View Full Version : Two questions that need answers
Thumper 2006
04-13-2005, 19:59
My first question is: Do any of you own the MSR Whisperlite Internationale, and if so is there any way to get the stove started with out it flaming up so damn much? It is a big nuisance but in the operation manuel it says it is supposed to do that. My next question is how do most of you pack your tents in your packs inluding the poles? I for one have been folding it and putting it down in my pack right above my sleeping bag, but if it is wet it gets everything else wet. Do most of you use the stuff sack that the tent comes with? Thanks for any help.
Mountain Jock
04-13-2005, 20:12
My first question is: Do any of you own the MSR Whisperlite Internationale, and if so is there any way to get the stove started with out it flaming up so damn much? It is a big nuisance but in the operation manuel it says it is supposed to do that. My next question is how do most of you pack your tents in your packs inluding the poles? I for one have been folding it and putting it down in my pack right above my sleeping bag, but if it is wet it gets everything else wet. Do most of you use the stuff sack that the tent comes with? Thanks for any help.
Well i own the wisperlight internationale and i guess that you just have to work with it a little. It takes some practice to get it to prime from a small flame. The thing that usually makes the flame so big when priming it is the amount of fuel that you let into the bottom of the stove before you light it. Try and let as little fuel as possible into the primer cup before you light it, this should cause the flame to be much smaller. Just something that ya have to play with i guess. As far as your tent question, i personally never pack my tent in my bag. I always keep it outside for a few reasons, one that if it is wet then you wont get your pack all wet inside and its usually the first thing unloaded at camp and the last thing loaded in the morning. So packing it on the outside helps to keep your pack from being tore apart, I usually pack the poles separtaly in my pack or somewhere on the outside secure. Good Luck
Mountain Jock:D
The best, and safest way to prime a Whisperlite is to pump it 25-30 times, crack the valve until you hear a hiss (1-2 sec.) close, light fuel in the priming cup. Turn the valve back on just before the fuel burns out. Immediately light with a lighter or match if stove fails to light.
I've always packed my tent poles seperately on the outside side of my pack. The tent gets stuffed in it's own sack and is packed inside unless it's soaking wet, when I'll strap it outside, on the top of my pack, until I can dry it out.
Youngblood
04-13-2005, 20:48
I saw a MSR rep demonstrate how to prime the WhisperLite Stoves without overfilling the priming cup. Basically what he said was this: as soon as you see fuel starting to enter the priming cup, turn off the valve. What happens is some of the fuel in the line continues to enter the priming cup after you shut off the valve so you want to shut off the valve before you have the amount of fuel in the priming cup that you want to end up with.
Youngblood
The best thing that could have happened to my Whisperlight, did. It failed and I could not repair it in the field, so when I got home I junked it and bought an alcohol stove.
No working parts to break, no springs, no o-rings, no heavy metal fuel bottle, no priming, no pumping, no flare-ups plus I saved over a pound in weight! Woohoo for alky stoves!
:banana
Tha Wookie
04-14-2005, 00:19
The best and only way to fix or silence a whisperlite is to chuck it in the steel recycling yard and pick up a couple cans there while you're at it. Then go to pcthiker.com and get to work.
When i used to use a tent, I had a long bag that would hold the stakes outside the pack on one side.
My first question is: Do any of you own the MSR Whisperlite Internationale, and if so is there any way to get the stove started with out it flaming up so damn much? It is a big nuisance but in the operation manuel it says it is supposed to do that. My next question is how do most of you pack your tents in your packs inluding the poles? I for one have been folding it and putting it down in my pack right above my sleeping bag, but if it is wet it gets everything else wet. Do most of you use the stuff sack that the tent comes with? Thanks for any help.
Poles and stakes stuffsacked on the outside, tent & liner on the inside, but contained in a waterproof stuffsack. (These days I use a camping hammock.)
Youngblood's description on Whisperlites is the correct one--use minium fuel in the cup at startup. I also use lower pressure generally for control. You can help the priming process along by carrying a little denatured alcohol in a flip-top squeeze bottle and applying some of that just before lighting. It helps the regular fuel burn cleanly until proper operating temps are reached. One of the post-trip maintainance chores is cleaning the carbon off your Whisperlite and from inside its carry bag. (Outside of winter I use alcohol stoves.)
The Will
04-15-2005, 15:32
My first question is: Do any of you own the MSR Whisperlite Internationale, and if so is there any way to get the stove started with out it flaming up so damn much? It is a big nuisance but in the operation manuel it says it is supposed to do that. My next question is how do most of you pack your tents in your packs inluding the poles? I for one have been folding it and putting it down in my pack right above my sleeping bag, but if it is wet it gets everything else wet. Do most of you use the stuff sack that the tent comes with? Thanks for any help.
Let me reply to the Whisperlight International question by stating that my experience confirms the words of Sly and Youngblood. Open the valve; as soon as you see fuel intering the priming cup (which is after the valve is open about 2 seconds) close the valve and light the stove. Just be vigilante and ready to re-open the valve when the priming flame is about to go out. Cold wheather often dictates more fuel to get the stove primed. Also, at the conclusion of priming, do not open the valve all the way immediately...keep the flame moderate as the stove continues to prime (if you don't use a moderate flame at the outset, but instead open the valve all the way, you may get a tall, intense yellow flame).