I want to try a liquid fuel style stove.
I want to try a liquid fuel style stove.
A few FYIs on Dragonfly's. The original fuel pumps had a design defect. There are two tabs that hold the plunger in the pump body, the tabs would snap off. They sold a replacement pump which was beefed up that doesn't have the problem. I think they also sell a winter pump for cold weather operation. The dragonfly is a great group stove but overkill for an individual unless the individual really needs the multi fuel capability. I used to do group cooking on occasion and hard to beat one for cooking up large pots of spaghetti. Dragonflys are really loud, loud to the point where it can disturb folks in nearby campsites. Be aware they can burn kerosene but it tends to gum up the pump.
The MSR Simmerlight is a good compromise for a single person. It doesn't simmer as well as a Dragonfly but a heck of lot better than a Whisperlight. Note there are ways to get a Whisperlight to simmer but they are potentially dangerous as they require venting the pressure out of the tank after the stove had been started.
Awesome. Thank you very much for the info!
I am just getting tired of guessing about the amount of fuel in my canister stove. I feel like a liquid fuel stove would be better in that respect.
Are the Optimus stoves any better?
The Dragonfly is a pretty big stove but works gud. I have a Simmerlite that I carry, much smaller and lighter but it doesn't really simmer. The Simmerlite is no longer made but you can find them on ebay.
There are fans of Svea's, Optimus's and Whisperlites they have their pluses and minus's but its Ford versus Chevy argument most of the time. If you do go with Whisperlight make sure its a later model with a shaker jet. Unless you want to play with primer paste, look for the pump that could be added to the Sveas and Optimus stoves.