Cleaing Liquid Fuel Stoves (MSR Whisperlite Intl) with Automotive Injector Cleaner?

Macchina · Mar 12, 2011

I have an MSR Whisperlite that clogs up every now and again when using older Coleman Fuel. I can easily unclog the jet, but was wondering if a bit of the Fuel Injector Cleaner meant for your car would do the trick. Has anybody ever done this? Any reason to think it may do damage to any parts on the stove?

nc527 · Mar 13, 2011

michaelmcgo said:
I have an MSR Whisperlite that clogs up every now and again when using older Coleman Fuel. I can easily unclog the jet, but was wondering if a bit of the Fuel Injector Cleaner meant for your car would do the trick. Has anybody ever done this? Any reason to think it may do damage to any parts on the stove?

Does your stove have the shaker jet? if so you just have to shake the stove up and down a few times to clear the jet. My simmerlite has it.

Rprecision · Mar 13, 2011

I beat the living snot out of my Wisperlite International. ALL I run is coleman fuel never a single problem. Just a shake here and there

As for the additive, only thing that makes me cringe is what kind of chemical you could introduce to what your cooking boiling ?

Macchina · Mar 13, 2011

nc527 said:
Does your stove have the shaker jet? if so you just have to shake the stove up and down a few times to clear the jet. My simmerlite has it.

It does, but sometimes it clogs to the point that the shaker doesn't clear it and I have to disassemble it to clear the jet.

kgd · Mar 13, 2011

Ugh, that shaker thing never worked for me and I found it clogged more often with the shaker wire in compared to after I removed it. So I removed that silly little wire and it hardly ever clogs anymore. You do have to disassemble when it does clog though. I've gone to a trangia for most of my stove needs now.

redpoint · Mar 15, 2011

Wow - I've never had an MSR stove clog or mis-fire on me. As others have said, the shaker jet is designed to remove all the carbon build-up. I'd try these things:

1] Make sure your fuel is relatively new. Old fuel can cause clogging etc.

2] Every few years [assuming the stove is used regularly], it's a good idea to purchase an MSR rebuild kit [for your model] and rebuild the stove. The kit replaces all the high-wear parts. It takes a couple of hours to do max.

Woods Walker · Mar 16, 2011

michaelmcgo said:
It does, but sometimes it clogs to the point that the shaker doesn't clear it and I have to disassemble it to clear the jet.

Same here. Also the leather cup should be oiled every few years.

Erasmus · Mar 17, 2011

The main thing that jams on a whitegas stove is the little brass jet getting clogged.

I just unscrew it, toss it into the bottom of a clean empty bean can, and slosh it for a couple of minutes in carburetor cleaner. I then fish it out, blow through it, and hold it up to the light. I'm done cleaning, if I can barely see a pinpoint of light.

Do not hog out the tiny pinpoint jet with some vastly oversized sewing needle. The holes need to be the tiny diameter they are from the factory.

Macchina · Mar 17, 2011

That shaker jet may not work wonders to push out clogs from the inside out, buy if you take the jet off the stove and use the tiny steel pin on the end of the "shaker" you can clean out your jet (from the top end) really good in the field. When the jet is clogged, you can't see through it, but after you push the "shaker" through (you can feel the clog coming out) you can see a pinpoint of light.

My question is: has anyone found an additive that will clean these clogs automatically?