Fuel for Colman dual fuel stoves

[Boris]

What do people run their dual fuel stoves on. My 442 claims unleaded or Coleman fuel compatibility but the Coleman fuel is really expensive and I understand unleaded burns rather sootily (made up word).

I have tried some panel wipe I had in the garage that seems and smells just like the Ronson petrol I used to put in my Zippo lighter and it works well with little smell and no sooty deposits on stove or pan. I've also heard of Aspen 4T being used but the nearest distributor is 40 miles away from Edinburgh.

So what do others use?

[DaveS]

Unleaded... never had a problem with soot.
It burns so fiercely that I don't think anything could clog it up.

[gary and loo]

Have only used petrol in our last 2 stoves, our colman stove got a bit sooty after many months of constant use and it started to rust a bit. We now have a posh and expensive Primus which runs great on only petrol, never any black on the pans.

[Boris]

I emptied the tank and tried a fill of petrol and it worked just the same (both in heat and look of the flame) as the panel wipe except it stunk. Not so much during the use of the stove but the filling and handling of the stove made my hands smell.

Panel wipe is clear and reportedly pure naphtha so doesn't have all those additives and benzines that go into petrol that are supposedly so bad for you health.

I think I'll stick with the panel wipe for now but at least the unleaded is an option should I need it.

Anyone tried this Aspen 4T stuff?

[Jenna]

never used anything other than petrol in my 442 and its been fine (10+ years), i also think modern lead free petrol with addatives burns a lot cleaner than the old leaded petrol which help.

[DaveS]

Not so much during the use of the stove but the filling and handling of the stove made my hands smell.

Your not meant to spill it everywhere!!!
I carry a mini funnel and 1L petrol bottle with me for top ups and it does fine. Rarely get any on my hands, although you do need to careful when filling as when it gets close it doesn't take much to make it overflow.

[steveR]

Anyone tried this Aspen 4T stuff?

Yep, I purchased 5l from a local dealer for approx 14 quid. Very clean burn and smells kind of.... pure. MUCH cheaper than Coleman fuel and those who have used if for a while reckon the stoves remain much cleaner in the pre-heat tube.

I am going to try it as standby fuel as it does not go off like unleaded will in gennies etc. It is very easy to forget to drain a tank and then run some fresh fuel through the carb every few months

[Jacqueslemac]

I use unleaded without problems, although toast tastes vile.

[Boris]

I use unleaded without problems, although toast tastes vile.

Ahh a useful comparison. I've made toast on mine using the panel wipe and there was no determinable taste of anything other than toast. Anyone using Aspen 4T care to offer their findings?

The stove does smell for a minute or so after shutdown. An odd smell but one that I have recently smelled again after following an Africa Twin while booting it around the Highlands.

[steveR]

Ahh a useful comparison. I've made toast on mine using the panel wipe and there was no determinable taste of anything other than toast. Anyone using Aspen 4T care to offer their findings?

Never done toast on a camp stove!!