Hi, I really admired Keith's post of a "Grunge" Primus stove and thought I would follow the fashion. Here is a Svea No. 15 stove which I received yesterday. This is a two-pint paraffin stove fitted with a slient burner. I did slightly more work than Keith in that I replaced the nipple and silent burner caps, but this particular stove appears to have had a fairly hard life and to be a "rat" stove (as some of my US friends might say). Anyway, I then added some fuel and got the stove going: The stove easily passed the "Tea test" by boiling a kettle of water in a reasonable time. You can see that there are a number of crude solder repairs, however it doesn't leak and everything works. You can see that this is a fairly early Svea 15 as it is fitted with an external NRV ( non-return valve) The silent flame pattern is good and produces plenty of heat. All the parts are marked up as "Svea", although the lettering on the tank is well worn with cleaning over its lifetime. Perhaps the most interesting feature of this Svea No.15 is the patent "Igniter" fitted to the burner. This consists of a tube, with a short asbestos wick fitted at its lower end, which is seated in the characteristic dimple in the Svea spirit cup. The tube is fitted with a small flange, which is in turn rivetted to the spirit cup, adjacent to the dimple. During the priming burn, the last spirit in the spirit cup resides in the dimple. This continues to feed the pilot flame on the igniter, and lights the main burner once you pressurise the fuel tank. This is a neat arrangement, and is slightly different from the Primus patent igniter. I had never seen the igniter tube attached in this way before, although I had seen a small hole , just above the dimple, in other Svea spirit cups, and wondered what it was for. Aren't stoves fascinating? Best Regards, Kerophile
Great find, George. As you say, it is a very early example. The fact that the igniter is still attached is a real bonus. Are you going to do something about the solder repairs, or just leave them?
Hi Trevor and Robert. Glad you enjoyed the post. I have many Svea stoves since this is one of my favourite manufacturers. However, this is my first Svea No.15. Robert has it about right... If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I think I will leave the crude solder repairs as-is. This is never going to be a display-quality stove as the lettering has been polished away in some areas. Nevetheless, despite being more than 70 years old, it works well and will cook a meal for you if required. What more can you ask for? A good honest,workman-like stove and it has educated me on the subject of Svea "igniters". Best Regards, George
That may be a 'grunge' stove or rat stove in your book, George - but in mine, it's very nearly 'concours'...
