# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Cooking, Food Storage, & Preserving >  Propane vs white gas vs unleaded for cooking-your opinions?

## sofasurfer

I'm going to buy a stove. I prefer the old coleman fuel except that like all things it is now unaffordable. I see they also come in "2 fuel" versions...coleman (white gas) and unleaded.
I don't know but I think unleaded gas sounds less than "common sense". I am leaning toward propane in the 1 lb bottles. 

What are the pros and cons? Which is hotter? Which lasts longer? How long? Is unleaded ok and can you smell it? Etc?

Will the bottles leak if left attached to the stove? Unattached?

Are other brand stoves besides Coleman any good? Recommended? What about kerosene stove?

Thanks.

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## Rick

Which question would you like answered first? 

Let's start with a lesson on Coleman stoves and lanterns. Both have always been able to use Coleman fuel or unleaded gasoline. The term "two fuel" is just a marketing gimmick. Coleman fuel (or white gas if you prefer) is just gasoline without the additives. There is no difference in smell and no difference in function. The only issue you might have using unleaded gasoline is some fouling from the additives. 

The propane is LPG and can be used in 1lb bottles or your 20lb grill tank or a 30 lb tank if you really want some fuel. All sorts of accessories abound. The tanks won't leak whether they are connected to the stove/lantern or not. Unless, of course, it's defective but I've not seen one leak yet. The advantage LPG has over liquid fuel is LPG will not go bad regardless of how long it is stored. Gasoline has a relatively short storage life. 

I have a lot of both. Probably more than anyone should have. Having both fuels (LPG and Gas) provides some advantage and offers some options that a single fuel might not have. Like anything else there are advantages and disadvantages to both types of fuels. In the end, your choice will be a personal one but either will work equally well. 

There are many other brands of stoves on the market. Coleman doesn't have a monopoly but they do have a pretty good set of products. Almost bomb proof. I've restored 1960s and older model stoves and lanterns that had been thrown away because the owners thought they couldn't be saved. You can resurrect them over and over and over. You can't say that about too many other brands but there are a few out there. The problem is you start getting into a different set of fuels that offer their own problems. 

As to a kerosene stove, you can still find some Optimus, Primus, Coleman marine out there. There are some new ones as well. Look at the Kerostove: 

http://www.kerostove.com/

Or the Butterfly brand: 

http://www.harvestoutfitters.com/

If it were me, I'd look for a Coleman stove at garage sales. You can often pick up very good, little used stoves from folks that no longer want to camp. And they are often very cheap.

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## sofasurfer

Really great info. Thanks. I am especially surprised to learn that coleman fuel is just gas, or to put it another way, that we could have always used just gasoline in our Coleman stoves.

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## natertot

I prefer using either diesel fuel or gas/oil mixed for my two stroke cooking needs..... :toomany: 

Actually, Rick has good advice. I didn't know all that Rick said, but I own a handful of Coleman products and I've yet to be disappointed by them.

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## Rick

Folks have been using gasoline in them for years. Coleman fuel or White Gas burns very clean because it doesn't have the additives. As a result you don't get fouling problems in the stove or lantern. But it isn't a huge problem and it really depends on the personality of the stove and brand of gasoline you use. Some stoves will never need cleaning and work for years on gasoline. Other stoves like a little maintenance once or twice a year. 

You can burn naptha in them as well. One could argue the White Gas is Naptha but there are subtle differences. Anywhoo. It's been a while since I've bought any naptha so I'm not sure what the price is relative to gasoline.

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## Rick

Here's a pic of one I picked up a few years back. I think they had grilled on it. It was in pretty sad shape. 

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Here's what it looked like after cleaning. 

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It works good as new. Every item you see on that stove can be replaced. Parts are still available for it.

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## Rick

I got to looking at those pics and remembered I bought two of them at the same time. Here's the one they had grilled on. 

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and what it looked like after. I mixed the pics above. Sorry. 

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Here's what the second one looked like before: 

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And after. Now I think I have them right: 

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## sofasurfer

Thanks for sharing this info with me. 
Is Coleman the place to go for parts or are there other places to buy them also?

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## crashdive123

Here's a thread where Rick listed some sources for parts.  http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...=coleman+parts

I also have quite a few stoves - once you get started it can become addictive.

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## Rick

I also forgot to mention that if you go with a liquid stove there is also the option of converting it to gas. Walmart and many other places carry a device called a propane converter. It simply replaces the gas tank and the generator. You can then use propane or Benzomatic tanks. Here's one Hunter posted that has been converted. (Don't ask about the oven!)

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## tipacanoe

I had the pleasure of buying a old two burner stove that hadn't been used enough to even scrape the paint for $10 and it included the $15 propane converter, and at another yard sale bought the oven (never used) for .25 cents.  I wouldn't look at flea markets, but yard sales have the best prices from my experience.

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## Rick

I've had some good luck with Craig's List as well. Some of my older pieces I was able to pick up for cheap off Craig's List. In fact, the two stoves above were CL finds.

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## randyt

I can't help myself, what about that oven?

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## crashdive123

> I can't help myself, what about that oven?


As you can see, it is missing the glass.  You can read about the adventures in this thread and see the new glass in post #35.  
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...highlight=oven

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## randyt

Aha, I remember that thread.

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## Wise Old Owl

wow Rick we have a lot in common.
add msr and alcohol!

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## Rick

I didn't go there because he was interested in LPG and Gas. I just referenced "other fuels". The whole class of Isopropane and alcohol stoves present their own set of advantages and disadvantages. I once tried Acetone in an alcohol stove. As near as I can tell you can boil water in under 3 seconds if you can get it close enough to the 4 foot flame.

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## hunter63

Burns the hair off your arms as well......
In all the fooling around with this stove and oven, I just learned that this stove was a conversion....Thanks Rick!
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The tank of gas was maybe 20 years old when I got it and I did have to take the burners apart and wire brush all the rust from the wafer's to make it burn right....but the gas was still good.
I vote propane.

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## randyt

I vote propane too. although a few bottles of bubble leak detector is wise to keep on hand.

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## Rick

And on the other side of the coin.....you can always siphon a little gas out of the 4X4 and have dinner. 

Yeah, it's a conversion. You can see the slots in the front where the tank hangs. If you pick up a complete tank that includes a generator you'll be able to go either way. You know, sorta AC/DC....

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## hunter63

> And on the other side of the coin.....you can always siphon a little gas out of the 4X4 and have dinner. 
> 
> Yeah, it's a conversion. You can see the slots in the front where the tank hangs. If you pick up a complete tank that includes a generator you'll be able to go either way. You know, sorta AC/DC....


Hey, hey, hey, this is a family site......So now I need to go find me a tank and generator......Will it ever end?...OMG

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## Rick

The next time you and the family are out testing your survival skills and you are out of gasoline let the family gnash teeth and wring hands for a bit. Then whip out your propane conversion and fix breakfast. There's nothing like a good breakfast to lighten up a true survival experience.

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