MSR Fuel Bottle

Unscrew the cap.

A betetr method however is to wrap something (like TP) around the cap first, then unscrew the cap. There will be some spray out from the thread region – always.

Cheers

I love the smell of white gas in the morning :)

Hi Nick

> I love the smell of white gas in the morning :)

You should try hot kero in the morning …

Cheers

Roger wrote, "Unscrew the cap.

A betetr method however is to wrap something (like TP) around the cap first, then unscrew the cap."

My first thought was "what would Mike Clelland do?"

While I'm sure Roger is right that there will always be spray when you release the cap, I guess always doesn't include the 'almost never' that happened to me in all the years I used msr stoves, from xgk days to whisperlite. Of course, I properly released the pressure in the fuel bottles by doing what msr said to do, flip stove over once it has cooled, turn on gas valve, air comes out, wait for hissing to stop, close valve, remove fitting, end of story, let evaporate in case some fuel came out. The way the inner fuel hose is aligned, when you turn the fuel bottle/stove upside down, the inlet is pointing up, in the air in the bottle. Nifty and simple design.

Unless something has radically changed in their new designs, of course, you never know.

I guess if you are in the high mountains and come down, you can do that as well, turn upside down with valve unit attached, open valve, and the pressure would equalize again. You don't actually need the stove attached for that method to work by the way.

By the way, if you lubricate the tube a bit with some spit or chapstick, and gently twist the tube in, the gasket lasts a long time, and you don't get those leaks some people seem to believe you will get with these stoves. I won't say, of course, you'll never get some spray when opening it, I'll be specific and say I rarely did (I say rarely because while I don't remember than happening, it might have at some point). I assume Roger always did, if he used them. So I think the correct term to use is sometimes you get that issue, and sometimes you don't. If I was a bit careless, and hadn't practiced, it would probably happen to me once or twice before I remembered how to do it right, who knows. But I leave the fuel pump unit attached in general, less messy that way, and when you do that, you can always release any pressure that might have built up before opening it.

If you are carrying a spare fuel bottle, then you might get the spray issue, I guess, depending on altitude and temperature changes.

Happy cooking, no matter what you do.

Several of us had purchased white gas at a store in Mendoza, Argentina. Our Sigg bottles were filled from a bulk container. After we had walked halfway back to our lodging, the discussion arose as to _exactly_ what kind of white gas it was that we had just purchased. I decided that a sniff test was called for, so I unscrewed the cap. In the instant that the cap parted from the bottle, a couple of drops of fuel splashed out on my right thumb. Well, that is no big deal, right? The fuel smelled approximately right, so we went ahead and used it on our expedition. It was cold enough that I had multiple layers of gloves on for a couple of weeks. After we got off the mountain, I removed the gloves and discovered a chemical burn on the skin of the right thumb. It continued to get worse for some time before it finally healed. The moral is: be careful with fuel bottle caps.

–B.G.–

Nice tip hhope, thank you.

"Of course, I properly released the pressure in the fuel bottles by doing what msr said to do, flip stove over once it has cooled, turn on gas valve, air comes out, wait for hissing to stop, close valve, remove fitting, end of story, let evaporate in case some fuel came out. The way the inner fuel hose is aligned, when you turn the fuel bottle/stove upside down, the inlet is pointing up, in the air in the bottle. Nifty and simple design."

+1 This is SOP. Provided one reads the instructions……

Harald wrote:

> what msr said to do, flip stove over once it has cooled, turn on gas valve, air comes
> out, wait for hissing to stop, close valve, remove fitting, end of story,
This works best if you do this right at the end of cooking, so any fuel which comes out contributes to the cooking. One or two of the newer stoves even include instructions to do this, with a label on the pump showing which side was which.

While doing it the way Harald explains works, I found that it usually also spat a hose full of fuel everywhere before the air had cleared the line. After all, there will still be fuel in the line when the stove stops burning. That can be a hazard imho.

Cheers

White gas stoves are a hazard in general, imho : )

I speak from experience after singeing my eyebrows. But that was when I was a dumb, young, male…

"While doing it the way Harald explains works, I found that it usually also spat a hose full of fuel everywhere before the air had cleared the line. After all, there will still be fuel in the line when the stove stops burning. That can be a hazard imho."

It helps to leave the stove attached to the fuel line and turn the entire assembly upside down. The fuel intake tube is bent to end near the bottom of the bottle when in operation. If you turn it upside down, the end of the intake tube will be sticking up into a pocket of air. While this will not eliminate the ejection of the residual fuel in the line, it will limit the amount ejected. It also helps to open the valve just a tiny bit to limit the ejection rate to a trickle, bleeding it off so to speak. In all cases, be sure to let the stove cool down before depressurizing this way. This always worked for me back when I was using white gas.

If you crack the top s-l-o-w-l-y, you should be fine. Using a pair of gloves or a shirt etc. makes the process easier, especially on your hands b/c the top can be a bit stiff when pressurized. Sometimes you get a couple of sputters, but it evaporates immediately. White gas doesn't burn or cause skin ailments [at least in me]. That said, the residue might still be flammable so I'd advise using caution if handling fire [e.g. lighting a match] immediately after handling white gas/naptha. It's a different story with gasoline. Gasoline of course doesn't evaporate like white gas, stinks, corrosive and is otherwise nasty so I'd definitely be much more cautious with gasoline. You'd probably only use gasoline in a desperate situation [like I was in, one time in Costa Rica once with my MSR Dragonfly].

Liquid fuels are complex, loud and a PITA, but they have some distinct advantages: 1] much easier to plan, carry, and use exact quantities of fuel [how many of us have a zillion 1/4, 1/2 full canisters of isobutane?]; 2] I've tried and I've tried, but I find canister stoves just plain suck in cold weather and I've used some of the best – white gas is the only way to go esp. if you're reliant upon melting snow for water as I generally am; 3] once you use the fuel, there's little waste and you don't have to pack-out the steel canisters. A nice 1 litre MSR fuel bottle is generally perfect for my XGK EX – for 2-3 people melting snow and cooking food for 2-3 days plus it leaves me with a small reserve.

"If you crack the top s-l-o-w-l-y, you should be fine. Using a pair of gloves or a shirt etc. makes the process easier, especially on your hands b/c the top can be a bit stiff when pressurized. Sometimes you get a couple of sputters, but it evaporates immediately"

If you leave the stove attached and turn the whole assembly upside down, you don't have to worry about getting anything on your hands or clothing. Do it over a piece of foil to avoid contaminating the ground.