Ken said:Having been considerably disappointed with about gas
burners, I'd be interested in other people's experiences
of multifuel/petrol/kerosene burners; IMHO the biggest
advantage they impart is for 3+ day trips, where the
relative inefficiency and unavailability of alcohol for
fuel can be a logistical problem; but I suspect that they
too require considerable attention, and degrade
substantially in the wind.
I went over to using an MSR Dragonfly after being caught out
several times in France, not being able to get a canister in
little villages in the mountains - everyone stocks Camping
Gaz but there are days when they are awaiting delivery -
just my luck. With the Dragonfly I can use diesel if I need
to and you can get that anywhere.
The main disadvantage of multi fuel stoves is weight but
they're not really that heavy. Of course the fuel adds to
the weight but then you'd be carrying fuel anyway. Some
observations:
The wind shield supplied with MSR multi fuel stoves are
pretty effective and you shouldn't have to worry about
wind too much.
Priming these stoves is far easier than people think.
Cleaning the stoves is pretty easy, you just shake out the
fuel line and soot comes out, again pretty easy.
These stoves are very stable because they are near the
ground.
I have found them to be more reliable than gas particularly
at altitude (not talking great heights here).
Finally, the multi fuel stoves are expensive to buy in the
first place. But fuel capacity, usage and economy can be
very impressive. And they are far more versatile to cook
with. I consider mine to have been a very good investment.
