MSR white gas stove pump failure

[Tipi Walter]

Just carry an extra pump and your standard repair kit and don't worry about it. A brand new spare MSR pump is always in my pack along with a spare mini-Bic and a spare hipbelt buckle.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Just carry an extra pump and your standard repair kit and don't worry about it. A brand new spare MSR pump is always in my pack along with a spare mini-Bic and a spare hipbelt buckle.

I would scoff, but I've actually broken a hipbelt buckle, and so has my brother-in-law. It's a P.I.T.A. to have a broken hipbelt buckle on a hike!

Having to carry an extra pump and a repair kit sure sounds like a good argument for a remote canister stove used with the canister inverted. Just saying. :)

HJ
Adventures In Stoving
Hikin' Jim's Blog

[USA Duane Hall]

Hi HJ.
Just got back from a group trip, seems the new MSR pumps have a engineering issue too. The tabs that hold the pump shaft in, broke. Did not examine the pump the other hiker had, I just saw some small bits, the pump of course will still work. Recent REI buy, so should have no issue exchanging.
Duane

[Hikin’ Jim]

Hi, Duane,

Ah. That's a shame. Given the time of year, it couldn't have been too cold, yes? Can you give me any details? Photos? Maybe I should report this on my blog.

I still think the new duraseal MSR pumps are an improvement over the other older MSR pumps (except for perhaps the second generation yellow pumps).

HJ
Adventures In Stoving
Hikin' Jim's Blog

[Tipi Walter]

I'm aware of 3 different MSR stove pumps—
** The old "metal" pump.
** The red plastic older pump with the circle screw throttle adjustment.
** The new red pump with the flip-wire (with little red rubber inset) screw throttle adjustment. It's the standard issue pump on most MSR white gas stoves—Whisperlite, Simmerlite, etc.

BTW, MSR in their wisdom DISCONTINUED THE SIMMERLITE STOVE!! So buy them while you can. Supposed to be the lightest white gas stove on the market, until MSR bailed from the product line. Has to be replaced with the Whisperlite Galaxy or Constellation or Universal or Planetary or International or whatever the heck they call them.

[USA Duane Hall]

HJ,
On break, see what I can provide. In the Emigrant Wilderness at Granite Lake by Bear Lake. New Int'l stove, not the do-it-all Universal one.
Duane

[Hikin’ Jim]

Walter,

It's a bit more complicated than that. First off, there are two "lines" of MSR pumps, the standard pump and the Dragonfly pump.

The standard pump started circa 1973 with the Model 9 stove, the forerunner of today's XGK-EX. The major generations (there were many variants) are as follows:
1 — Original all white pump with square pump knob.
2 — Yellow pump with aluminum shaft, black knob, and black pump collar.
3 — Gray and black pump
4 — Gray and red pump with "O" ring
5 — Gray and red pump with Duraseal collar (the current MSR pump).
The standard pump works with the following MSR stoves:
Model 9
"G"
"K"
"GK"
XGK
XGK II
XGK-EX
Firefly
Simmerlite
Whisperlite
Whisperlite International
Whisperlite Universal
Note: There may have been one other old MSR stove that was in there back in the 70's, a "DF". Not sure if that was truly a different stove or just a variant of the GK.

The Dragonfly pump works only with the Dragonfly stove:
1. Light blue and red pump
2. All red pump with Duraseal collar

HJ
Adventures In Stoving
Hikin' Jim's Blog

[Bob Gross]

Larry Penberthy should be rolling over in his grave now.

I think that I have owned most of those different MSR stoves at some point in time, starting with the yellow pump. I used to own six MSR stoves, mostly GK or XGK, since I led lots of group trips with a central commissary. So, I had to have a minimum of two or three stoves all gassed up and ready to go all the time. The problem was that people kept breaking them or losing parts off them. I had to cannibalize parts off one stove to keep the next one going. However, it wasn't really a fault of the stove. It was more a fault of the complexity of each stove and the lack of training on the part of some beginners.

A real stovie would have copies of the old MSR newsletter from the 1960's.

–B.G.–

[Roger Caffin]

> Larry Penberthy should be rolling over in his grave now.
I reckon!

Cheers

[Bob Gross]

Penberthy was a very opinionated person. He seemed to have some good ideas, and those eventually led to a lot of MSR stoves in use. However, he also had some ideas which were rather wacko. The public concern over his wacko ideas distracted from the good stove ideas. The rest, as they say, is history.

At least he didn't try to ship them in from Australia.

–B.G.–

[Hikin’ Jim]

At least he didn't try to ship them in from Australia.

Good thing, that. Therein lies only madness. ;)

HJ
Adventures In Stoving
Hikin' Jim's Blog

[James Couch]

>At least he didn't try to ship them in from Australia.

The wacko ideas or the stoves?

[Bob Gross]

Either

–B.G.–

[USA Duane Hall]

I picked up a couple newsletters from some folks a couple years ago, that only date to the '70's, neat thing, one shows the 9A stove, which is disputed by "Doc" as to what it looks like, I believe he thinks it should look like the 9. I have other documentation that came with the stove showing it is a 9A stove.
Duane

[Hikin’ Jim]

Duane,

Have you scanned them and are they on the net anywhere?

HJ
Adventures in Stoving
Hikin Jim's Blog

[USA Duane Hall]

HJ,
I posted them a few years back over on CCS. Funny, one ebayer this Spring used some of my photos to list one of his. Need them sent to you?
Duane
Found one optimized pic.

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