This thing will burn piss. If you can light it on fire itll burn it! Ive used JP-8, diesel and white gas and it just goes. No issues! Every time!I just wouldnt try to simmer with it... But if you need hot water now this is your stove.

Like Rowan said, this guy will burn just about anything. I would recommend white gas for optimum efficiency though, it burns hotter and cleaner than lighter fluid. Coleman camper fluid is the same as MSR super fuel but much cheaper.

haven't tried this myself, but i think it would burn fine. however burning lighter fluid may lead to the jet clogging faster. these things will burn just about anything...

Nope. For that you want the Primus Omnifuel.

http://www.primuscamping.com/product.php?id=3

I have not used this version of the MSR stove, but I have used a previous version of the MSR Multi-Fuel stove while I was in the Marine Corps. I used it on multiple operations above the Arctic Circle during the winter; as well as operations in just about every climate and season. I have excellent experiences using white gas, military mo-gas, military diesel, as well as aviation fuel (just checked with the maintenance officer and then filled the fuel bottle from the fuel sample tube on a Cobra helicopter). I agree that you need the maintenance kit that goes with it.
I no longer have my original stove, but will be replacing it with this model soon.

MSR stoves are simple the best. I have used them for over 15 years in all types of conditions at all elevations. You can count on them. When my stoves start acting up, and the repair kit doesn't fix the problem, I send them to MSR repair with $35 per stove (includes return shipping) for overhaul. They often just send me new pumps with the rebuilds or entirely new stoves. Stoves are two important to settle for second best.

personal experience. use Jet Fuel. burns clean but be sure to blow flame out just before it goes out on its own to avoid sooting. Jet will be avialiable as all military aircraft use it. note Jet is availiable world wide.

In addition to the previous statements regarding diesel fuel being a non-clean burning fuel, causing inherent clogging, & high maintenance issues, preheating can be a pain since you can't use diesel fuel for this purpose due to it's low flammability. For this reason try to find methylated spirit tabs, preheating/priming paste, lighter fluid, or preferably, hard to acquire for you, white gas solely for this purpose. I'll give you some links for these products @ the end of my answer.

On the plus side, diesel works on high pressure, much like kerosene therefore making it imperative that you use the included "X" jet for proper stove functioning. Diesel fuel is also more fuel efficient as compared to kerosene & white gas meaning you can boil more water using less fuel, however @ a slower rate.

From Wikipedia, "The United States Army and NATO use only diesel engines and turbines because of fire hazard. Diesel fuel does not explode in a manner such as petrol does, it just slowly burns. US Army gasoline-engined tanks during World War II were nicknamed Ronsons, because it only took a single spark to ignite 50 or more gallons of highly volatile gasoline."

pmk252, I sincerely hope our answers have helped you with your question & stay safe!

Here are the preheating product links I referred to earlier:

http://www.coghlans.com/catalogue/productList.php?catID=5

http://www.coghlans.com/catalogue/productList.php?catID=9

http://www.vargooutdoors.com/store/STOVES-BACKPACKING/c119/p1215/Coghlan&%2339;s-Fire-Paste/product_info.html?osCsid=a3d91f2f921f3f1063ce7bae5738e6cf

http://www.vargooutdoors.com/store/STOVES-BACKPACKING/c119/p993/Esbit-Solid-Fuel-Tabs/product_info.html

You might also want to take along one of the MSR Expedition Service Kits. It'll provide you with lots of the small parts that could possible be damaged/over worked due to the use of diesel fuel and the dust. Also, as phil mentioned, it can be a bit tricky to get these stoves to simmer, however, pumping the fuel bottle 4-5 times when its full and a bit more as it empties will give you a lower pressure and thus lower flame, making it easier to simmer. I've had MSR stoves for years and they've never let me down!

Hanging a liquid fuel stove is a risky endeavor. For one, the idea of hanging the stove and fuel bottle make things tricky. The other issue is lighting the stove and making sure the hanging system is long enough so nothing is caught on fire. I would HIGHLY discourage trying this in a vestibule of a tent. Hanging it outside could be possible, but the rigging needed to do so might be to complicated and weighty. That is why Cascade Designs (parent company of MSR) has not developed one and most likely will never do so.

The only idea I've heard of is using a license plate rigged so it hangs (tying a braided cable into the four corners) and then the stove itself (really any liquid, satellite-type stove) can be placed on top of it. I would also recommend securing the stove onto the license plate somehow (i.e. metal clasp or metal tie like a piece of cable or wire secured to the fuel line and stove). Hanging the stove itself is too risky and complicated to make it a viable option in the backcountry in my opinion.

if you want to burn alcohol you can make your own stove, the best is a supercat:
http://zenstoves.net/LowPressure.htm

But this will be very problematic at low temps and high altitude.

I don't believe so.

Pure alcohol is one of the only fuels the XGK EX will not burn. It will however burn oxygenated fuel, unleaded gas blended with ethanol.

For lower altitudes (less than 8,000'?) the Whisper Lite is an excellent choice as it is lighter and MUCH quieter than an XGK, but at higher altitudes you really need the XGK. I'm not sure exactly what the difference is, but at the 14,300' camp on Denali, a Whisperlite will barely boil water, if even simmer it, while an XGK cranks out gallons of hot water.

Why would the temperature and altitude affect the white gas in one stove better than another?

Good luck trying to light a Whisperlite at 7000m in -29C temperature!

The XGK EX cranks out 10k BTU's & I feel handles wind conditions better since it is a plate burner. Once it gets going it's almost impossible to blow out. It is multi-fuel which is a big plus. Outside the US, white gas isn't always available but kerosene is. The drawbacks are it is heavier are much louder. The XGK & EX have proven themselves countless times on worldwide, high altitude expeditions.

The WhisperLite is almost as hot, lighter, & the International version burns kerosene as well as white gas. Both stoves work great in all temperature ranges & when using the included wind screen & heat reflector become rock solid performers in windy conditions. Both stoves work great & will continue to do so for many years to come with a minimal amount of maintenance.

A quiet plate burner stove is an oxymoron & has yet to be invented however the Primus Omni-Fuel is a bit quieter.

FYI, if you use your stove without the wind screen, place a small piece of aluminum foil over the attached plastic pump especially during pre-heating. This will protect it from any flames that might flare up during this stage.

Barring defective parts or lack of bottle pressure: Have you followed step 4 of the instructions?

The generator tube MUST be warmed first before the stove will work properly. I wait until I hear the (After)burner starts to roar before I open the valve.

I've got this stove & have never had any performance issues.

It sounds like you might be having pressurization problems. First off lubricate the pump leather with mineral oil. If this doesn't solve your problem, change out all the rubber parts, o-rings, check valve ball & spring, fuel bottle gasket, etc. These are all found in the expedition repair kit. Clean out the fuel line with the cable by moving it in & out. Make sure you have clean, new fuel.

Hopefully these suggestions will get your stove running to optimum performance once again.

That would a negative, Ghost Rider!

pretty sure backcountry only does retail man, no wholesale. i would imagine you would have to buy way more than three units from any distributor to get a pricebreak anyway.

The XGK EX would torch the neoprene insulation of the Jetboil cup!

I bought the XGK EX for the same reason you're dealing with: My Jetboil can't handle cold temps.

I would not recommend using this in conjunction with a JetBoil Cup! This stove gets very hot and you will melt the brazing on the heatsink and most definitely melt the neoprene. The JetBoil cup was designed for a specific purpose and I would only use it with the JetBoil Stove. Getting a new pot can be fairly inexpensive and doesn't require anything high end. Obviously if you want to keep your weight down, you will need to buy aluminum (hard anodized is recommended) and/or titanium (the MSR Exo2 pot is optimum for use with the XGK EX). The other issue is storing the stove. Getting a 1.5L pot or greater will allow you to store the stove in the pot thus having everything together when your ready to cook.

The XGK EX represents the best there is in terms of extreme cold weather stove use. It's highly recommended and very reliable. In these kinds of conditions, reliability is the most important factor.

use storm matches from REI
once lit they will not go out
they are a must for weather extremes high wind rain snow.

use storm matches from REI
once lit they will not go out
they are a must for weather extremes high wind rain snow.

Lighting with a flint: Yes, you can. I do it fairly often just to make sure I can, should the butane lighter die. It takes a bit of practice and finesse- just like lighting a fire by flint, but knowing how to do this might save your beans when your lighter dies.

If flint is all you got, then have at it.

However, I use a long neck lighter for BBQ's to light my stove (They're the same length as my spoon).

And people who own this stove are lighting it at -20C with a wind of 15MPH at 6500m!

Either will work. I think it might be a little dangerous to light with a flint spark because you might have to leave the gas on longer than you would for a match allowing for a larger flame. I am not sure though. Good luck, don't singe your eyebrows!

You would be hard pressed to light it with a flint. You will need a match or a lighter. A flint would be a last resort.

I have a 33oz bottle.

After about 10 4min burns, I had approx. a little more than half bottle of fuel left. And that includes the space left due to the fill line.

You'll bring home extra fuel after six days out using the MSR 22oz fuel bottle. This is using the stove four times a day. It's relatively fuel efficient for what you get in return. Essentially all the MSR liquid fuel stoves consume the same amount of fuel while putting out 10K BTU's. MSR has 11, 22, & 33oz fuel bottles.

I call the XGK EX a jet afterburner for a reason! It is very loud!

And a simmer-er; it's not. Plain and simple!

This stove is LOUD as are all plate burners. One consolation is it keeps the bears @ bay! If you're looking for a good simmering stove, keep looking! The XGK is a water boiler & it performs that task very efficiently.

This stove is loud. You can be 30 ft away and know that someone has fired up an XGK. Most stoves in this High Altitude Expedition liquid fuel are loud.Well it kinda simmers. If you are wanting to do some gourmet cooking then this is not the stove for you. It works great for melting snow, boiling water, cooking soup, noodles and that is about it. If you want a stove that can simmer really well then look at the MSR Dragonfly. It is just as loud as the XGK. The flame control is a candle flame all the way up to a blow tourch and everything in between. They both work great in the winter, but the XGK is more durable and works better at really high altitude.