Lets talk about camp stoves

[solidfrontaxle]

I am in the market for a camp stove. I've never used one, but I have a general idea what I want.

I need:
-liquid fuel (no cannisters, including propane)
-multi fuel (white gas, gasoline, kerosene, etc)
-simple (easy to light, not alot of parts to mess with or lose)
-heavy duty (can bounce around in the back of a land cruiser for days and not leak or break)
-lights easy at altitude and in wind
-burns hot
-extra consideration given to old school, "classic" designs :greg:


Weight, size, capacity, and cost are less important, to a point of course.

I will mostly be cooking just for myself and maybe one other person. Boiling water, heating up soup and beans, frying fish, sometimes making scrambled eggs and bacon.

Here are some I am considering (feel free to bring up any other old favorites I don't know about):

Coleman 425

Coleman 502

Coleman 550

Svea 123

Optimus Hunter

Optimus Hiker+ (the sexiest stove I've ever seen$$$!)

Questions:

Do I really need a 2 burner stove, can I get by with one strong one, or is two singles a good way to go?

Anyone ever have any trouble with the ones above? Are any hard to light? Hard to keep burning? Tough? Noisy? Hard to clean? Break easy? Too small for my needs?

Any others that ya'll like that I don't know about that would suit what I'm looking for?

I am looking for ANY experiences and opinions. Thanks!

 

[Greg]

No propane, huh? I like my propane powered Cadac well enough- http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=62586

I like it even more that I can run it off a 20# bottle of propane vs the small canisters. Obviously I have to haul around a big 20# bottle, but it's clean & easy to hook up. I believe you can get 10# bottles too, which I may look into. That would be ideal for car travel. On a recent HITR trip I used the stove (and propane) to cook dinner, then a storm rolled in and it snowed that night... used the propane again with a heater in the tent and I can honestly say it was the most comfortable camping experience I've ever had.

I don't like those smaller stoves because you can't cook too much on them. At least not the one I have. I bought one long ago for camping and it's too finicky. It will boil water, but it sucks at cooking when you need more precise temperature control.

 

[Tacoma]

I like the Coleman up top there, if you've got room: they work, hold up, etc. Downside is that they're big and clunky.

I am liking Greg's Cadec though, since he posted that. THat looks like a real good stove for a cross-country vehicle. I can dig it. And the multiple uses of propane add to the allure.

I used a small MSR when I was living out of the truck back east and it kind of sucked. Alright for small stuff, but actually cooking anything meaningful was frustrating. I had a dual burner Coleman after that and it was much, much better.

 

[Brett]

The Coleman 425 you posted is a great stove (looks the same as the old one I had, got rid of it because, well, it was 30 years old and not working so great)

White gas, Coleman fuel is nice as it does burn hotter than propane. Any reason you don't want propane?

 

[BCGPER]

If you're wanting liquid fuel, that first Coleman is the one for you. I have that one, and it works great. I think you'll find the second burner will be used a lot more than you think, and although it is kind of large, since it's a rectangle and a steel case it's pretty easy to pack. The thing I like about them is the wind guards. Pretty tough to cook in the wind with one of the open burner types. A griddle that fits over both burners makes short work of a nice breakfast too. I've heard you can run regular unleaded gas in them, but I've never tried.

If you were closer, I'd give you mine since it's been in the shed now for about 20 years and I really doubt I'll ever use it again. Or, if you're planning a trip to SLC in the future, that might work out as well.

 

[bobmed]

I had an old Coleman 2 burner stove that after years of use sprung a leak in the fuel tank.

Lucky for me I was talking to a ranger and he pointed out that my camp stove was spraying a stream of burning fuel in to the grass.

 

[Tacoma]

I had an old Coleman 2 burner stove that after years of use sprung a leak in the fuel tank.

Lucky for me I was talking to a ranger and he pointed out that my camp stove was spraying a stream of burning fuel in to the grass.

hahah

I set my foot and a huge puddle on fire in a similar manner once... cooking in a parking lot in a rainstorm... blue flames 40' wide kind of draw attention LOL

 

[DOSS]

I would say go with the first Coleman.. even though it is a bit bigger it will be easier to get parts for when needed and sometimes it is very nice to have that second burner..

one question though... why do you want to go with liquid fuel? instead of propane or Butane.. there are some very nice single burner butane stoves out there as well as propane and you can get propane almost anywhere.

If you were closer, I'd give you mine since it's been in the shed now for about 20 years and I really doubt I'll ever use it again. Or, if you're planning a trip to SLC in the future, that might work out as well.

I will snake your old stove and use it

 

[DAA]

Okay... I know you said "no propane". And I know I get annoyed when I post "no xxx" and people reply with "I'd get the xxx".

So, at the risk of being annoying... If you can live with a single burner, then the unit pictured below meets all your criteria better than any of the units you pictured, except, it's propane...

It's simply a metal milk crate with a high output burner attached to one end. The crate carries a few bottles of fuel, two frying pans and one sauce pan, plus enough canned goods to feed me for a couple days if need be. All in one convenient, self contained, rugged package. I keep it stocked and ready to go at all times. For quick trips I can just throw it in the rig and go - no need to gather anything else, cooking gear wise. I call it the "gizmo". The gizmo has been bounced around in the back of pickup trucks for more than a decade now. I can only guess at the number of offroad miles, but very conservatively, over 15,000 miles of bouncing around in the back of a truck offroad. I'm on my third Coleman propane stove, during the same time period. And none of the stoves saw anywhere near as much, or as rough of travel or use.

The Coleman stove is still favored for much of my use though. Two burners IS really nice to have. Heck, as far as that goes, I'll often use both burners on the Coleman and have the gizmo going as a third burner at the same time, when cooking for a hungry gang (the family...). My Coleman is propane though.

If the pimping of propane really is just annoying though, and liquid fuel is what you have to have, I'd probably opt for the Coleman. But... Newer Coleman stoves sure don't seem to be made like they used to be. I've gone through a few of the propane models. First one lasted a dozen years. Second one about five years. Last one only three years. Just bought another one recently, and it's got "cheap crap" written all over it. I doubt it will last me three years...

- DAA

 

[mbryson]

I have a dual fuel Coleman stove that's still in the box. It's at least 8 years old or so but never been used. I have a canister one that we use very occasionally (we usually use the one in the trailer) and it's worked quite well for us.

The dual fuel one will use propane canister or unleaded gasoline. I "think" it's a 3 burner stove, but I'd have to check.

 

[OldGeezer]

The coleman 425 will be the best if your preparing meals. If your just heating up a can of beans or a pot of water, they'll all do. My 502 doesn't have very good heat control and is useless in the wind. I use an earlier version of the 550 (Peak1) mostly. Still not much good in the wind but better heat control. The Svea & Optimus Hunter are finiky, hard to start and real hard to start in cold temps. My friends that had them didn't use them for long. I have no experience with the Optimus Hiker but at least it has a pump which will make it easier to start.

 

[Houndoc]

The two burner Coleman would be my choice of what you listed. That said, I don't think I'd go back to liquid fuel in a stove or lantern after using propane.

 

[Cody]

To answer your question about burner quantity, if you cook for more than one person, or regularly cook things that have more than one element (i.e. taco's and rice, eggs/bacon/hashbrowns) then 2 burners is nice. I find that when I'm by myself I never use more than one burner.


I have a big Coleman Road Trip, Coleman 2 burner propan camp stove, and a tiny Camping Gaz butane backpacking stove.

If I'm setting up a base camp for a few days (and I have room) I take the bigger grill because you can cook enough for several people. I bought the smaller one because it's smaller but still uses two burners--and I really like it. I can run it off of the basic Coleman bottles or I have an adapter to run it off of a full size propane tank (I have a 10# that works great). I always keep the backpacking stove and a can of fuel in the jeep as a backup incase something fails.

I like the propane--self contained and no mess. If you're buying strictly for vehicle based camping, I would go with the bigger coleman 2 burner (425).

 

[mesha]

the svea is picky. I would pass on that one. the two burner is sweet, plus you can use a small co2 cartridge to keep it pressurized so you don't need to pump. they all require priming which can get tricky and take awhile depending on the stove. Cleaning is easy, but requires some minor disassembly. If you get a stove with a shaker jet you never need to clean it. If you went with one burner then then I would go with the MSR Dragonfly. It simmers and roars. It has a separate flame control and bottle pressure nozzle making it the most adjustable multifuel out there. If you need it to burn ever available fuel then get the MSR XGK it will burn anything. Optimus makes good stoves. the single burner coleman is a fine design if a little outdated(I just sold like 6 of those I wish I woulda known).

If you decide on propane I can hook you up with any camp chef you want.

 

[Mug]

Poll Results:
Coleman - 50
Others - 0

I agree. The most frustrating thing for those little ones is finding a flat spot to set it. (Even a tailgate isn't flat) Plus you get a large "milk crate" cooking surface. Don't forget the sometimes functional wind flaps on the Coleman.

 

[solidfrontaxle]

To answer your questions:

I don't want propane because it a) isn't that great at elevation, b) doesn't burn as hot, c) you can't use gasoline as a backup, and d) its too easy. Turn a knob and light? Thats it? Where's the fun in that?!

When I do eventually go propane for camping when I get married or otherwise lazy, I'm getting this :greg: :

That thing is so ridiculously over the top, I have to have it. Seriously, an oven? You can freakin make lasagna and cupcakes on the trail!
Mesha, I'll let you know when I'm ready to buy one.

Back to my current needs...

As much as I see the need for a 2 burner, I'm really not too excited about the coleman because its so klunky. I'd take one if someone gave me one, but I just wish it were a alot more solid. :-\

Also in the last couple weeks, I've started to get way into the single burners. To the point where I think I'm going to buy most the ones I listed. I picked up a 502 and a 1950s Coleman 500 which are both off the hook! I'm in love with them. Its a weird addiction, but if anyone has ANY old single burner stove that they don't want, let me know.

 

[phatfoto]

My wife likes that camp oven, available at Sam's Club for about $190... I'm almost afraid she's going to buy it when I'm not around. But then, it would be for the tent trailer...

 

[Rot Box]

I have these two and another Colman similar to the one in your top picture on the first page. Back in the old days I used only White Gas/dual fuel stoves but lately I've grown to dislike them. My single burner pictured struggles to brew my morning coffee (or boil any water for that matter) and my dual burner could only do it if one of the burners was turned off. My cooking time was cut by at least 30% when I started using Propane as I can cook bacon and brew coffee at the same time--yeah!

I'm not trying to sell you on Propane (even if it sounds like it ) but If you change your mind remember that you can buy a propane tank adapter--i'll dig up the part #-- from Harbor Freight and refill the little canisters with your big tank at home and that cuts costs a lot :greg:

 

[solidfrontaxle]

If I ever get around to installing my propane kit on my 22r I'll probably be cooking on propane all the time.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Wyatt, you'll have to check out my new Coleman, late 50's two burner I scored last week at a garage sale, last used in 1969 . I could have used a couple extra burners for the Kamp Kitchen.

(PS. We made another batch of breakfast mix this am up AF Canyon, with mushrooms!!!)