I chanced upon an AD in Craigslist for a camping stove which turned out to be a Camping Gaz Orient made in France (hence the posting is in the France stove gallery). Normally it would not interest me but seeing the pictures, I noticed the brass canister housing as I was familiar with the blue colored casing Camping Gaz is known for. So I called up the seller and it was still with her (Jackie was her name), set up an appointment, drove 20 miles to pick up the stove. Met with Jackie, a lovely lass in her late 20's or early 30's and instead of meticulously looking at the stove I was more interested in her 8) (enough of that). Going over the stove, it looked very complete and still with a canister of fuel in it. As I got into the car, I could not stop but take one last look at Jackie (stop it!). Okay, while inside the car I slightly turned the knob to see if it has not frozen ....eeewww, the smell of gas almost filled the car . Rolled down the windows and happy with my new collection drove off to work. When I got home, I eagerly looked over the stove and it had a rip on the bottom although it does not affect the functionality of the stove and I will try to solder it in the future. I then took out the powerful magnet and ran it through the casing - it was brass plated as the magnet jumped from my fingers on to the casing. The collar or heat shield was made of brass and so is the pot holder. With camera and lighter ready, I fired her up initially getting a green flame before settling into a nice blue flame noting it may not have been fired for a long time. Placed a kettle filled with 1 liter of water and heated it up in no time (quite fast). Since this is my first Camping Gaz and have had no experience using one I need the help of those who own one. This stove uses the C206 Gaz canister as the casing has 3 indentations where the grove on the C206 will sit. My question is: what is the procedure in removing the canister and since the canister is puncture type, do I completely empty the tank before removing it? I would appreciate 8-[ input on my questions. Hope you like the pictures. Ron
Run it to empty first. I have taken these of less than full but could not recommend it to anyone. I'd make sure I was outside, well away from any source of spark or ignition & wearing gloves as the gas is cold - if I did it again. I've seen someone take a near empty cartridge off near a lit candle - exiting!
Ron, do be very careful to ensure the cartridge is securely locked into the casing. If not, there could be the possibility of it coming out the bottom with catastrophic leakage and a fireball as the end result. Once locked in and punctured by screwing the burner head into it's mount, it's a one way trip until empty. I had one that had lost a couple of lugs on the bottom, and foolishly inserted some screws as a makeshift bodge. Big mistake - it popped out and lit me up! No damage done thankfully, as I was able to ditch it pronto. Derek
Confirmed! I had one in the pannier of my motorcycle on a trip once, along with most of my edible supplies. It leaked, and on opening the pannier saw everything covered in a thick frost, stinking to high heaven as only camping Gaz can. The whole lot was binned, and the pannier thoroughly washed out. Bummer. Derek I like them . . . can't you tell?
Hi all, I too have some of these stoves, blowtorches and lanterns (some original Campinggaz, some cheapo copy's) and never had any (big) problems with them (anyway, nothing that could not be dealt with quick&easy). I find these very reliable, dead easy to use but compared with pressure stoves rather dull and boring . Like said before in this post, the main thing is to change canisters out in the open, after being sure they are empty. Enjoy the little'un! Regards, Wim
Thanks guys, as one said its a one way trip (until empty) before removing the canister. I would have imagined this baby held the canister for quite a long time and never leaked. Added knowledge to my sponge brain. Ron
Seems like the gas canister C206 is very scarce here in the US. Anyone in this side of the pond seen this puncture type canisters and help me get some please PM me. Thank you again. Ron
They have been discontinued, but show up in stores still. Check out non chain sporting goods stores, hole in the wall shops etc. I saw some in Oregon earlier this year, in a Fred Meyer store ...
Am happy to say that REI still carries a few canisters. I bought one for now . I pressume that other REI shops do carry it though a bit pricey at $5++ including tax. It has been renamed or whatever you call it CV206 instead of C206 for those still having stoves requiring the C206 cartridge. Tonight despite requiring me to be up early for work, I successfully repaired the crack/tear shown in the picture. I first found a suitable wire to wrap around the bell casing just where the tear is and tightened it so that the two ends of the tear nearly meets. I then sanded it down to expose clean metal and applied a generous amount of acid flux. I then fired up the propane and using a 95/5 tin-antimony solder I patched the tear from the other side thus it is not noticeable from the outside. It still does show a tear but hopefully the patch will hold it in place and further negating any chances of the tear in the brass getting longer. I read that the tin-antimony solder has a higher melting point than ordinary lead solder although running the stove for about half an hour did not get the base hot at all. Again, the credit should go to CCS members who have contributed in the forum on how to solder. My next question now to CCS members is although the spotted tarnish and patina makes the stove look old, is there an effective method of removing the spots and making the metal (its not brass) shine?
Personally, I'd leave it as is. The coating is probably thin and rubbing may remove more than the patina. Just my $.02 worth.
Steve, Will go with your advise - leave it the way it is. Looks nice anyway with the freckled look Cheers Ron
Greeting from jakarta, Indonesia i do have that stoves too in here. yesterday I have an adapter so it can run on cheap Butane gas. works fine & with great simmering
