What stove?

[snatiep]

Hello Everyone!

I'm needing to buy a stove. I'm looking at both the Coleman single burner dual fuel stove and the Coleman 2 burner dual fuel stove.

I'll be tent camping.....but I'll have my pick-up nearby, so weight is no big deal.

I'm not sure which one to get.

Maybe it would be nice to have both?

Thanks,
Nate

[Bigdog57]

If you camp alone and don't make a big production of cooking, the single-burner will be fine. If you camp with other folks, the two-burner gives you more options.
The two-burner also comes in handy at home if power goes out and your main stove is electric. This is an important consideration for us inthe Hurricane Belt.

I have both stoves and use whichever is best for the situation.

[Rob22315]

I tried the dual fuel stoves when I was doing off-roading and camping. I liked the option of being able to use unleaded fuel in the stove if I needed it. In the end, I mostly ran it on unleaded gas. I discovered the unleaded fuel clogged the stove after just a season of use. I replaced some of the clogged parts but it just wasn't worth it.

Assuming the 'dual fuel' here still means white gas or unleaded (car) gas, stay away from using car gas. Only rely on car gas in emergencies or as a backup.

I'm very happy with my current propane-powered two-burner stove, by Coleman of course. My 2 cents.

[Stone]

I use a simple folding Sterno stove. It has two burners and uses, what else, Sterno!
It folds flat, doesn't weight very much at all, and works great.
Thing is, when I'm only providing for myself it works fine. I use a Boyscout type mess kit, so the skillet and small pot fit fine on the burners.
When camping with my wife, we use a regular Coleman gas stove.
I'll probably mention this a few times on this forum, but check out yardsales for camping gear. I bought my first stove a couple of years ago and paid maybe 50 cents or a dollar for it. I loved it so much, I found another one and bought that one too.

[familycampman]

Depends

I'd say this depends on who you're cooking for. If you're camping alone then the single burner would be fine. If you're cooking for family or friends, a single burner could be frustrating if you need to use it to cook multiple items. One dish could get cold waiting for the other to cook.

I personally use a 2 burner (Coleman, of course)

Eric

[snatiep]

Thanks everyone!

I found the 2 burner Dual Fuel Coleman stove for only $88 new.

If the generators in the dual fuel stoves and lantern do plug while using unleaded fuel, couldn't you just take the generator off and shoot some carburetor cleaner through it?

I wonder if using non-ethanol premium fuel would take care of the problem?

[tplife]

Snatiep, the Dual Fuel models aren't worth the extra cost in my opinion. They are essentially the same as the regular models with a bigger gas tank. Both stoves owners manuals recommend using Coleman Fuel and unleaded gas ONLY if coleman Fuel is unavalable, and they point out the generator won't last as long on either model, so they're not really Dual-fuel in the first place. For this reason I'm replacing my propane gear with white gas due to its economy. Model 288 lanterns are available off Ebay for $25 brand new, and the white gas stoves are there very often for similar savings. I would note that the white gas stoves come in different widths, with the two-burner narrow being a bit skinny for my frying pan, so I'm still using my propane stove until I hit the right deal on the white gas stove.

[snatiep]

Thanks tplife!

A gallon of Coleman's white gas is $8.50 and a gallon of unleaded around here is $2.70 today.

I'm still having a hard time thinking about shelling out the little extra money on the white gas. (Maybe I'm a little cheap?)

The dual fuel lanterns and stoves are designed to operate on either.

I'm just wondering if a shot of carb cleaner every once in a while would keep the generators clean.

I wonder what is in the generators that causes them to plug running on unleaded gas?

[Rob22315]

Its been a while so I don't remember what stuff I used to clean the generator. With the cost of parts running close to a new unit (after shipping and tax), I converted to another fuel.

My Dad swore by white gas during the camp trips of my youth. In fact, when the little pump on the stove failed in the middle of a trip, he actually did swear.:eek: I got tired of pumping all the time with the dual fuel stove.

Propane's been good value and easy to use. We only use the stove for breakfast. We're usually sightseeing during the day and cook dinner over the fire or charcoal. You can't beat propane for convenience - just hook up and fire up. Tanks are cheap and one tank gets us through at least 2 trips (usually more) because we just don't use much fuel on camp trips.

For lighting, we mostly use rechargeable LED lights and flashlights. I have a single propane lantern for lighting the campsite if we need it but many nights, we don't light it up if I build a good fire.

Your needs may fit something else. I'm not trying to talk you out of dual fuel - only alert you to the one issue I had and give you some idea why propane fit my needs better. Good luck with whichever you choose!!

Just don't call me Hank Hill

[tplife]

Snatiep, the "little extra money" will be well worth it vs. replacing the generators periodically, which you will be doing on a regular basis using modern gasoline fuel. The formula and additives quickly clog the generators and they cost around $10 - $15 and fail when you don't want them to. You will go for years without replacing generators if you use Coleman Fuel. We carry two 33 oz. MSR fuel bottles for our white gas, but we really only need one. Remember that at 2-3 pounds per cylinder propane is a heavy fuel containing less energy than white gas and has reduced effectiveness as temperatures approach freezing.

[harryb]

I have used both propane and Coleman fuel and I prefer the Coleman fuel. The Coleman fuel is expensive,but a gallon of Coleman fuel lasts a long time. I have 2 Coleman lanterns and 2 Coleman stoves. 1 is a 3 burner that had not been used in about 20 years. I put some fuel in it and it fired right up. I think my duel fuel lantern needs a new generator. The effects of using regular gas in the lantern. I picked it up on the curb still in the Coleman carrying case.Coleman stoves and lanterns are very efficient. I grew up camping and used Coleman lanterns and stoves. They are still in use today. If properly maintained they will last a lifetime. You can buy a lot of Coleman fuel for what you would spend on the propane bottles. Unless you are traveling abroad, Coleman fuel is available almost everywhere. Most towns have a Wal-Mart.If not,they have a hardware store that should have Coleman fuel.

Harry