container for white gas?

http://www.rei.com/product/783962/msr-fuel-bottle-with-crp-cap-11-fl-oz#tab-specs weighs 3 ounces. 11 ounces of fuel. Or 5 ounces for 20 ounces of fuel. 7 ounces for 30 ounces of fuel.

That's what I used to use.

It'll contaminate your pack if it leaks. Maybe better to use a product designed to carry white gas.

Now that's weird. Normally there's more advantage to using bigger container.

ounces of fuel – weight of canister/ounces of fuel:
11 – 3.93
20 – 3.81 – actually less than 11 ounce???
30 – 4.11 – slight bit more

Maybe the specs given are in error?

For many years, I carried around an older UL aluminum bottle. It was about half the weight of the more traditional SIGG bottles. It is quite thin, though. Even the threads were aluminum stamped or pressed in, then cleaned with a threading machine. I used this for about 25 years with a pair of Optimus tops, one with a small tube. Then I switched to a PET bottle after someone told me to try it.

I filled a bottle and placed it in a bowel over the winter and it held up fine. Later testing showed it was just as strong as it was to start. I threw it down, threw it against some rocks, and the only failure was to jump up and stomp on the bottle. The top eventually popped off, but this was a very extreme test. So, I have been using this for the past 20 years or so.

Tops were a little problem. Over about 5 years the plastic insert would eventually dissolve leaving bits of plastic in the fuel. So, I got into the habit of using a new top every couple years. Some of the newer water bottles don't have this problem and are lighter. They have a small ring molded directly into the cap rather than a separate seal. The bottles are thinner and weigh less, about 3/4oz instead of the full ounce, too. Anyway, I made a second top with a small spout for filling.

To make the top I start with a small hole in the lid well away from the seal. then I strip a piece of 12ga copper wire, saving the vinyl. I heat the tube and cap in hot water and force the tube into the smaller hole drilled into the top. I found I had to taper the hole a bit so just reaming the hole with a knife works better than drilling. Also, the water does not have to be boiling, just hot. It will soften the plastics enough. Anyway, I force the tubing in about 1/8" to 1/4". Then I grab it on the inside with a pair of needle nose and pull it in about 1/2", clipping it clean with a wire cutter at about a 1/4" angle length. I cut the spout about 2" long. This lets me control how much I fill the stove, and, how much I prime it with. It takes two caps, 1 for storage, 1 for filling. This is similar to the old Optimus system.

The fill cap does not require any glue or epoxy. It should fit tightly into the hole. Sometimes, a small crimp with your fingernail can be enough to get it started. Warming it very gently over a stove and bending it will produce arc that works better for getting into the spirit cup. But, it is very sensitive to heat. An old pen refill tube works well, also. But these are a bit stiffer and PET, also. Glue does NOT work. Epoxy, wood glue, etc will not stick. Special PET glues may work, never tried them. As a side note, many gasoline, kerosine, oil containers are made of PET.

Filling is accomplished by replacing the storage cap with the fill cap, placing the stove about level and removing the fill cap on the stove. Then fill the stove by squeezing some air out of the bottle, inserting the tube and squeezing, gently at first, a little more firmly later. When I see fuel in the stove filler, I relax a second (it will draw some fuel back into the bottle) and remove the bottle as I release the squeeze pressure. No big overfill, floods, or wasted fuel.

For priming, I squeeze the bottle first, exhausting some air, then flip the bottle, carefully aiming the tube towards the "spirit cup" at the base of the valve. I give a short squeeze, maybe a second (about 2-3g of fuel) then place the bottle at least a foot away from the stove and light. As it burns (about 30 sec total) I turn the valve on, usually about the 15 sec mark. Sometimes when it is quite cold, <29F or <-1C, it might take two primes to get the stove to fire up. (Make sure you turn the valve off immediately, if it doesn't fire on the first one or just runs very slow.) Now you can step back and replace the fill cap with the normal storage cap.

I make it sound way more difficult than it is. The bottle will sometime squeeze too easily if I over fill it at the start of a trip. I tend to go that way, rather than run out on longer trips. Anyway, you will find these bottles available in 6,8,12,16,20,24,1L,2L and 3L sizes. All will fit a standard soda bottle cap for a storage cap. The fill cap will last a long time, I still have my first one. Water bottles require a different thread so a separate fill cap needs to be made.

A half tank of acetone will clear any varnish left over from burning auto gas. On >3 week trips, I will often buy 15 cents worth of gas at a gas station to top off my fuel bottle. Half and half works well in summer. It will run on autogas, but the additives will gum things up after a half a bottle. It gets difficult to fire up and run. It needs to be cleaned after a half bottle or so. Using straight acetone will work for short runs. However, it will overheat if left on over 10 minutes. WG can also be mixed with ~10% alcohol if you start to run out of fuel. It will NOT run on alcohol.

"A half tank of acetone will clear any varnish left over from burning auto gas."

Sorry – thread drift

I wonder if that would fix a gas generator that's gummed up from leaving gasoline in it?

After a year, it won't run steady, but surges.

"I strip a piece of 12ga copper wire, saving the vinyl."

Brilliant. Just the thing you want, hiding in plain sight.

I never use pump gas in any of my lanterns or stoves, I need them to work everytime. Too toxic of fumes and additives in pump gas. Coleman fuel is more expensive, but it will keep for years and years if in a metal container. Some will never use up that gallon can, but it will keep for years or donate it to a local camper or stovie.
Duane

Sure, try it. It might just work. WG works as emergency car fuel, too. I poked something into my truck one time going in somewhere (Moose River Plains Area?) and put a small hole in the gas tank. When I got back I smelled gas and had an empty tank. I found the dent, and hole, and put in a screw with some gum. Then I poured what was left of our WG and drove out to a gas station. It knocked (pinged) a bit on the upgrades but it got us out OK…and home…about 80-90mi. There was probably a bit of regular gas in there but it would not siphon into the pump.

Usually, this is just the jet in the corroborator that gets varnished up. A small piece of fine copper wire (not steel) will often clean it out bit make sure it goes through it, not just into it.

Yup, it will keep forever. No additives. I go through about a gallon a year, sometimes I have to buy two.

"I filled a bottle and placed it in a bowel"

That sounds awfully painful and potentially dangerous.

–B.G.–

Bob, Yup. I use auto fuel to clean a lot of stuff. Nope, I don't worry about cancer. Yes it is highly flammable. I leave this stuff well away from the house, in the barn where my shop is.

I can understand using auto fuel for a lot of stuff, but not in bowels.

–B.G.–

Sooo, I cannot spel, what else is new? You're right, it does sound painful.

Nylon is officially rated for holding petrol or autogas. You can buyred nylon 'jerry cans' for that, although they do bulge a bit on hot weather. Coleman Fuel comes in red nylon bottles, and I think one outdoors company sells red nylon bottles for backpackers for fuel as well (or used to sell).

I have stored kero in PET bottles in food drops for many weeks, with total success. I did put the kero OUTSIDE the food container though: the smell is another thing. To the best of my knowledge, PET is not affected by any of the long-chain hydrocarbons in petrol or kero.

Some care is needed here: some PET bottles are actually a multi-layer composite. I don't know how many. Do check before your trip!

JM's trick with the extra bottle cap sounds very cute.

Cheers

I have also carried WG in plastic bottles many times with no issues. I do like to find bottles a little thicker and tougher than soda or water bottles, since I take them on ski trips and when I fall with the bottle in a side pocket it is at some risk. I have found juice bottles seem to be thicker most of the time, but I also found one Coke bottle that is thicker plastic as well.

"I found the dent, and hole, and put in a screw with some gum. Then I poured what was left of our WG and drove out to a gas station."

Hey, I saw that on MacGyver once. :D