Optimus Ranger 10 Review

"I bought a Ranger10 back in February 2001. It was made for kerosene and diesel. First wrong with it was the connection between the tank and the burner was LOOSE! I tried white gas, alcohol and kerosene but not diesel. It overheats with all the fuels. With white gas, it burns with blue flame but the gas was forced out from the filler cap valve and the vapor caught fire! With kerosene, the flame is sometimes blue, but most of the time yellow. The strong odored kerosene vapor also escaped but there was no fire. Right after it was turned off, I opened the filler cap and saw the alcohol and kerosene bubbling (boiling). I will not recommend it to anyone. BTW, it has been discontinued."

"I have the Optimus 10 Ranger stove and have been very pleased with it.

It's very important to note that this is a duo-fuel stove only: Kerosene/Parafin and Diesel oil only (No white gas/coleman fuel!) If you are looking for white gas/coleman fuel type stoves I strongly recommend the Optimus Svea 123 and 8R Hunter (both of which I also own).

Kerosene and Diesel require more heat in order to vaporize properly for good stove operation. Stoves specifically designed for Kerosene will overpressurize with White Gas which is what most likely occured to the reviewer above. Why would someone want to use kerosene? Well when it vaporizes correctly it creates more heat (BTU, British Thermal Units) than White Gas or other fuel types. This is why this stove is rated at 10,000BTU's versus the 4,000 the 8R and Svea 123 are rated at. I can boil water in 3 minutes with the 10 Ranger compaired to 12 minutes on the 8R Hunter (1 liter of water).

I use Exxon ClearLite fuel in this stove, its a synthetic kerosene and doesn't have the impurities or smell of 1-K kerosene resulting in significantly less soot. See http://www.clear-lite.com/ for more information on this great fuel substitute.

The fit and finish of the 10 Ranger is excellent. All brass burner and vaporizer assembly which is called the Cobra-burner by Optimus. This is the same burner as on the 111C Hiker and Explorer 11 stoves may by Optimus. Underneath the burner assembly is a priming cup with a fiberglass wick. This is connected to a 0.10 liter fuel tank that is anodized black with a brass fuel cap that accepts (and comes with) the Optimus Midi Pump (a removable pump to pressurize the fuel tank before use). This is all enclosed in a black anodized steel clamshell.

I also own a MSR DragonFly and have stopped using that do to too many fuel pump failures. MSR's fuel pumps are made out of plastic and don't withstand sand from beaches very well at all. I kayak a lot and really enjoy the fact all of my Optimus stoves are made out of quality metals (no plastics) and have a minimum of moving parts. These stoves are very simple in design and very easy to repair (however I have yet to break open any of my repair kits I purchased along with each stove).

When you are ready to use the stove, you simply open the clamshell (which serves as a windscreen) pull on the front to move the fuel tank and burner into position.

I then pour in the Exxon Clearlite and after tightening the cap attach the midi pump and give it 10-12 strokes.

I then open the fuel valve for enough clearlite to spill onto the fiberglass wick and then turn the fuel valve off. After lighting and burning the fuel in the wick to prime the stove, I turn it back on and proceed to cook.

The ability to control the flame to a very delicate simmer has not been surpased by any other stove I have used and I have several.

Overall I highly recommend this stove. Since kerosene requires more heat to vaporize I feel safer with the spare fuel bottle in my car trunk, backpack, etc than with other fuel types.

Again, I always recommend that if you are looking for a stove that you research the fuel types you need and how that fuel burns before making a purchase.

I'm sure that if you decide on an Optimus 10 Ranger or any other of their fine stoves, you'll enjoy them as much as I have."

"First of all I am an Optimus freak and have 12 of various types around the house. The Ranger 10 is for Kerosene only! It is basically a hybrid between the big 111C, Cobra burner mated to the small case and tank of the 8R. It is powerful and compact but has a small tank for it's power and doesn't handle big pots well with the small case. This makes it a bit of a specialist design and the big BTU's on a small pot may or may not be what you want. For solo winter trips with lots of snow melting needed it is a pretty fair choice. The 111 handles bigger pots and is better for a party.

It has become a collectors item and a newish one fetches $300.00+ on eBay (2007).
A previous reviewer talks about his disapointment when using coleman fuel and alcohol......THE STOVE IS NOT DESIGNED FOR THEM!!!!! Coleman fuel in particular is a recipe for disaster as the tank is close enough to the burner to create serious over-pressuer with this volitile fuel. Used buy a non-idiot with the kerosene it was designed for this stove will prove as reliable as any of the other other fine optimus products."

"I've had one of these stoves for just over a year, very well made, super performance, fantastic heat output, what more can I say. I collect old camping stoves, and feel sure this will become a classic stove for collectors in a few years time. The only down side to this stove, is the tank is small, but if I need extra cooking time, I take a 111 Hiker along."