Stoves - Pepsi or Whisperlite?

“yea, i've never primed one.

i have a superfly, a jetboil... neither of which need priming.”

“I've got a whisperlite - its easy to use and super reliable. The priming is easy - just don't get too much fuel in the priming cup. My only complaint is that you have to keep pumping the fuel bottle to keep a boil going for more than a few minutes.”

“Boy did I get primed last night.”

“Buddur - how did that factor into your evening?”

“Priming the whisperlight took me a few tries to get right. At the first sign of fuel turn off the valve.”

“Scorch, pump it 10-25 times and then just turn on the valve for a second or two. This will let enough gas into the cup to get it going. As that fire burns down then turn the gas back on and it should after a small flare up be ready to go.

Roam, something must be wrong with yours. I can melt a couple pots of snow and bring them to boils without pumping. You might be filling the fuel tank too full.
The whisperlite is a great stove. Last winter in the Catskills we were having all kinds of stove problems. I don't know if it was a fuel problem or what but a Optimus Nova and a Dragonfly both would not burn. My whisperlite fired right up. It was about 0*.”

“maybe so Lt, but its been like that ever since it was new. Its not terrible, just goota repump at least once while cooking something.”

“I prefer the diet Dr. Pepper model of stove myself. :)”

“I've been using the same whisper lite for over 8 years now. Rarely do I burn white gas anymore. I find it much easier to fill the bottle at a gas station when needed. The only trouble I've had with the stove is when I drop the bottle with the pump attached. I've broken 2 pumps over the years. The stove cooks very well in all conditions.
Disadvantage is weight. This is why I built a pepsi stove. The stove is very light, and provides heat enough to boil water. It is not meant for cold weather camping.”

“I've been using the same whisper lite for over 8 years now. Rarely do I burn white gas anymore. I find it much easier to fill the bottle at a gas station when needed. The only trouble I've had with the stove is when I drop the bottle with the pump attached. I've broken 2 pumps over the years. The stove cooks very well in all conditions.
Disadvantage is weight. This is why I built a pepsi stove. The stove is very light, and provides heat enough to boil water. It is not meant for cold weather camping.”

“I have a whisperlite that I have only used 2-3 times. I bet it hasn't been used in yrs.

I find the cannister and alcohol stoves a lot easier to use.”

“I can't believe people still insist you can't use a pepsi stove in the cold. Tin foil underneath to reflect heat back to the can, tin foil all around to block the wind and reflect more heat back to the can, and make sure you put a sheet of tin foil on top of the pot. Not a problem to use it below freezing. Well below freezing. Its just all about conserving the heat that is produced.”

“While Soda can (or any other C2H5OH -- that's denatured alcohol for all you non-chemistry buffs) stoves do work in cold weather, they take about a split second short of an eternity to heat up. By the time I got a pint of water boiling, all my white-gas buddies were done eating and cleaned up already.

Don't get me wrong, I love the soda can stove for warmer temperatures, when you can get a boil in a humane amount of time, but the whisperlite has been moved up to the top of my to-get list for any upcoming winter outings I might do...
last edited: 12/13/04 6:06:17 PM”

“What do you do if you run out of fuel during cooking? Or if you finish cooking and have some fuel left?”

“What do you do if you run out of fuel during cooking? Or if you finish cooking and have some fuel left?
pepperDog

1. Let stove cool a few seconds, add more fuel, relight
(DO NOT TRY TO ADD FUEL TO A BURNING STOVE)

2. Warm hands over stove (NOT TO CLOSE!) till it goes out.
last edited: 12/13/04 8:51:46 PM”

“Tip - If you need to melt snow for water, a 'pepsi' stove is not the best, use a 'white gas' stove.

I have have great results using my 'pepsi' stoves in temps down to 30.
Below 30 temps and the alcohol is getting to be more difficult to light for most people.”

“I think that this might be one of those discussions where winter and cold need to be defined. In the Northeast when we are talking cold we are talking possible 0 and below. You need a stove that you can depend on to melt snow becase your life depends on it. That is why even thouogh I like using my pepsi stove in the summer I wouldn't even think about taking it in the winter.”