UKC

Recently picked up one of these and being a bit thick getting the thing to light...

I'm letting through a little bit of fuel, but short of picking it up and tilting it to allow fuel to drip through the holes in the side, I'm not sure how the wick is supposed to get soaked (and I can't get a lighter close enough to the "cup" to light it directly)?

Also, having been trying it with diesel (as that's what the car runs on), and it's very dirty - is petrol any better?

Thanks!

In reply to Matthew B:


lots

In reply to Matthew B:
Ive got a Dragonfly and I originally ran it on the coleman fuel but its outrageously priced. I have since acquired several litres of parrafin as my girlfriends parents house have oil fired central heating. This burns just as hot but seems slightly dirtier than coleman. Its definitely something worth putting up with tho to avoid the cost of other fuel. I have friends who run their stoves on unleaded and they say it does run slightly cleaner. They use the higher octane rating petrol as they claim it burns cleaner.
With regard to getting the wick soaked, as long as mine is fully pressurised when i let the little bit of fluid out it seems to spray out with enough energy to actually reach the wick? If not, a little tilt does the trick. Im really pleased with mine and would reccommend them to anyone!

In reply to Matthew B:

Thanks both - it's a fantastic stove once it's going. Quick boiler, and good control...

So long as I'm not missing anything obvious, I'll just carry on tilting and maybe switch to petrol.

In reply to Matthew B:
Have you had it long? If you have and you've been running it on Diesel for a while it might be the jet that allows the fuel out has become blocked? Ive only cleaned mine out properly once after about 3 years of use though so its perhaps not the source of the problem. I also had the problem you mentioned about not being able to get a lighter into the "cup". In the end i bought one of those turbo jet lighter things - the kind that have the blow torch style flame (not same size flame obviously). This seemed to do the trick as you're able to direct where the flame goes.

In reply to dickydutch:

Only been used a couple of times so far, so shouldn't be anything clogged up yet. Good idea on the jet lighter.

In reply to Matthew B:

Fuel doesn't reach the wick on mine either but that doesn't seem to affect lighting particularly, although once lit I have to increase the flow very gradually to get it up to full power.

As to diesel, it should have been supplied with a spare screw-in jet that is designed for diesel (it has a slightly larger-diameter hole). I run mine on unleaded which is fine.

The Dragonfly seems to have a reputation for clogging easily, and indeed I have had clogging problems with mine while running it on some wholesale equivalent of Coleman fuel. That said, in around four years of use this is the only time when I've had serious clogging problems and I *was* using it three times a day for a month which is pretty good considering.

In reply to Matthew B:

I haven't used the dragonfly but may be able to help you a little if I relate my experiences when learning how to use the MSR whisperlite.

Firstly, make sure you use the correct jet. By default it seems the Whisprelite is set up with a jet for Petrol and Coleman fuel. Switch to the other (larger) jet if you are using paraffin/diesel etc.

Priming can be a problem when using paraffin/diesel. Diesel and paraffin are reluctant to burn by themselves. I place a very small piece of paper in the small pool of paraffin/diesel and this helps start and maintain the priming flame.

I found I was better off using unleaded petrol rather than other fuels. (Haven't tried Coleman fuel). With petrol it's always easier and faster to prime and seems very much cleaner.

I'll use Diesel or paraffin if I have no other choice.

In reply to Skyhook: second checking which jet you have fitted, it does make a difference with diesel. Otherwise have you got enough pressure? you may need to get some priming paste if you want to stick with diesel?
I've used coleman fuel, petrol, diesel, parafin, and dry cleaning fluid, all fine but with varying sooting. The dry cleaning fluid was in france, essence C I think, worked fine. Never had any problems except when an O ring dried out and I just spat on it.

try stripping and cleaning it and swapping the jet
chiz

In reply to Matthew B:

Correct jet, and it shouldn't need cleaning after two meals!

In reply to Matthew B:

I found that my "vintage" MSR (circa 1978) used to need cleaning every day when running on diesel. No idea about these "modern" versions mind!

In reply to Matthew B: just got mine out so could check.

so your problem is there's no fuel getting onto the wick, so theres no flame to light the fuel released under pressure unless you tip it?

when you let through the first bit of fuel to prime it, it normally splutters fuel (often why could flare and why a *lot* of people don't like the dragonfly) and some should get onto the wick, which you can then light. I usually use a strike a light and it will light from the sparks. Once there is the flame from the wick then the vapourised fuel should catch and fire up (sometimes I try releasing several spurts of fuel in a kind of 'revving' action to get it really firing under control, rather than releasing a single stream of spitting flamenwerfer.
Try priming paste to give that first flame and heat the unit up a bit? diesel is really one of the worst fuels for getting to light as it burns off a wick poorly, once vapourised is fine though, I use petrol mostly and just clean the pipes every now and then,
Thinking again I have actually resorted to tipping the unit to get fuel on the wick, outside the tent though....
they do get a little of getting used to, but once mastered are no bother and will happily wake the campsite for years to come
chiz

In reply to Matthew B:

surely white spirit is the best thing to use....i found it quite clean burning on my old msr. couple of quid for a big 4 litre container.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Is the Dragonfly compatible with white spirit though? It's not listed in the instruction leaflet. Would be a handy option though (and cheap, as you say).

In reply to chiz:

Okay, thanks - sounds like I'm definitely making things hard for myself using diesel - will have a play with the alternatives.

In reply to Matthew B:
a tip for lighting; use one of those pizeo on a stick things which are sold to light gas hobs in the home. Saves burning your fingers!

In reply to Matthew B: yeah, maybe do yourself a favour and get the knack of starting the thing with a bit of petrol or white fuel, then move onto tougher fuels. Play around with it, and practice starting it up/stripping it down etc when you have a spare hour outside, once I've seen how it works things like that make more sense to me and I can trouble shoot more easily. In fact I think there's a trouble shooting bit on the instructions. Think its the diesel though.
chiz