Camping Stove Fuel
Different types of fuel work better in different situations, and consequently different stoves and lanterns suit different circustances. Full details and guidelines can be found under Stoves and Spares.
The main choices of fuel are:
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gas; either Camping Gaz, Primus or Jetboil.
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liquid; either Primus PowerFuel or Barratine Meths (Methylated Spirit).
We also stock solid fuel tablets. Other alternatives that can be purchased at many hardwear stores and garages are Parafin and various vehicle fuels.
Gas tends to burn cleaner, and their stoves are easier to handle and maintain than liquid fuel stoves, however, gas canisters can be bulky, expensive and be hard to obtain in remote parts of the globe.
PowerFuel and other high performance liquid fuels burn reasonably cleanly but are not so common as either gas or vehicle fuels, and it is still reasonably expensive. Vehicle fuels like diesel, meanwhile, tend to be dirty beasts, and will necessitate cleaning out your stove much more regularly. Alternating dirty fuels with a small amount of cleaner liquid fuel will help keep your stove performing well.
Fuel availabilty
Travelling and expeditioning outside of Europe, North America, Australia and SE Asia it can be very difficult to get hold of any fuel other than petrol. In popular areas such as those accessible from Kathmandu most fuels can be found at a price, but generally gas and meths can be ruled out. If you have doubts about availability on your travels, drop us a line and we will do our best to help.
If you are buying a petrol burning stove for travelling in Asia or Africa make sure that it will accept different grades of petroleum. In many places even unleaded will be unavailable so the stove needs to accept fuels like four-star or diesel. A good example is the MSR Dragonfly. Take a servicing kit because these fuels will clog any stove with soot in time. For the most relaible stove for use with the dirtiest fuels plump for the MSR XGK EX.
Fuel Bottles
It is important to store liquid fuel carefully. We recommend using Trangia fuel bottles for storing meths as the head of the bottle enables a very accurate pour into a hot burner sat within a Trangia stove set. MSR fuel bottles and Primus fuel bottles are appropriate for use with their own brands of stoves to make sure the tolerances at the bottle neck are correct to withstand the high pressure caused by pumping a liquid fuel stove.