Whisperlite replacement pump problems... heads up

[camper10469]

My old Whisperlite stove pump developed a leak at the valve body where it has a few small craks. It's old so I figured I'd get a new replacement.

I expected the new pump would be an imporvement over the old one, instead it was much worse. It has a weak flame unlike the famous weld position we brag about so often. Absolutely no flame control and imposable to get it to a simmer.

I took it back to EMS and of course the lady tried telling me Whisperlites never had a simmer or even a flame control and how many of these she personally owns and different types of stove that can... etc etc. Now she is telling me about a stove I use every weekend during the extream upstate NY winter conditions. So I invited her outside to show her what my stove can do using a borrowed old style pump like mine.

Fired it up and did it's magic from weld to simmer in a smooth 1/2 turn of the wheel. Now I put her brand new out of the box pump I bought and it was embarrasing. The flame was like an old man with prostate problems, no where near weld. Couldn't even get a hint of flame control no matter how hard you try to tweak it. She of course ran in and got another one saying it might be a bad one... same thing. I got my $37.50 back.

When I got home I got a replay from MSR about the pump, this is what they said....


Thank you for contacting Cascade Designs Inc.

The current design doesn’t simmer like the older style pumps .

We are working on getting this changed but it’s going to take sometime.

The current model pump has one setting of high and it should work on this setting even in the frigid temperature that you were experiencing.

Part of your problem may have been that white gas contains paraffin which starts to solidify at these low temps and can hamper performance.

You should try exposing your white gas to this low temperature then pour it through a coffee filter to help strain out any solidified paraffin.

So I think you may have been experiencing the flame performance problem due to the paraffin.

As far as the various flame control levels that you were trying to achieve goes, this is a problem with the newer pumps that we are working to resolve.


Nathan Hamm

Cascade Designs Inc.

4225 2nd Ave. South

[Spokes]

I guess switching to a simple alcohol stove is out of the question huh? No moving parts!!

[Rocketman]

My old Whisperlite stove pump developed a leak at the valve body where it has a few small craks. It's old so I figured I'd get a new replacement.

I expected the new pump would be an imporvement over the old one, instead it was much worse. It has a weak flame unlike the famous weld position we brag about so often. Absolutely no flame control and imposable to get it to a simmer.

I took it back to EMS and of course the lady tried telling me Whisperlites never had a simmer or even a flame control and how many of these she personally owns and different types of stove that can... etc etc. Now she is telling me about a stove I use every weekend during the extream upstate NY winter conditions. So I invited her outside to show her what my stove can do using a borrowed old style pump like mine.

Fired it up and did it's magic from weld to simmer in a smooth 1/2 turn of the wheel. Now I put her brand new out of the box pump I bought and it was embarrasing. The flame was like an old man with prostate problems, no where near weld. Couldn't even get a hint of flame control no matter how hard you try to tweak it. She of course ran in and got another one saying it might be a bad one... same thing. I got my $37.50 back.

When I got home I got a replay from MSR about the pump, this is what they said....


Thank you for contacting Cascade Designs Inc.

The current design doesn’t simmer like the older style pumps .

We are working on getting this changed but it’s going to take sometime.

The current model pump has one setting of high and it should work on this setting even in the frigid temperature that you were experiencing.

Part of your problem may have been that white gas contains paraffin which starts to solidify at these low temps and can hamper performance.

You should try exposing your white gas to this low temperature then pour it through a coffee filter to help strain out any solidified paraffin.

So I think you may have been experiencing the flame performance problem due to the paraffin.

As far as the various flame control levels that you were trying to achieve goes, this is a problem with the newer pumps that we are working to resolve.


Nathan Hamm

Cascade Designs Inc.

4225 2nd Ave. South

At least MSR / Cascade Designs is admitting a problem, and that they are working on a solution.

Still, it seems like "why didn't you make the new pumps exactly like the old ones?" is just too obvious a question.

Could have been to make them cheaaper..... but , Nah, they wouldn't do anything like that, would they?

Hard to realize that the old dream of backpacking stuff being "special" is long obsolete and dead.

Backpacking junk is just junk, like ordinary junk - no better.

[camper10469]

I guess switching to a simple alcohol stove is out of the question huh? No moving parts!!

Would any of you alcoholics have an old Whisperlite in the back of a closet, willing to sell me the pump?

[Toolshed]

there's a guy with the same problem over on VFTT (Unless its you.... I have 3 pumps, but I have 2 stoves.. Sorry.....
PS have you tried just plain ol' gasoline. it is whatI use in the and the additives make it much more combustible - especially when below zero where dropping lit matches in fuel just casues them to go out.....

[camper10469]

Same guy spreading the word.

The problem isn't the fuel, it's the newly designed pump that's crap. The old design pump works fine.

[300winmag]

Hmmm,

Sell your Whisperlite and get a Simmerlite and be done with the problem.

I have a (heavy) MSR Dregonfly. That sucker simmers lower than any multifuel stove on the market. That's why I bought it, so I could bake in the winter. Just love those pot sized jelly-filled Bisquick biscuits for desert. So do my buddies. And then there are the fresh-baked cookies...

[leaftye]

I guess I'll be burning my new Whisperlite at full tilt. That's okay though. All I ever intended to do was boil water...maybe with eggs in them.

[camper10469]

All the new MSRs have the same redesigned valves. So buying another MSR is just switching seats on the Titanic.

The full wide open flame of the new pump is a whimper compared to the "weld" flame we love about our old MSRs.

Well I'm looking for any selling an old Whiperlite?... or just the old pump?

[Rocketman]

Just last week, I gave away an old Whisperlite and an old XGR (i believe) to the scouts. I kept the Simmerlite. Maybe I should have kept the old pumps.

The drive towards cheapness appears very powerful, doesn't it?

The nice thing about the drive towards cheapness is that even when it fails countless times, management still falls for it as "The Next Great Thing".

[camper10469]

And that's why I've posted this on every camping site I can get on. I hate the deception at $37.50 for lesser quality. They did make it appear as a better upgraded pump and in the instructions describe how it's easier to get into the bottle... blah blah blah. But it has problems unmentioned like the single speed. At least discount accordingly for the junk, I may not have returned it or posted this everywhere.

So buyer beware.

[saimyoji]

camper, when was this pump design introduced?

[Spokes]

.... So I invited her outside to show her what my stove can do using a borrowed old style pump like mine.

Fired it up and did it's magic from weld to simmer in a smooth 1/2 turn of the wheel. Now I put her brand new out of the box pump I bought and it was embarrasing. The flame was like an old man with prostate problems, no where near weld. Couldn't even get a hint of flame control no matter how hard you try to tweak it. She of course ran in and got another one saying it might be a bad one... same thing. I got my $37.50 back.

........

We feel your pain.

You really ought to do a video of this comparison test and put it on YouTube. Be sure to courtesy copy the link to MSR so they can watch it too. When the hit count reaches 1 million you may get a better response from them!

Good luck.

[camper10469]

I really don't know when it was first introduced but if you have one with the paperclip style adjuster, I'll bet you have what they call the Standard Pump... that's the redesigned one. The adjusting wheel was changed n the snout is curved instead of having 2 plastic tubes.

[srestrepo]

hey camper, i have an old pump from a whisperlight. but what happens is that i dont remember the year i bought it and i didn't like the whisperlight so i returned it to ems for a simmerlite. BUT i kept the whisperlight pump by accident and a few years later that's what i've been using. i have two pumps and one stove. but i have the simmerlight so i dont know how well this pump would simmer with a whisperlight... not sure what your thoughts are but pm me with ideas.

[camper10469]

This is the pump....

http://www.gearwild.com/servlet/the-...el-Pump/Detail

[camper10469]

The replacement pump is good for several stoves and I think your simmerlite is one of em. It's like a generic pump.

[srestrepo]

do you remember if the old whisperlight pump you're talking about had any feature that were particularly different?

[srestrepo]

yes, those pumps in that link are the two that i own.

[camper10469]

Too bad. Do you have a weak flame with your stove? Maybe it's only recently a reissue came out? How old is it?