out.. if it spilt youd be in hella trouble!!

[Lumberjack]

Well Pressurised is out unless you find a way to pre-heat it maybe aka whisperlight...

Open faced with wick works but so far they tend to soot up the pot and get too hot.

Might try stove stompers tea candle method on a pressurised one later.

Wick types generally seem to do better but I need to keep the fuel supply from getting too hot. any suggestios?

[Jaybird]

do you have to kill whales or baby seals to use this stove?












...........just joking!




see ya'll UP the trail!

[Hog On Ice]

wasn't Sgt Rock that mentioned some research being done (by ??? military ???) into diesel fuel burning stoves - I think the key item was the use of a ceramic wick. Probably the same thing would work with lamp oil since it rather similar in characteristics to diesel oil (isn't lamp oil mainly kerosene?)

[Lumberjack]

Its very heavily refined kero - has about 3 times as much energy potential as alcohol

[Kozmic Zian]

Originally Posted by Hog On Ice

wasn't Sgt Rock that mentioned some research being done (by ??? military ???) into diesel fuel burning stoves - I think the key item was the use of a ceramic wick. Probably the same thing would work with lamp oil since it rather similar in characteristics to diesel oil (isn't lamp oil mainly kerosene?)

Whoaaaa. Diesel? Man, you wanna turn everything black and stank up the Place....stay with the clean burning fuels .... like white gas, coleman, and pressurized containers. The whole oil thing sounds really messy...ever pack olive oil and had it leak in your pack....faget about it! I use the little MSR, weighs just 3.5 and cooks ok when its cold. KZ@

[Thomas Hughes]

I've used deisel in my Colmen Appex ll. You have to really pump up the presure, it takes a minute or les to get wormed up. Haven't tryed it in my MSR International yet. Speeking of that MSR. White gas sucks in that thing. Regular 87 actain works best for me. Not too suity eather. About the oil, yes it is less flamible, it takes some time to worm up, but, I have found that I burn less than white gas and drinking alcohal. Not to be offensive to the person that sayed it floats on water, all petro fuel foats on water. Go EXXON BABBIE!!!!!!

[Happy]

Alcohol stoves work fine unless you are below 15 degrees.

[weary]

Originally Posted by Kozmic Zian

Whoaaaa. Diesel? Man, you wanna turn everything black and stank up the Place....stay with the clean burning fuels .... like white gas, coleman, and pressurized containers. The whole oil thing sounds really messy...ever pack olive oil and had it leak in your pack....faget about it! I use the little MSR, weighs just 3.5 and cooks ok when its cold. KZ@

Kerosene used to be a common stove fuel. The Optimus 00 and 45 ran on kerosene. MSR also had a multifuel model that used kerosene and may be still does.

kerosene packs more energy per ounce than any other fuel. Plumbers used to carry kerosene-fueled blow torches. 50 years ago, when I camped in the Arizona desert, courtesy of the US Army, a crew of civilian electricians I was assigned to drive around, heated their morning coffee with a kerosene blow torch aimed at the side of a tin can.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by weary

Kerosene used to be a common stove fuel. The Optimus 00 and 45 ran on kerosene. ....

I've had an Optimus 00 for over 25 years. Bought it from REI way back when. Too heavy to backpack, but a great jet engine of a stove!

Rain Man

.

[grrickar]

The Optimus Nova multifuel stove will burn Kerosene. I have not tried it on mine due to the amount of soot it produces. I have read it works best with kerosene, but I have only burned white gas in mine.

[Kerosene]

Originally Posted by grrickar

The Optimus Nova multifuel stove will burn Kerosene.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

[Nightwalker]

Originally Posted by Lumberjack

Well Pressurised is out unless you find a way to pre-heat it maybe aka whisperlight...

Whisper-louds smoke during pre-heat, whether with kero or white gas(really naptha).

On the plus side, even though they have numerous parts, they're easy to work on while in the boonies. The internationale also works with multiple fuels, and pressurized means they work at high altitudes and low temps.

Negatives are weight, hassle, smokey starting and many parts, as mentioned above. They also are a hassle to simmer with, and the pump can easily break.

Frank

[IdahoDavid]

I have experimtented with a combination lamp/stove using lamp oil or charcoal lighter fuel. The unit is essential a coke can alcohol stove design using the bottoms of two cans. But instead of drilling burn ports around the edge you drill three quarter inch holes in the upper edge of the of the indent. In the center of the indent to drill four or five 1/16 holes for filling and oxygfen supply. Whicks are created by wrapping cotton cloth in aluminum tubes and inserting these into the 3 larger holes so that the top of the tubes stick out about a quarter inch. The whicks should be even with the top of the tube. The cleaner the edge of the whick the less smoky the flame will be.

Add fuel being careful not overfill - usually about half the reservoir does it. You let it set for a miute while the whicks absorb the fuel. For light or low-temperature cooking, light one whick. For high temps, light three.

I've jsut begin working with this, but I can see arguments on both sides.

1) You do get a hotter flame that is more dependable when the air is cold.

2) You have access to different fuels - lamp oil, kerosene, lighter fluid.

3) Any stand that will hold your coke can alcohol stove can use this arrangement.

4) The stove itself and the fuel is are no heavier than alcohol arrangements and you get more BTUs from oil.

5) You will get more smoke and smell. This is strictly an outdoor system and you will need to soap your pans or not mind if they blacken.

6) Fuel storage and fueling the stove do demand more care. Spillage won't evaporate.

My preference remains alcohol, but I do see a potential for this for some uses.

[tarbubble]

just had a bottle of lamp oil crack and spill all over my utility room floor. a nightmare to clean up - it got on and in everything, including a bag of cat food. worried for days that i'd missed a spot and that my house would go up in flames. at least if you spill alcohol it evaporates quickly. oil just stays and seeps into everything.

[cshir003]

seems like there was a multi fuel stove put out not too long ago that burned all sorts of stuff. oil wasnt one of them, but it defientely burned kero and diesel, as well as white gas, unleaded, and something else. Might have been from mountain hardware. If somebody found the derned thing that might be a good place to start just to see how it accomidated those heavier fuels.

[weary]

Originally Posted by cshir003

seems like there was a multi fuel stove put out not too long ago that burned all sorts of stuff. oil wasnt one of them, but it defientely burned kero and diesel, as well as white gas, unleaded, and something else.

I think kerosene and diesel is what people mean when they talk about burning oil on the trail. Kerosene is a refined version of home heating oil. (technically #2 oil) Number 2 heating oil and diesel, I understand, are pretty much the same stuff. Diesel is just dyed so truckers can be caught if they try to escape road taxes by burning home heating oil.

Weary

[TDale]

Here's the new ceramic burner element stove. Burns just about any liquid fuel.

http://www.ammagazine.com/CDA/Articl...136703,00.html

[smokymtnsteve]

Originally Posted by weary

I I understand, are pretty much the same stuff. Diesel is just dyed so truckers can be caught if they try to escape road taxes by burning home heating oil.

Weary

well something like that. might be the other way around.