help cleaning msr whisperlite

You might try to reposition the cable within the fuel line. Move it a fraction of an inch away from the burner. It is possible that there is some clogging remaining near the burner. If the cable is too far toward the burner, it might be mated with the clog, and that cuts off the flow.

I don't own that model, but I own a number of other MSR stoves, and they are similar.

–B.G.–

Not a bad idea. I looked at it again and it does get a little stiff as the cable gets close to the burner. Possibly some deposits still there. I'll have to put a little more elbow grease into it tomorrow and maybe place the cable a little further from the burner and see how that goes.

So, wait. If you connect the fuel line to the pump and bottle with the fuel line not reattached to the stove, it works, but if you reattach the fuel line, it stops working? That’s weird. Really weird.

Maybe something gets dislodged during the process of reattaching the fuel line and hose to the stove?

I’d probably disassemble the thing again and go through it part by part. You should be able to blow with your mouth on the end that attaches to the pump and hear air coming out the jet. You should also be able to hook it up to a dry bottle and hear air coming out of the jet.

If you’re already hearing air, and this is going to sound dumb, but make sure you’ve put the pump in correctly. You probably have, but you need to make sure that the fuel pick up points down and the air supply tube is oriented up. The fuel pick up is closest to the pump handle, and the air supply is the furthest from the pump handle.

Click to enlarge

This is an older pump, but with in the bottle, as the bottle lays on the ground, you must have the tubes oriented as shown. On the newest pumps, the air supply is a hard plastic instead of a little tube. Still, though, it must be oriented up when the bottle lies on the ground. You laugh, but sometimes we get so focused looking for a technical problem that we overlook something basic.

If the orientation is correct, make sure the fuel pick up angles well away from the body of the pump. If the fuel pick up is pushed in toward the body of the pump, then it may not pick up fuel correctly. The most recent pumps have a white filter on the end of the fuel pick up.

Edit: Bob’s idea is good. If the cable is too far into the line, it might push the shaker jet into such a position that the shaker might seal the jet. Make sure you can hear the shaker moving in the jet when you shake the stove.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

In the old days, before the XGK-EX, XGK-II, XGK, etc., the clog always ended up in the fuel tube directly below the burner, because it was the burner heat that was forming the clog out of flakes of plastic that hadn't been filtered out. Sometimes the clog could be reamed out. A friend of mine had to use a wire brush from a gun cleaning kit, and once he cleaned out the gunk, it worked fine. If you do manage to clear out a clog, you might want to analyze the material to help create a strategy for future maintenance.

–B.G.–

"Still, though, it must be oriented up when the bottle lies on the ground. You laugh, but sometimes we get so focused looking for a technical problem that we overlook something basic."

Well isn't that the truth! It has been so long since I've used the stove that I forgot about this. A little rearranging of the bottle and it appears to be functioning. Lesson learned: no stove repairs at night when you're tired. ;)

Cool! That’s a much easier repair than what Bob and I were talking about.

And you’d be surprised how common getting the orientations wrong is.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving