Good solid heat with cheap fuel, for a very good price
925410
This stove actually works much better than I expected it to.
Very even consistent flame, with good spread/coverage and incredible heat.

It brings water to a boil right quick, and faster than my little JetBoil.  Granted, it's not quite as portable or self-contained, but for car-camping or backyard use, it's just the ticket.

It fits into its own little case nicely, weighs less than you might guess from looking at it, and the fuel is incredibly cheap.. around $1.50 locally for a large butane can.

The Lock/Unlock switch makes for a quick gas disconnect, so the stove leaks nothing at all when turned "off" without removing the can.

My only criticism is the whimpy pot support.  It's just four short fins with a large gap over the center.  If you have a small pot or a curved teapot, it's hard to position for a stable fit.  A more supportive grill would nice, or even a grate or disc to put over the burner for support.

The temperature control (flame size) is nicely adjustable, but won't go down to a low simmer.  It goes somewhere between High and Medium/low.  Just fine.

Cleanup is easy as most spills flow right *through* the stove onto the surface below.  For camping, that's usually just fine.

All in all, a real bargain.  Lights the first time, has great heat output, cheap fuel, and decent range of temperature.
1691713
Not bad for a little heater.  With the price of oil, (and the low cost of rural electric) a couple of these would be a good substitute for a place that isn't too big.
2108143
me, like everyone else in this economy is trying to save money on home heating bills. i live in a fairly small trailer, and with kerosene for my furnace at almost 4.00 a gallon, you have to try something to save a few dollars to stay warm, while not breaking the bank.
i purchased this particular model for alot less locally, and brought it home and fired it up. puts out a decent amount of heat for a 1500W heater. i was able to raise the temperature in my living room by 4 degrees in about an hour.
while it won't heat a whole house, it seems to do fine for a small or midsize room.
built in safety features! if you knock it over, it will cut off automatically. i would NOT SUGGEST you leave this on all night after you go to bed.
it's not a bad deal to supplement your primary heating source such as a furnace.
if you think you will  heat your house/living space with this, think again, it simply doesn't have the power to do it. otherwise a decent buy. but, you have to be right up on it to feel the heat being produced.
update***12/14/14**** been using this heater each heating season since 2012 and had no major issues, cord is nice and thick and doesn't overheat. i recently had some remodeling work done to my 25 square foot bathroom. i placed this heater in there to help dry out some damp plywood subflooring. apparently, the heater sensed it was getting too hot in that small space and it shut off before it got too hot. a good feature to have for such a inexpensive heater. i'm confident that this thing will shut off when it starts to overheat. once i  brought out to my living room area, and used it, it didn't overheat anymore. i'm impressed given how inexpensive this heater is.
695626
The MSR-XGK EX stove burns like a jet engine. Yes, it is noisy. It will burn various fuels, including: diesel, kerosene, gasoline, and more. I've been using mine with gasoline at the moment. With no experience with this stove, I followed the included instructions, set it up, and had it operating in just a few minutes. Others have mentioned that the plastic pressure pump might be light duty. I found the pump to work fine. (The plunger does seem a little flimsy, but if you pay attention and use it properly it should go the distance.) The priming is easy, and once the unit is warmed up it burns with a blue flame. Have long matches or a good lighter to reach into the burn zone for initial ignition. Using the valve at the bottle, it's not really possible to control the heat. Don't plan on doing any gentle simmering. However, it will bring your pot to a boil in a hurry.

It comes with a nylon bag to keep everything neatly contained. There are two heat shields, one for beneath the stove, one to wrap around. The wrap around one is a bit unruly until you use it a few times (bring a clip with you to join the ends). There is also a little service kit that will come in handy for changing jets, cleaning, etc.

I put a two litre pot nearly full of water on this stove (from the Alpinist 2 System), and the unit was rock solid. The legs and pot holders are well built giving a stable platform to do your cooking. After cool down, breakdown is simple. I keep a small brush in my kit to whisk away small amounts of soot that may be there in an effort to keep things as tidy as possible. The less mess, the better for any piece of equipment.

This stove meets all the critical criteria for my hiking/survival kit. It's compact, reliable, fairly light, rugged, and ready to go with a minimum of set up. Please note, you have to buy the fuel bottle separately. (I went with the 20oz because my trips are short.) It burns all the common fuels, which means flexibility to suit your location or situation. Most importantly, it has a strong history from a company that takes its products seriously. I have an HD video showing the unboxing, setup, and operation of this unit when it was brand new. You can find it on my YouTube channel: lenswork4, by searching for MSR XGK-EX on the channel. (Video was too long to fit here on Amazon. You see the MSR Alpinist 2 system on that video, too.)
4904791
This is a great little stove.  Mine is just as pictured and advertised.  I also have the MSR Pocket Rocket and did a boil test to compare.  The Etekcity stove boiled 16oz of water in about 3:30 minutes compared to the MSR at about 2:45.  This stove also has a smaller burner than the Pocket rocket, and is a different design so that may account for a lot of the difference.  A small burner may be nice for a cup or tall pot, but will produce a hot spot when using a larger pot or frying pan.  For boiling water though, this isn't an issue really.  This seems like a well-built stove and a real bargain.  Seems just a little less strong/cheaper than some more expensive stoves.  Time will tell if it will be as durable as the name brands.  I would gladly buy again.
3982051
Works good, puts out plenty of heat, it does go thru and bottle of gas pretty quick, but does the job,
202485
A heater core is always a PITA to install, but when you can buy it this cheap...it can be worthwhile to save hundreds.  It's good to have heat once again.
2520023
Gets hot quick enough, and definitely portable as described. Almost gave it 4 stars, because the steaming isn't perfect. But what can you expect at the steal of a price it was?
1143922
I have been using this stove for about 2 months, it heats my 1300 sq-ft. house great. It throws the heat immediately, taking my house from 63deg. to 70+ in 20 minutes. unlike my old wood stove which would take hours. The assembly was fairly easy and customer service acted quickly to replace a warped damper. I do recommend that you do the first few fires outside to burn off any paint, and then install it. I put in 100 lbs. of sand to protect the bottom because I run my fires fairly hot to keep my chimney clean. So far so good.
679998
1.  This unit works well, with NO electronics such as LEDs, integrated circuits, or transistors to go bad. It has a basic ignitor system which works well.  2.  The flames do well with my Propane LP gas.  3.  I would have one suggestion to the factory:  Get the center knob away from the center burner.  A wide skillet there almost touches the knob, or a hand on the knob almost touches the skillet.  4.  This is a good equipment especially for the relatively modest price.  5.  This unit replaces our 17 year old MagicChef. Its ignitor coil burned out.  6.  This  Frigidaire/Maytag top looks the same as the MagicChef top, except it's knobs were out of the way.  7. The burners on this unit are superior to the burners on that older unit.  8.  It's a keeper.
3097197
Just bought this for eight bucks more at my local hardware store.  Like that fact that I can put the grill propane tanks that I have lying around to good use.  If you need a heater that can easily be boxed up and transported and you don't want to bother with pouring liquid fuels, this is the heater for you.  I like this heater in relation to the Mr. Heaters because it attaches to the propane tank and creates one, "unit", so no hoses stretched across the floor.  Also,this Dura Heat Heater puts out much more heat than the Mr. Heaters which seem to be a smaller more type of heater.  It should be stated that if you would like a heater for your garage/home that kerosene is approximately seventy five percent cheaper per BTU of heat.  And don't rule out a wood stove if you happen to have a cost effective method of getting and storing firewood.  Altogether, I'm glad that I bought this heater to heat my workshop and I'm sure that it will come in handy for other outdoor/garage projects.  Lights up quickly, puts out a good amount of heat, no messing with pouring fuels.
1783945
My wife and I bought 2 of these to give our utility budget a break this winter.

This heater puts out alot of heat. The On/Off/Heat Settings switch, along with the Thermostat switch, feel very solid for a ceramic heater this inexpensive. It has a handle so it's easily transportable. Power light goes off when the unit is turned off (unlike others in this price range). Can be turned off (Some other similarly priced heaters need to have you pull the plug for the heater to go off).  If it gets too hot, it will shut itself off (Safety feature). It's not whisper quiet but it is certainly not overly loud, as some others have complained. It also has an anti-freeze setting, if that is why you need it.

For the money, I can't see how you can get a better deal on a ceramic heater. I checked out all the similarly priced ceramic heaters here on Amazon, and quite frankly the combination of features, efficient ceramic heating element, solid design and inexpensive price make this a "no-brainer" as far as inexpensive ceramic heaters go. Get 2 and give the gift of ceramic heating efficiency this Christmas. OOPS, politically incorrect. TOO BAD!!!
4839161
I saw the same product under the label "Sterno" sold in a Costco Business Store for about $26.00 so this price of 19.99 is a good deal. The butane gas cans at the Busines Costco store were going for $4.75 for four which is way far cheaper than what you can get at Amazon. If you can find an Asian market you should able to find these gas canisters for far less. I like the metallic look and the quality looks much better than the other cheaper portable stoves I find in the Asian markets. I tested it and I liked it and the price was right so I am buying another one.
2617881
I bought this and have used it for a couple days.  It seems like a decent, very inexpensive, very light-duty heater.  I bought it to raise the temperature in a medium sized room by 8 degrees or so.  I read the instructions and properly use the thermostat so that it does not constantly run.  It does exactly what I ask of a 25 dollar heating device.  If you are trying to heat a basement or a motor home get out your wallet and buy a real heater.
2121168
I compared many camping stoves. And this stove is very easy to use, and the fuel is cheap and easy to carry on for short term camping.
1082613
Got this little heater a couple of weeks ago and I have been using it quite a bit.  Puts out a considerable amount of heat, even at the lower setting, and the higher setting is very effective.  For those who are concerned about odor, this one had a slight smell when first turned on then quickly dissipated during the first use and it seems to be gone with continued use.  I was specifically looking for a small space heater under 1500 watts for use in a travel trailer and this one has worked quite well so far without taxing the trailer's electrical system.  The one rather "um, why?" feature is the on-off-setting nob is located on the lower front of the unit, right under the heating element, so you want to be quick turning it off, or adjusting it up or down when it has been on for a while as the front of the heater does get quite hot.

All in all, a good buy, just what I was looking for, and I'm hoping to get a lot of use out of it in future.
2141373
Only had it for a few days, but good heat and great price. So far so good