Gas lights and camping stove

[Hauler]

G'day all,

Two things that have constantly failed me are my gas light and camping stove(s).  As for the light, I have a gas bottle with an extension pole and a gas lantern on top.  I put this in a central area to give light over most of the camping spot as well as using some LEDs around the camper.   In the 2 years I have been persisting with this, I have tried different gas bottles, different extension poles, and different lanterns and mantles and I can never get more than a dull light out of it.  I have seen others with the same setup and know how much light it should give and mine doesn't come close. Any suggestions?  (apart from go to LED!)

As for the stove, I have a coleman camping stove which very quickly seemed to get clogged up with just the slightest bit of fat or grease with the result that the burners shut down entirely or give out a tiny flame to small to cook on.  (so naturally I could not find the specific tool for cleaning the jets so used the finest needle I could find and now both burners produce a flame about 2 feet high ). 

For a while now I have been using a couple of $20 portable single burner cookers which has been great when on the go but we are heading down to Pebbly Beach next week for 4 or 5 nights and I would like to go for a more robust stove setup but am loathe to spend more $$ just to experience the same problems again. 

For all the successes I have had, these two items have so far eluded me.  Any suggestions or ideas appreciated.


Cheers,

Mike.   

[SteveandViv]

I gave up on the gas light a while ago, not from the light out put, which was great, but because I was sick of changing mantles . We now use a combinatio of the Coleman Big Red for the table on low for that after dinner light and the Fluos for cooking.

Not sure why your stove is so bad though? We have a coleman and then the Lido on the camper and both are great, shaken to pieces as we travel. I've never had to clean the jets , what jets did you clean, you would normally just take the burner assembly apart and give that a clean. I wonder if you had some dirt in there some where

[envee]

Hi Hauler, had a similar problem a few years ago with a gas stove we had. The flame got lower and lower until it struggled to boil water.  I pulled it apart and replaced the small jets inside.  Bought them from the local camping shop.  Seemed to fix the problem. Must have been something clogging it up.

[spargo]

Pretty safe to assume that it is the jet within the light. Take the whole light in and get them to replace it like for like at your local camping store and it'll be like having a new one.

[gronk]

If you bought the light new, it should have come with a spare jet...if not you can get one at any camping store ..

I had a problem with one of those round hotplates that perch on a stick above the gas bottle......couldn't find anything small enough to clean the jet.....took it to a mate with a compressor and a small "gun" and blew it out....been good ever since !!

[barneys]

you will find it is a wax coming from the gas try boiling the jets

[austastar]

Hi,
  a piece of wire from a fly scree is fine enough to go through a gas jet without damaging the orifice.
cheers