In Europe you get Euro 95 unleaded. You can get it in bigger cities outside of Europe too. Moscow etc. It is more refined that non-European fuel and is filled with additives like anti freeze/anti-oxidants/detergents ect

I am no chemist but i certainly wouldn't want it tainting my food if i can help it.

The Coleman fuel you buy is expensive but is clean and safe burning.

Don't know about you, but I cook my food in pans ... There is no tainting.

Fair enough, you won't be browning toast or melting marsh mellows but so what !

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

In my mountaineering days I used a 1 litre Primus Optimus stove, burning paraffin/kerosene. I also sometimes used a Camping Gaz single burner cooker and also a lantern if weight was not an issue.

Unfortunately, in Germany, it seems difficult to source paraffin (seems Health & Safety laws restrict it's sale in case young children drink the paraffin ????). I can still source paraffin, but only at large outdoor shops.

Camping Gaz is also a problem if travelling to foreign parts. Obviously, you cannot take the Gaz on an aeroplane and there is no guarantee you will be able to purchase the Camping Gaz in the new location. Had this problem in Vancouver.

I have a Primus Omnifuel and am buying a Primus Eta MF (Multifuel) stove. The Eta stove is claimed to be perhaps twice as efficient as a conventional ones and it can use screw in gas cannisters, petrol or paraffin/kerosene/diesel. I plan to use either Primus fuel (naptha) or standard unleaded petrol from the bike. I don't see a situation where I will not be able to find petrol.

If I want to do a two or three day solo walk, then I may just take the Eta MF stove with a small gas cannister, to save weight.

I read stories of petrol and diesel clogging up the burners, but don't understand why there should be a problem. The old Primus Optimus with paraffin just needed to have the jet pricked out regularly (I always did it prior to lighting the burner) and I used to fill it through a strainer to remove any dirt. Might try carrying some methylated spirits to prime, if this proves cleaner.

So, I think, petrol would be the favoured fuel in most cases for me. The Eta Multifuel stove should give me higher efficiencies and so use less fuel. I will see how the burner turn down ratio (for simmering) is with different fuels).

In terms of the poll, kerosene being the cheapest fuel, will likely be the most economic. However, in the grand scheme of things, this fuel cost is far less important for me than fuel availability.

Grey Beard

Previously I used a Primus army version which collapsed into a box, and I burnt kerosene in it, what sucked was fuel for "on the road" as I had to carry a fuel flask only for the bastard stove as well. That stove got stolen (luckily), and I managed to get a second hand Coleman 533 stove, it's the bees knees, burns what is on the fuel tank with zero problems, even low octane leaded fuel gone through it several times and it just works. Awesome product and highly recommended.

P.S. I believe the 533 is called Unleaded Sporter II now, it's solid made in steel and will not break, they also have a featherweight version which weighs a few hundred grams less, is made of less solid materials and gives about 300 watts heat less. I would not use money on the lighter version as on mc tours solid bulletproof is better than flimsier and less bullet proof, but other may disagree in this opinion. Due to my solid bulletproof rule of thumb I also use stainless steel pot to cook in, not aluminium or titanium. The weight is not that crucial on a bike, but solidity is a great thing, bumping around and maybe smashing around a bit, less rigid materials suffer greatly. Also I can clean out my pot with sand or stainless steel buds or whatever in hand.

I just whack the bread in a dry frying pan and it browns that way better still add oil, butter and or egg for even tastier bread.

Hi all,

Amazing, the effort same are putting into the use of a cooker. My coleman featherlight is running like a clock, but being lazy, I prefer looking for some food outlooks. Particularly, in third world countries, where things are cheap.
Couldn't make my own chai, to the same standard, as there is on an Indian road stall. The same goes with most local foods. Get memories and leave some money behind and we all enjoy it.

Cheers

RM

Thanks for the imput. It's an interesting approach many should consider to try, including myself.

But if for some reason you happen to be just camping for a few days in Australia or Europe, where there are certainly less chai stalls on the side of the road (and fuel is not cheap), what could be a good option apart from burning cash (in my experience bills/notes burn more efficiently than coins)?

I've only ever used unleaded in my Whisperlite.

Cost, availability, bulk, and the waste issues of the canisters themselves rule out gas for me.

I don't really see that economics are that important when choosing between liquid fuels, because the fuel consumption/day is so tiny relative to what I'm using in the bike. The fact I've always got unleaded (and if I can't find any I'm in bigger trouble than eating cold food) trumps any running cost difference to using paraffin, etc.

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dashmoto.net

I bought a second hand, old version optimus 8r because it even seems to able to run on water (you know what I mean). There are newer version but they are not as good as..

It's a little bit heavy but it's capable of burning unleaded fuel so I don't have to bring a spare fuel bottle.

Haven't tried it yet but I have great expectations.

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Luc