Petrol stovers shudder while Pat is in good company

[steffan]

The month's Geographical Magazine's Explorer's essentials focussed on Ranulph Fiennes. Assuming a polar expedition (in our case read Dragon - Elefant) Ranulph opted for the best available MRS white GAS cooker with screw in bottles. No mention was made of solid or multi-fuel items.

On reading this it occured to me that I have never seen Pat and Ranulph in the same room together. Is it possible that we may have stumbled upon Pat's alter-ego??

Thoughts anyone?

Steffan

[squirrelciv]

Bugger, my secrets out!

[themoudie]

No, I'm pretty sure Pat has fingers to grab his levers and toes to tramp his pedals. Poor Ranulph hasn't many left, if any, in either department!

"I  love to go a wandering**********glaciers*********crevasses**********chipolata" Sorry! Petrol stove exploded.

[guest18]

MRS white GAS cooker with screw in bottles.

What's "white gas" Steffan? could it possibly be the American useage of the term "gas"? Given that my stove runs on "white" liquid fuel and I've never heard of "white" gas in relation to the butane/propane etc.... Oh and my fuel bottle is a screw in type too!

I suspect us "petrol stovers", can chuckle quietly for a little while longer! (although if I was replacing my current stove it would be with the "omnifuel" model which will run liquid *or* gas!)

[Steve Lake]

Erm.... am I being a thicko.......but surely the reason that gas (butane etc) is NOT used on polar/everest expeditions is because of the extremely low temperatures it is required to operate in?

[Andy M]

Erm.... am I being a thicko.......but surely the reason that gas (butane etc) is NOT used on polar/everest expeditions is because of the extremely low temperatures it is required to operate in?

Also, isn't US white gas and aviation fuel roughly the same thing? If you get into trouble dropping you can of what the rescue plane/skidoo's runs on is easier than waiting for bottled propane? Actually, same applies to us, get stuck and you burn unleaded (eventually).

Do they still depot fuel on these expeditions? I'd have thought solid fuel would be better for not evaporating/leaking etc. Wasn't one of Scotts problems a lack of decent jerry cans?

Andy

[Steve Lake]

Was Jerry making cans then?










I'll get my coat....

[Steffan]

Turns out white gas is the same as coleman fuel doh!!

So all you petrol stovers can breath easy. Ranulph is on our side after all...sorry Pat..

Steffan

[guest27]

Yup - White gas = Coleman fuel.  About 2 cents a gallon in the US and about £12 a gallon here?  And I think butane has a boilinig point of -1 C - so will not gasify in polar regions.  Propane is about -42, so would be better but still not much use.  I guess at altitude and in cold places a liquid fuel that you can pressurise will be more use than a gas cannister that you cannot?

R

[guest18]

lol eyethangyou

[Steffan]

next question: is white spirit the same stuff?

S

[guest18]

next question: is white spirit the same stuff?

S

Nope!


















tbh I'm not sure exactly how I would classify it, it's cleaner than petrol etc, and parraffin. Probably closest to avgas at a wild guess, though that *is* a guess(!) I find it's not particularly better than unleaded (in a stove) and it's even more expensive so I don't think I've even got a can here to check... GC?

[themoudie]

Aye Smudge,

Not been decorating lately then? Always have a drop about the place for paint brush cleaning. Was under £2-00 for 2.5l last time round. Parrafin has more tax on it now I think, but no idea of cost per litre.

Avgas is just parrafin with added calories isn't it. Obtained when emptying helicopter fuel drums before return! Goes well in the old weed burner. Never resorted to using it in the 'Tilley' just in case.

Always used propane in the caravan for cooking and light, wee solid fuel stove for heat. Did well until about 12F when the liquid gas ran out of the lights. Boiling water from the solid stove to thaw the gas pipes out was another wheeze or p*** on them if more convenient.

Is Colemans 'white' something like a cake of Vaseline?

The ignorant pyromaniac one!

[002]

Avgas more like 100-110ish octane petrol.

White spirit not unlike paraffin,have used it in the old Hurricane Lamps without any problems.

White Gas happens to be a cleaner,more refined I spose Unleaded Petrol.
Mind my cookers work perfectly well on petrol siphoned out of the bikes.

Jethro

[guest18]

Of course we don't really *need* to know as pretty much any liquid fuel will work in a nice varifuel/whisperlite etc etc, of course if you have one of these fussy camping Gaz stoves....


Only joking lads!!