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How Much Coleman Fuel Do I Need?

June 17, 2012, Submitted by: Ken (Modern Survival Blog)

Ever wondered how much Coleman camp stove fuel (Coleman® Fuel – white gas, or
propane) that you would consume or use under certain conditions? Many of us have one
of these stoves, the brand name of which has been around for decades and is considered
to be of good quality. I thought it would be helpful to calculate and list the following
Coleman camp stove fuel consumption estimations which will help you decide how much
of the fuel you may wish to stock up on, based on your own needs.

I determined the consumption values based on the Coleman website per-hour usage for
their Two-Burner camp stoves (Coleman® Fuel and Propane). The statistics are based on
both burners running on high (a worst case scenario – if you will) and calculated for 1, 2,
and 4 hour per day consumption scenarios. Unless you will be boiling water for drinking
and/or heating water for washing, etc, I would guesstimate that a likely realistic
consumption may be 1 hour per day, maybe 2 if cooking foods that require more use of
heat or for more than a few people.

I attempt to make no cost comparison between the methods which would include cost
differences between Coleman white fuel, unleaded gasoline (which can be used with the
Coleman Duel-fuel stove), and propane. There are advantages and disadvantages to each
method, which will vary depending on your own circumstances and needs.

Two-Burner Camp Stove Fuel Consumption (White

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Gas)

Slightly higher values assumed for unleaded gasoline (burns a bit cooler than white-gas)
Both burners on high
Gallons
(values rounded)

GALLONS day week month year

1hr/day 0.2 1 4 53
2hr/day 0.3 2 9 105
4hr/day 0.6 4 18 210

Two-Burner Camp Stove Fuel Consumption (Propane)

Both burners on high

1-pound cylinders
(values rounded)

POUNDS day week month year

1hr/day 1 8 31 370
2hr/day 2 15 62 739
4hr/day 4 31 123 1,47

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Types of Fuel for Coleman Camp Stoves

Coleman® Fuel (White Gas)

Also called white gas or camping fuel, you can’t beat it for camping in the winter or at
high altitude. Burns hot even at subzero temperatures. And unlike butane and propane,
output doesn’t falter as temperatures drop. Coleman® Fuel is very refined, and burns
hotter and cleaner than other liquid fuels. It’s not difficult to come by. By carrying the
fuel in small refillable fuel bottles, you don’t have the disposal considerations you do with
empty propane or butane cylinders. But unlike appliances that use those fuels, you do
need to fill liquid-fuel appliances. And for steady output, they need to be pumped
occasionally to maintain pressure within the fuel tank.

Shelf Life of Coleman® Fuel (White Gas)

An un-opened container of Coleman® Fuel stored in a dry area with no rapid extreme
changes in temperature will remain viable for five to seven years. An opened container
stored in the same area will remain viable for up to two years though will be at its best if
used within a year. Coleman® Propane Cylinders can be stored indefinitely in a dry area.
The propane fuel inside the cylinder will not break down.

Unleaded Gasoline

Coleman DualFuel™ appliances are made to accommodate automobile fuel. Coleman’s

modified valving even allows for differences between summer and winter blends. At 1/10
of the cost of propane, unleaded gas is the cheapest of all appliance fuels. And it’s
available everywhere, of course. In an emergency, you can siphon gas from the tank of
your RV or car to use in a DualFuel lantern or stove. Although it’s the most economical
fuel to use, you’ll extend the life of your appliance by using purer Coleman™ Fuel most
of the time.

Propane

More campers use this fuel than any other, probably because of convenience and ease of
use. No pouring. No priming. Just attach the fuel cylinder to the appliance and you’re in
business. Coleman equipment is pressure-regulated at 15 psi (pounds per square inch) to

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ensure steady output throughout the life of the cylinder. Propane offers great overall
reliability, but be aware that it operates less effectively at subfreezing temperatures than
liquid fuels. Cold will cause a pressure drop in the cylinder and output will diminish as a
result. If you tend to set up camp and stay for days or weeks, investing in a refillable
bulk tank will significantly reduce the overall cost of fuel.

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30 Comments - Add to the Discussion

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Category: alternative-energy
Tags: camp stoves

30 Comments to “How Much Coleman Fuel Do I Need?”

1. chiller says:
June 17, 2012 at 4:44 PM

I’d be more concerned about having the ability to start fires because eventually, all
fuel runs out and you’ll need to make a camp fire with whatever will burn.

Reply
Ken says:
June 17, 2012 at 5:02 PM

The point of this article was not to worry or to imagine what would happen in a
complete SHTF and TEOTWAWKI, but simply to helpfully point out the amount
of fuels needed given the various scenarios of 1, 2, or 4 hours burn time per
day coupled with how much you would like to have in reserve. I know that I, for
one, way back when… initially didn’t know how much fuel to reasonably expect
to consume until I did the math. Hopefully this will help one or two other folks
out there with a quick reference guesstimate.

It would be an entirely different article topic to discuss the worries of a long

term complete societal breakdown of infrastructure and supply chains such
that simply storing X-months worth of fuel would not be enough…

Reply
Ted in Texas says:
June 17, 2012 at 7:12 PM

Good article. Very helpful. One note, though. I recently went camping and

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we used a can of Coleman fuel (white gas) that had been opened over 20
years ago. We strained it, as always, and it worked fine.

Reply
Major Prepper says:
June 18, 2012 at 10:11 AM

In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, sometimes what you really need is just

something to hold you over till you have the time to create the long term
solution. Thanks Ken for doing this math for us.

Reply
Ken says:
June 18, 2012 at 10:17 AM

Exactly. Supplies like this, and others like food storage, are just short
term solutions until…

A. Things return to ‘normal’

B. You are able to adapt to new means of procuring or replacing said
supplies with an alternative source or method

Reply
Sagan says:
August 5, 2012 at 9:01 PM

Need to purchase a Kelly Kettle!

Reply
Ken says:
August 5, 2012 at 11:13 PM

…or a Solo Stove

Reply
2. Ted K says:
June 18, 2012 at 2:05 AM

Nice Article Ken,

Thank you for doing the research and the theoretical burn-time chart. I would like
to remind the viewers of this site that having lived off white gas stoves and lanterns
for a number of years, Be sure to replace the rings and seals for the pump on at
least an annual basis. Keep plenty of mantles around for the lanterns. Once burned,
the mantles are very delicate and not shock proof.

The hassle of finding spare parts for my white gas stove lead me to switch to
propane for extended periods of off-grid living. A reminder that this was not a SHTF
scenario. I was living off grid by choice for 1/2 the year and my govt. duty station
was off-grid the other 1/2 of the year. I did this for 3.5 years.

I now enjoy the benefits of living in the land of flush toilets and light switches like

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most of the readers of this blog. Survive well to all

Reply
3. sam says:
June 18, 2012 at 7:30 AM

curious, what is the difference between high-octane gasoline, and white gas?

Reply
Ken says:
June 18, 2012 at 7:48 AM

@sam, The basic difference: purity. Coleman fuel is more ‘highly refined’ and
doesn’t include additives that gasoline has. Also, apparently Coleman fuel is
very low octane (I’ve read that it is in the 50′s).

From Coleman:

Unleaded gas should only be used in Coleman® appliances marked as “Dual

Fuel™” or Unleaded Fuel” and only the lowest octane unleaded gas
available should be used. Unleaded gas contains additives that are more
difficult to vaporize than the gas itself and the higher the octane rating of the
fuel, the more additives mixed with the gas. Unleaded gas from Canada should
never be used in any Coleman® appliance, even the “Dual Fuel™” and
“Unleaded”, as there is an additive in the fuel which will damage the tank,
valve, generator and burner assembly.

Coleman® “Dual Fuel™” and Unleaded” appliances have been designed to

handle the additives in unleaded gas. The use of unleaded gas in any
Coleman® appliance designed for use only with Coleman® Fuel can result in a
rapid build-up of carbon in the generator and damage to the rust-resistant
coating inside the fuel tank. The cost savings in using unleaded fuel in a
Coleman® Fuel appliance would be rapidly offset by the cost of replacing the
generator and eventually the fuel tank or entire appliance.

Reply
sam says:
June 18, 2012 at 9:17 AM

thanks.

Reply
showpare says:
June 18, 2012 at 1:15 PM

Using unleaded gas in a coleman fuel only camp stove is not encouraged, I
understand that. Could you a time or two, in an emergency? Will an
unleaded generator fit the coleman fuel only camp stoves?

Reply
showpare says:
June 18, 2012 at 8:47 PM

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How Much Coleman Fuel Do I Need? | Modern Survival Blog http://modernsurvivalblog.com/alternative-energy/how-...

^ invisible ink?

Reply
Ken says:
June 18, 2012 at 8:57 PM

I believe I’ve read that it’s okay now and again, however it will
apparently ruin the generator if it is not a dual-fuel model. The
Coleman web site has information on this. I do suspect that
invisible ink will not work either

Reply
4. Rick says:
June 18, 2012 at 5:13 PM

I’ve heard the shelf life of Coleman fuel is in the range of 5 to 7 years, but I have
both a lantern and a single burner stove and both were stored with fuel left in them
for the last 12 or 13 years. Recently as a check I pumped up and lit both of them,
and voila, both pumps and appliances still worked like a champ, (after replacing the
mantles on the lantern), so I just “topped” them off with the same can that I filled
them from. I’ve since bought and stashed more fuel but it’s nice to know that the
old fuel still works OK.

Reply
Ken says:
June 18, 2012 at 7:45 PM

I agree. I had several cans that were 15 years old, and they fire up just fine.

Reply
5. Ted K says:
June 19, 2012 at 2:04 AM

To Ken and the readers of this blog:

Having lived off-grid and doing a fair amount of wilderness travel, I would like to
suggest that the preppers out there consider white gas appliances made by
companies other than Coleman.

Case in point, my stove was a MSR white gas stove with multi-fuel capacity. I was a
GS-5 on the pay scale so I could not afford real expensive stuff. The burner was well
away from the fuel tank and it worked every time for over a decade. I had other
stoves such as Optimus brand and I tried the first in the series of Coleman stoves in
the Grand Canyon. At the end of the week, the only stoves working were the
optimus and the MSR. Coleman has done some improvements since then but so has
MSR.

In wilderness settings, the stove is going to be used several times a day, every single
day. I used it to boil water and to melt snow. If your water filter craps out and dies
on you, you still have a way to make water drinkable at the cost of fuel. The MSR is
good for two settings: On or Off. It does not do a good job at simmering things but I

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was not eating gourmet items in the high/backcountry. I suspect that in a SHTF
scenario, most people will not be using chafing dishes or fondue pots.

The MSR stoves are expensive for what you get. They actually look kind of flimsy.
But, they work very well and it was worth every penny of my GS-5 wages when I
was hiking for a living. The National Parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and
Sequoia/Kings Canyon are all high traffic areas so I did and would treat all water
prior to ingesting. I burned nothing but white gas in mine. It was plentiful and I
always made sure I had adequate supply chain. Each year, I would check or replace
the seals on the pump. Contact MSR for the maintenance kit. Survive well to all.

Reply
Ken says:
June 19, 2012 at 7:02 AM

Thanks for your opinion, Ted. Knock on wood… I have had my current Coleman
stove for about 10 years without issue, however I have not used it a fraction of
what you had used your stoves! I’ve never owned an MSR stove, and I’m sure
there are several good alternatives to the Coleman.

Reply
6. Slazmo says:
June 20, 2012 at 12:26 AM

A product called ‘Stabil’ here in Aus works wonders for keeping unleaded fuel fresh
for times upto a year or more – http://www.sta-bil.com.au.

I’m pretty sure that there would be something available in the US that would do
similar to keep fuel fresh.

Reply
Ken says:
June 20, 2012 at 7:24 AM

Although the Coleman fuel I’ve used seems to last for many years, gasoline will
‘go bad’ within months and will require a fuel stabilizer such as PRI-G
(apparently the best) or Stabil (works well – costs less).

Reply
Mortimer says:
June 20, 2012 at 10:15 PM

@Slazmo.

Both Stabil and the PRI products work well. They basically increase the octane
level in the gas (fuel). Gas degrades over time octane wise. Using more, twice
as much for example, will increase the amount of time that the gas stays
‘good’. The PRI product costs a great deal more. You get what you pay for.

In the US, the refineries make different varieties of gas depending on time of
year. Thank the EPA. Some times of year are better than others.

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Be well.

Reply
Slazmo says:
June 24, 2012 at 2:25 AM

Mortimer – some high octane fuels we have here in Aus like 95 – 98 and
100 Pump fuel actually increase in octane with time – must be like a good
wine…

Reply
7. marc says:
July 7, 2012 at 10:32 PM

that chart was exactly what i was looking for big help, even though i know you
shouldnt use in the house in case tshtf and if your trying to cook outside then the
neighbors see you have food. so i was thinking of filling up a 30 gallon barrel with
kerosene to cook inside ?

Reply
Ken says:
July 8, 2012 at 8:05 AM

Kerosen cooks stoves can apparently be used indoors safely while kerosene
stoves, heaters, or lamps are only as safe as the people who use them. Invest in
a carbon monoxide detector.

Kerosene storage should be in specific approved containers.

Reply
8. Chuck says:
July 14, 2012 at 6:05 AM

Where can I get white gas. With the latest weather disaster here cans went to $15. I
want 25 gallons in my supply.

Reply
Ken says:
July 14, 2012 at 7:49 AM

‘Coleman Fuel’ (white gas) is widely available in most all sporting sections of
‘big box’ stores.

Reply
9. Chuck says:
August 6, 2012 at 8:17 AM

How do I make or replace Coleman fuel.

Reply
Ken says:
August 6, 2012 at 10:17 AM

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How Much Coleman Fuel Do I Need? | Modern Survival Blog http://modernsurvivalblog.com/alternative-energy/how-...

Unless you own a refinery, you need to buy your Coleman Fuel at any sporting
goods store

Reply
10. Ben the engineer says:
August 24, 2012 at 3:04 AM

Here is a summation on 50 years of camping.

My old svea 123 clogged often, but could be made to work.
My MSR white gas worked fine, untill the day it tried to kill me.
(Rubber hose leaked).
Heavier, but bulletproof is the Coleman 502 one burner.
Used it for more than 20 years- white gas.
Easy to fix if ignored for a few years.
White gas- more btu per pound.
Propane- easier, but runs out unexpectedly, and costlier.
Used three quarts last year for 5 days, cooking for three people in Canada, carrying
gear and canoes from lake to lake.
Breakfast, dinner and hot water for tea and washing dishes.

Reply
11. TripodXL says:
August 24, 2012 at 11:39 PM

@All; Yeah, jet stove or Navaho stove or Solo stove…no fuel to carry what so ever!!!
Runs for ever…period. Never clogged or ran out of fuel!!! Survive well. Enjoy.

Reply

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