Re: Biodiesel in a camp stove

Has this been covered before? I'm looking to use biodiesel in a campstove that can take diesel, among other things. It is the MSR XGK II but it currently needs a clogged tube cleaned before I can test it. Curious if anyone has tried it. Once I get it cleaned, I'll let ya know how well it works. pwc

Don't know, but does the stove run the new fuel through the flame before it gets to the jet? If not you might have problems. The higher flash point might make it not want to stay lit. I have an old Optimus OO that would probably work just fine. the fuel goes through the burner head in the flame prior to reaching the jet. The top of the burner is often glowing red while the stove is on.

Found a picture. The fuel goes through that "X" at the top of the burner and then back to the jet. That burner get red hot so the fuel vaporizes very well [img]http://spiritburner.com/chuck_wilkins/optimus_00.JPG[/img]

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Originally posted by pwc
Has this been covered before? I'm looking to use biodiesel in a campstove that can take diesel, among other things. It is the MSR XGK II but it currently needs a clogged tube cleaned before I can test it. Curious if anyone has tried it. Once I get it cleaned, I'll let ya know how well it works. pwc

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When I first got into biodiesel (2000 or early 2001) I toyed with the idea of marketing it as a fuel for Kerosene compatible campstoves under the "Kerogreen" brand. I bough a bunch of stoves on ebay and tested them with biodiesel. Here's what I found: Biodiesel seems to work great in Kerosene compatible campstoves IF they are valved near the generator. For example, the MSR Dragonfly worked great, but the Whisperlight Internationale and Primus Multifuel did not stay primed. I did not try the Optimus 80 Nova, but it should work. I have seen product literature that says it will run on Rapeseed (colza), so biodiesel should be OK. Optimus makes several other stoves that share the same burner (111C Hiker and 10 Ranger) and they should work. I seem to recall seeing some literature for the XGK that said it would work with RME but now I can't find it. Hope this helps!

Jorpet, yes it has the loop. The newer model is this one http://www.msrcorp.com/stoves/xgk.asp but it's just about the same. Dante, I guess I don't quite get what you mean about valved near the generator. As far as i remember, the Whisperlite series wasn't meant to run on diesel. pwc

I mean a valve between the generator and the burner (compare the Whisperlight or Primus Multifuel with the Dragonfly or Optimus Nova). That design permits better control over the rate at which vaporized fuel leaves the generator - you can "slow down" the flow so the fuel has more time to vaporize. The Whisperlight Internationale is designed to run on Kerosene. It has a heavier generator and comes with a Kesosene jet. Kerosene is not that much different from Diesel in terms of weight, viscocity, etc.

Dante, Gotchya, although I must admit one more piece of ignorance because I don't seem to be using the same wording as you. Just what part is the 'generator'? The pump on the bottle? thanks pwc

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Originally posted by pwc Just what part is the 'generator'? The pump on the bottle?

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The generator is the tube that routes fuel up and over (or at least near) the burner to heat and vaporize it. On Optimus stoves like the Nova and the 111C, the generator is integral with the burner and not a separate tube.