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NEED Help with Whisperlite International Stove

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  • NEED Help with Whisperlite International Stove

    I have had this stove for about 4 years, used it less than 10 times. The problem is that I light it according to directions, but it will not stay lit. It burns blue, but will go out in 2 minutes unless I constantly pump it. I pump it 25 times to start and then it will only burn for a few minutes unless I keep pumping it. I took it apart a cleaned everthing and all the seals are like new. Any one have a clue why it does this and how I can fix it? The pressure bulids up and the stove continues to hiss even though it goes out. For some reason the fuel does not continue to flow with the air. The fuel is new Coleman white gas.

  • #2
    I generally pump my fuel bottle about 100 times before I light the stove. Are you leaving enough space for air? The bottle shouldn't be any fuller than the line on the outside, located about where it starts to curve in towards the opening. Remember too that a full fuel bottle is going to require pumping more often as the proportional increase in volume is much quicker than with a partially full fuel bottle.

    Are you sure you're priming it correctly? An incomplete prime will affect the performance of the stove, even if it appears to light correctly. I find that I need to let the little cup at the base of the stove fill completely with white gas. I've also found that you need to let all of the white gas in the little cup burn off before you open the fuel line again and lite the stove. That way, the fuel line is good and hot, ensuring proper vaporization of the fuel before it comes out of the stove.

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    • #3
      Wow 100X! I pump mine 20 times to start with a full bottle (by full I mean up to the FILL LINE) and usually about 10 after another 2 or 3 min.

      If you pump cup is making a good seal you shouldn't need anymore than that.

      Seen as how you get it lit, I assume liquid fuel is coming out when you prime it? That would ensure there isn't a plugged line or filter (there should be a brass filter).

      Now I also assume you open the needle more once it gets going? With these stoves you continually need to open the needle as they burn. You can't just set it and forget it like a canister stove. As pressure in the bottle decreases, you need to open the needle more to get the same mixture. I could go into the fluid dynamics of why that is but just trust me. You could also keep pumping (what you are doing) and add pressure to the tank or give it a ton to start with (not the safest way).

      Sounds like it is working right you just need to figure out how to keep it going. Plus just being a bit of a blue flame is SIMMER mode with a whisperlite. When it going good the flame is blue with orange at the tips and it will make a loud roar. The burner should get nice and red. If not, you got to give it more throttle (open the needle) or more pressure.

      Also I assume when you unscrew the pump assy from the bottle you get a nice release of pressure. If not, then pump it more before use or check the pump cup and oil it.

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      • #4
        I went camping with a friend who used one of those stoves. By the time she got done fussing around with it and got it lit, I was handing her a cup of coffee prepared on my MSR Pocket Rocket. Hers was too much of a hassle for me. My solution to your problem would be switch to a canister stove.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by jan View Post
          I went camping with a friend who used one of those stoves. By the time she got done fussing around with it and got it lit, I was handing her a cup of coffee prepared on my MSR Pocket Rocket. Hers was too much of a hassle for me. My solution to your problem would be switch to a canister stove.
          I use the pocket rocket in the warmer months for the reasons stated above. But canister stoves perform very poorly (or not even at all) in the winter, so I stick with my trusty whisperlite for the colder months.

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          • #6
            Good point. I'm a cold weather wimp, so didn't think of that.

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            • #7
              Thanks for the feedback. I am not overfilling the bottle. The stove lights easily and there is good pressure. It even "roars" when it gets going, the pan glowing red hot. Then it just goes out. You still hear the air pressure, but for some reason the fuel stops flowing unless I keep pumping it. I think I am packing it up and sending it to MSR.

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              • #8
                FWIW the air for the mixture doesn't come from the line. It comes from the atmosphere and mixes at the burner. Liquid fuel will not come out once it has been primed and warmed, just vapor (or air as you are calling it). That mixes just above the jet and burns.

                Could also be a thermal expansion issue at the burner - did you remove the burner hood screw and clean out the burner? They don't mention that in the maintenance but it is worth a shot...
                Last edited by l'oiseau; 06-19-2013, 01:08 PM. Reason: Didn't see it was new fuel

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Rainman View Post
                  I The pressure bulids up and the stove continues to hiss even though it goes out. For some reason the fuel does not continue to flow with the air. The fuel is new Coleman white gas.

                  I have never seen one of these and can't find a suitable picture of the parts that go into the fuel bottle. Is it possible the fuel pick-up line (assuming it has one) has been bent and is positioned above the fuel level and the hissing is the compressed air in the bottle?

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by aft paddle View Post
                    I have never seen one of these and can't find a suitable picture of the parts that go into the fuel bottle. Is it possible the fuel pick-up line (assuming it has one) has been bent and is positioned above the fuel level and the hissing is the compressed air in the bottle?
                    They will hiss if they have been primed (sufficiently to vaporize the fuel in the delivery tube), turned off and then the fuel turned back on without lighting. The hissing is normal and is the vaporized fuel coming out of the jet.

                    You can relite these when they are hot usually without re-priming. It will hiss with vapor and putting a match to the burner will pop it back to life.

                    Do you have to let it cool down and re-prime it before you re-lite it? Or will it re-lite if you pump it again.

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                    • #11
                      PS pump looks like this:



                      Doesn't make sense it would be in the pump assy if it gets fuel cold and not hot - if it is heat related, it has to be in the burner, fuel tube, or jet area.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by jan View Post
                        I went camping with a friend who used one of those stoves. By the time she got done fussing around with it and got it lit, I was handing her a cup of coffee prepared on my MSR Pocket Rocket. Hers was too much of a hassle for me. My solution to your problem would be switch to a canister stove.
                        Off topic but I've recently switched to alky for the warmer months. I LOVE IT!

                        Fuel is easy to get, and cheap. The stove is light, relatively compact and bulletproof.

                        I've used canisters before and I have a whisperlite and I don't plan on going back to my MSR unless I need to go out in the extreme cold or high altitude. Alky is simple and effective and the Trangia stoves are fairly quick to boil water.

                        I should have switched years ago!

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by aft paddle View Post
                          I have never seen one of these and can't find a suitable picture of the parts that go into the fuel bottle. Is it possible the fuel pick-up line (assuming it has one) has been bent and is positioned above the fuel level and the hissing is the compressed air in the bottle?
                          Nice picture. Substitute dip tube for pick-up line and make sure it is opposed to the valve so as to be submerged when bottle is horizontal. It was stated there was no fuel with the air hissing out.

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                          • #14
                            The stove is totally clean. Yes it will relight when hot as long as I pump it. Spoke with MSR and they had no idea. It is on its way back there to them today. I will switch to an alcohol stove also until it is back. Easy enough to make one. Thanks for the ideas.

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                            • #15
                              Oh well. Slightly disturbing because I always thought mine bulletproof and easy to fix. It's gotta be something simple that just isn't jumping out.

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