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One fill up will last through a typical weekend of camping. Integrated fuel tank. Precise flame control. Fold-out legs. Burner bowl and pot supports help protect flame in windy conditions. Operates on Coleman fuel, unleaded gasoline or kerosene (kerosene generator included). Dry weight: 21.6 oz. Fuel capacity: 10.3 fl. oz. Coleman Fuel & Unleaded Gasoline: Input (high) BTUs: 7500. Burn time (simmer): 7 hrs 0 min. Burn time (high): 1 hr 23 min. Boil time (1 qt., 70º F, covered pot): 4 min 25 sec. Kerosene: Input BTUs: 6500. Burn time (simmer): 9 hrs 0 min. Burn time (high): 1 hr 34 min. Boil time (1 qt., 70º F, covered pot): 4 min 36 sec.
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Get ready to cook with the Coleman Exponent 550B725 Multi-Fuel camp stove, which weighs 21.6 ounces. Fill up the integrated tank one time and use it all weekend. It operates on either Coleman fuel or unleaded gasoline, and can also operate on kerosene with an optional generator. Thanks to Coleman's PerfectFlow feature, it's regulated for a constant, consistent burn (without flaring or flickering). Other features include fold-out legs and wind-protecting burner bowel and pot supports. The Coleman Exponent 550-6771 Maintenance Kit is a recommended accessory.
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Coleman Exponent Multi-Fuel stove - Kerosene Review
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My brother has one of these. We went on a five day backpacking trip with it, and it worked out pretty good. Try to keep it dry, because if water gets in the top, it'll be hard to light, and will flare. We used White Gas, which worked excellent in the stove, allowing excellent simmer capability.
After we got back from the trip, we were curious to see how well Kerosene would work in the stove. We switched to the Kerosene generator, and poured some Kerosene in the tank. Results: The stove will run on Kerosene, but only burned clean at full blast. The flame will turn yellow, and sooty at any setting other than full blast, and will blacken your pots. If you are just using the stove to boil water, Kerosene will work, but I recommend sticking to White Gas if you can.
We have not tried Unleaded in it.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Rating:
(4
out of 5) @ 2008-05-03
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Fantastic White Gas Stove!
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I just love this stove and can't praise it enough. I bought mine 20 years ago after reading a rave review in Backpacker magazine (It was called Peak 1 Multi-Fuel at the time, but it is the exact same stove as the Exponent Multi-Fuel). I use it mainly for cold weather backpacking (butane/cannister stoves perform poorly in the cold); for summer I use lighter/smaller stoves. I have used this stove heavily over the years and it has performed flawlessly, reliably, and impressively.
The fuel economy is amazing and is the key to this stove. One tank of white gas (10.3 oz.) is rated for 1 hour 23 minutes burn time at full blast and 7 hours on simmer! You probably won't ever have to use it at full blast, as the flame spread is quite big at that setting (with a pot on the burner). Even with a large one gallon pot I didn't have to use it at anywhere near full blast; I usually only use it at about halfway between simmer and full blast. I also use the rectangular aluminum Coleman storage/cook pots that were specifically made for this stove (weight = 8.5 oz). They fit this stove perfectly to give you a nice compact & complete cook package (I'm not sure if Coleman still sells this, but highly recommend it if they do).
The weight of this stove (21.6 oz. empty) really isn't bad when you take into consideration the excellent fuel economy and that you won't have to take an extra fuel bottle with you unless you are on quite an extended trip. Most other white gas stoves are nearly as heavy, but don't have the fuel economy or power of this stove, so you will be lugging a lot of extra gas.
The flame adjustability is excellent too; no problem to simmer.
I have only used white gas with this so I can't comment on its kerosene performance.
The stove has been absolutely bombproof. I haven't performed ANY maintenance on it at all. Every time I see someone with a Whisperlite, it seems like they are always having to make repairs or trying to clean the jets in order to get it going again. I have even let my Coleman sit around with old gas in it for long periods of time (not recommended) with no problems at the next lighting. I do recommend that you oil the pump cup every now and again.
Lighting this stove is easy - just pump and light - no priming required. It takes a minute or two to go from the initial high yellow flame to the tight blue cooking flame as it "self primes". Lighting a Whisperlite is a minor ordeal, sometimes major.
The stove noise is only moderate; not nearly as loud as a Whisperlite.
The integrated windscreen works pretty well. In high winds though you should still use a separate windscreen to save on gas and boil times (use caution if you do this so you do not overheat the gas tank - it should never be hot to the touch).
I own many different backpacking stoves; but would probably keep this if only allowed to own one. It's probably a little heavy for warm weather backpacking but is ideal in the cold where a more robust stove is required.
I would love to see Coleman do a lightweight redesign of this stove and shave some weight off. For instance, Coleman could use the excellent legs on their Exponent Feather 442 stove on the Multi-Fuel and get rid of the plastic legs and "leveling ring", which isn't very useful (I removed the ring from my stove). It's easy to level using other means. The gas tank seems thicker than need be. Coleman could save more weight here by making it to the same specs as a fuel bottle, if regulations permit.
As of this writing, Amazon isn't selling this stove anymore but it is still available at many other retailers.
Another excellent white gas stove is the Optimus Nova. It burns many different fuels without having to reconfigure the generator. A new Nova will cost you well over $100 though. You can get the Coleman for as low as about $55 new, and much less if you are lucky enough to snag one on Ebay.
Rating:
(5
out of 5) @ 2008-01-16
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20 years and it still works
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I bought my Peak One multifuel stove in the 1980's and it has worked in the toughest conditions flawlessly; world-wide. I recommend purchasing a windscreen, but other than that, its all you'll need to hit the happy trails.
Rating:
(5
out of 5) @ 2007-09-19
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Coleman Stands up to Iraqi Elements
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My Platoon of Cavalry Scouts in the us army, here in Iraq, spend weeks at a time living out of our trucks at various locations away from most forces. We have a wide variety of multi fuel types of personal stoves in our platoon, and by far Coleman brand has proven to be the best. The most reliable, even in high winds, the fastest and most effective at heating our water for coffee and food, and the most compact and travel friendly out of the five other brands we have with us.
Rating:
(5
out of 5) @ 2007-03-17
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Don't build them like they use to
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I had the older version of the same model. Lasted 10 years or so. Liked it so much I got the same design expecting same durability. Foot fell off the first time I used it. It's big. Clunky. Controls are positioned as if they wanted you to burn your fingers. I wish I didn't throw away my old one.
Rating:
(3
out of 5) @ 2006-11-09
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