Coleman Dual-Fuel Stove & Lantern.
My experiences with these dual-fuel camping products.
October 1, 2008.
Earlier this summer I purchased a Coleman duel-fuel stove to use when camping. After seeing a good sale on a duel-fuel lantern I ended up purchasing the duel-fuel lantern later on in the summer. Here are a few of my thoughts on both of these products.
For Economy & Environment
Duel-fuel is an adaption of traditional white-gas or Coleman fuel technology that allows you to use regular gasoline in your camp stove or camp light rather then using more expensive Coleman fuel. Gasoline essentially is a less refined oil product then Coleman fuel, but is similar enough that appliances can be designed to run on both with minor changes.
I decided I wanted to go with duel-fuel rather then propane for both cost and environmental reasons. Gasoline can be purchased at any gas station for around $4 a gallon, and can be placed in a reusable gas container. There is no propane cylinder to "throw away", much less purchase at $3 per cylinder. Coleman estimates for each gallon of gasoline consumed by this product, it is equal to 5 cylinders of propane. That is a a lot of unnecessary waste and cost.
Poor Instructions Lead to
Soot and Difficulty Lighting
The first time I purchased the Coleman one-burner stove it worked well, running on pure Coleman fuel I borrowed from my dad. After I used it once, I decided to top it off with gasoline. That's when I started having problems with the stove not lighting well, running sooty, a lack of heat, and other problems. I believed it was a problem with using gasoline as a fuel. It turned that was not the problem.
My carelessness and lack of attention to the instructions was at fault, as was the poor quality of the instructions written in many languages, but lacking clarity. My dad previously had a liquid fuel lantern, but I had not used it extensively. All liquid fuel stoves and appliances have a pump on their side that must be twisted from the lock position a complete turn of 360 degrees from their closed position. A quick twist with the fingers is not enough, as the pump will not fully unlock.
With the pump only partially unlocked, there will not be sufficient compression for the fuel, and it will not come out of the stove as a gas, but as a liquid with minimal pressure. This makes the stove almost impossible to light. Indeed, I spent many an hour trying to figure out how to light it with splashes of gasoline on the burner, a match, and running, or using a little bit of Sterno on the generator, trying to heat the fuel. Regardless, I ended up with a sooty mess.
Ready to give up o the stove, I went to K-Mart to purchase some Coleman fuel as a last ditch effort before disassembling the stove and taking the stove to get repaired or replaced. On the way there, I saw there was a Coleman white-gas/duel fuel lantern like my dad had, marked down for $40. I decided to purchase it along with the Coleman fuel. Before I got the Coleman fuel in the lantern, I figured out by experimentation that I hadn't turned the lock far enough on the stove.
Started Properly:
Bright Light & Ample Heat
When you start the stove properly with the pump turned a full turn, and then pumped twenty or thirty times with gasoline or white gas, both the lantern and the stove light quickly and easily, even in the pooring rain under damp conditions. The light from the Coleman lantern is bright, and the heat from the stove is more then ample. It's amazing how fast you can boil water on the stove.
Neither device is perfect. The Coleman lantern like all gas-powered lanterns is easy to break the globe and mantles. Indeed, the discounted lantern I purchased does not even come with a proper carrying case, beyond the cardboard box it came in. It's light, while bright, it very directional and can be difficult to aim on your reading material. It's light is slightly brighter then a 100-watt light bulb, but maybe not quite as bright as you might hope for a lantern.
The stove is limited on how low you can turn the heat, and with sensitive dishes may burn them unless you hold the food above the fire. For boiling water it works well, but for very low-temperature simmering it might not be right. Turned too low the flame starts to flicker, and it may produce more soot. It's burner surface is relatively small and may be prone to tipping with larger pans or when boiling water.
Conclusions
Both appliances work quite well and are incredibly economical to use. The stove will boil water for around 12 hours on one gallon gasoline if allowed to be cooled, then filled after every 1.5 hours of use. That's very cheap, even with high gas prices. The lantern is even more efficient, providing over 50 hours of light on a gallon of gasoline.
Not having to dispose of fuel containers is another big plus for these dual fuel stoves. While one can use Coleman fuel in them, I see no advantage to buying more expensive fuel in disposable containers. These appliances may not be perfect, but work incredibly well for their price and flexibility.
