Saw my camp stove flame go from orange to blue after cleaning the jets for the first time. What a difference.

I've been using this old Whisperlite on the John Muir Trail for like 7 years and it always had this lazy yellow flame that took forever to boil water. Last weekend before a quick overnight at Kings Canyon I finally took a wire brush to the jet assembly and now it roars blue and boils in half the time. Anyone else put off basic gear maintenance way longer than they should?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy52428d ago

Huh, I gotta disagree with you here. I've been running my old stove with that yellow flame for years in the Sierra and it works fine for what I need. The orange flame is actually safer because you can see it better in daylight and it's less likely to flare up on you when you're cooking in a breeze. Plus cleaning the jets on those things is a pain, you risk messing up the seal or stripping the threads if you're not careful. I've watched too many people at campsites ruin their stoves by overcleaning them and then they're stuck with a cold dinner. If it ain't broke don't fix it, that's my rule.

oscarb7728d ago

Yeah I've been there. I had an old Peak 1 stove that ran yellow for years and I figured the same thing, leave it alone. Then one time I was cooking up at Bishop and the pot took forever to boil, like 10 minutes for a cup of water. Finally I pulled the jet and found a chunk of dirt blocking the hole. A quick poke with a sewing needle fixed it and it ran blue again. If your stove is boiling water fast enough and not leaving soot on your pots I wouldn't mess with it either. But if it starts taking forever to heat up that's when you gotta clean it.