Lighter fluid substitute

G

Glen Oakes

Guest
I ran out of the Ronsinol lighter fluid I had that I use to flush Jewell triggers. It's getting hard to find but I did find some at Walgreen's. But, I hesitated to pay $5.69 for 12 fl. oz. I know the stuff is naptha. You can buy a gallon of something labeled VP&M Naptha at Lowe's for about 14 bucks.

Two questions:
1) Is VP&M Naptha (whatever it is) OK as a substitute for Ronsinol lighter fluid for flushing Jewell triggers?
2) I've read that Coleman stove fuel is also naptha. Is that a suitable substitute?

OK, so I'm cheap. :)

Thanks,

Glen
 
Naptha is Ronsonal Lighter fluid and it used to be noted as such on the older containers as you have stated. They have removed the name Namptha on the newer containers and now it just says it contains petroleum dissolutes.

The Naptha I pickup in gallon form just says Naptha on the can so I am not sure what the adde verbage relates to in your question.

J.Louis
 
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Help a puzzled Aussie here.

Apart from it presumably having a higher flash point & perhaps a bit more of the "oily" fractions, why flush with naptha & not gasoline - or are those the reasons?
 
U.S.A. Gasoline

John,

I can appreciate the confusion. What I grew up here in the U.S. knowing as "gasoline" is something totally different today. Then, it was a blend of light-end distillates, maybe with a few things added. Today, it contains "ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT", thanks to our ever-helpful EPA. I know it includes ethanol, mandated by our Congress as an additive to support/subsidize farmers to the detriment of others. As I said, whatever else it contains, ONLY God knows. I do not think I want to use it as a trigger flush fluid.

I don't know of any source of "white gas". That was common when I was a kid, but not any more. Again, we can thank our ever-helpful EPA (Environmental "Protection" Agency).

I checked at my local sporting goods store the other day for Coleman's stove fuel. NADA!. They had substituted something, not specified as naptha. I declined purchase.

Thanks for your input.

Glen
 
What is wrong with plain old varsol?

G96 Gun Treatment?

There are several different pressurized brake cleaners.
 
Brake cleaner would work except that it leaves the parts totally dry. I'm sure that the VP&M Naptha would work (but have no idea what VP&M means), and if someone can find it anymore carburetor cleaner would work since it has a tiny amount of lubricant in it to lube the throttle shafts.
 
Charcoal lighter fluid is a very high grade naptha...buy it at any Walmart, etc...
 
It's been close to 45 years since I heard the term "coal oil", I thought it was the same as kerosene? We used to use white gas in the lawn mower but
we couldn't use coal oil in anything but lanterns and starting wood fires.
Maybe someone was using the wrong terms when I was a kid and confused me more than usual?
 
Well US Gasoline STINKS, smells better now that it's polluted with corn but smellllyyy still.

Naptha is wicked easy, Lowe's or Home Depot.

And pleasantly nonsmelly.

al
 
coal oil and white gas

kansasvet, I'll have to go along with you on the coal oil and white gas because, as a kid, I had to make the walk to the nearest service station to purchase the coal oil for my lantern and the white gas for my mower. - Ronnie
 
I used Coleman (thinking it's Naphtha) in my hit & miss antique engines because it wouldn't go stale between runnings.
I used white gas in the early 60's in my TR-4 for performance, but because it lacked lead, it burned the valves out.
Coal oil....now that's old.! LOL
 
Coleman Fuel

Glen Oakes said:
I ran out of the Ronsinol lighter fluid I had that I use to flush Jewell triggers. It's getting hard to find but I did find some at Walgreen's. But, I hesitated to pay $5.69 for 12 fl. oz. I know the stuff is naptha. You can buy a gallon of something labeled VP&M Naptha at Lowe's for about 14 bucks.

Two questions:
1) Is VP&M Naptha (whatever it is) OK as a substitute for Ronsinol lighter fluid for flushing Jewell triggers?
2) I've read that Coleman stove fuel is also naptha. Is that a suitable substitute?

OK, so I'm cheap. :)

Thanks,

Glen
Click to expand...

Bought a gallon of Coleman Fuel @ Wally World on July 7, 2010 for $8.88 which included 6% sale tax.

I use it to wipe the sizing wax off of brass as well as rinse the trigger. Works great.:eek:
 
Coal oil is kerosene, as in "coal oil light". Old yellow stuff that stinks.

One should use caution using brake cleaner around certain stock finishes....ask me how I know.
 
If I recall correctly Jewell recommends lighter fluid for cleaning their triggers because while it does clean it also has a lubricating quality to it. Considering the costs of all of the other components used to keep your rifle workin well $6.00 for 12 ounces of lighter fluid doesn't sound too bad to me, especially considering how little of it a retailer sells in this day and age. I don't know how much of it you use but for me 12 ounces will last years.

I am no expert on the matters of white gas and coal oil except for being "older than dirt" and remembering using it when I was a kid. We were rural enough that as a young child we did not have electricity and used "coal oil" lamps for lighting, which we used kerosene in, they gave out poor light and were a bit stinky. Sometimes, usually when we had company, we would use Coleman lanterns which used "white gas". It was my understanding that white gas did not contain lead which gave problems when used in the coleman lanterns. I still have a lantern made by Holiday that would use either white gas or regular gas but like most compromises in life it didn't do either one very well, although it was still better than the coal oil lanterns.
drover
 
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91 or 99% alcohol is hard to beat, and doubles as a great cleaner for the case lube you would use after resizing, and on a mop in your chamber, it leaves it squeeky clean.
 
"white gas" does that bring back memories. About a cup down a latrine and a match cleaned out them bugs and spiders good....
 
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