Coleman fuel or unleaded?

[tyellow57]

Morning all

I have heard that coleman fuel and unleaded gas it the same thing. I have heard a few old timers say this but am very leary about it. It sounds good, and I see these new stoves that have silver tanks that say coleman fuel or unleaded. Which is which, ha ha.

Thanks for the input. Troy

[Dale M.]

No, I dont think they are the same......... From Wikipedia....

Coleman fuel is a petroleum naphtha product marketed by The Coleman Company. Historically called white gas (not white spirit), it is a liquid petroleum fuel (100% light hydrotreated distillate) usually sold in one gallon cans.[1] It is used primarily for fueling lanterns and camp stoves. Additionally, it is a popular fuel for fire dancing. Originally, it was simply casing-head gas or drip gas which has similar properties. Drip gas was sold commercially at gas stations and hardware stores in North America until the early 1950s. The white gas sold today is a similar product but is produced at refineries with the benzene removed.[2][unreliable source?]

Coleman fuel is a mixture of cyclohexane, nonane, octane, heptane, and pentane.[citation needed]

More....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_fuel

I have always uses "Coleman Fuel" as my devices are old and never stated they could be used with unleaded gas, but I'm sure they can be.... Other alternative is Propane but devices are different also... And propane is easier for wife to run stove when she wanted to heat her coffee...

Dale

[tyellow57]

Thanks Dale

I was thinking coleman fuel had a different make up it just didn't seem that unleaded would work is why I have always used fuel.

Thanks again, Troy

[Rchr]

Personal anecdote, a month ago I took out 2 Coleman lamps (1 regular & 1 duel fuel) that I hadn't used in 17 years. The regular lamp was empty of fuel, the Duelly had some Wal-Mart white gas still in it. I immediately thought the gas was gonna be bad & the lantern would be gummed up. Everything was the opposite, I put some mantles on the Duelly pumped it up & that lantern started right up. WOW! I stared at it for a few seconds because I couldn't believe that a lantern that hadn't been used in at least 17 yrs with 17 year old gas started right up. The other lantern that I emptied out will not hold any pressure. I'm gonna get some of replacement parts for the non working lamp.

[ssutton]

My dual fuel stove runs perfect with kerosene. I have ran it for several times this way and it runs about like it does when running coleman fuel or white gas off brands. The catch is that you have to use a propane torch to heat the generator before you can light the kerosene off. Why would I do this? Well I can get kerosene for a lot less money than coleman fuel and it is easier to get when the power goes off. I am not recommending that ANYBODY do this, but I thought I would mention it so that you may at least consider it as an option in a crunch. I have also ran my dual fuel lantern the same way and it works just as well. Before I tried it, I read multiple post on other forums that said this would not work. It may eventually clog up my generator.....but so far after several hours of operation no issue.

[tony.latham]

"I have heard that coleman fuel and unleaded gas is the same thing."

Here's the Material Safety Data Sheet for Coleman Fuel:
http://www.nafaa.org/Coleman_MSDS.pdf

And for Unleaded Gas:
https://cglapps.chevron.com/msdspds/MSD ... aID=278879

I think the kicker is try leaving the same old gas in your lawnmower's carb for a couple of years and then try to start it.

T

[Shadow Catcher]

We are all propane and electric now, but still have the 70+year old Colman lantern and Preway stove my parents bought. They still work well and have never had anything but white gas/Coleman fuel. We also have dual fuel lanterns and stoves which I bought to use, in case, I could not find Coleman fuel.
Solvent naphtha (CAS #64742-89-8) 45-50%
Aliphatic petroleum distillates (CAS #64742-88-7) 45-50% There are a number of types of spirits that fill this description so who knows?
Xylene (CAS #1330-20-7) 2%
Toluene (CAS #108-88-3) 2%