Have read a bit about the 123/123R. Seeing a lot(!) of appraisals. Having a license to blow things up, so when it was described as a “bomb proof”, I got curious - Bought my (first) Svea 123 over EBay from Jhudd25 (a really good guy!). I received it today. I must admit - I liked it from the first minutes in my hand! Did the warm water test with no bubbles. Filled it with fuel and lit it. What a truly nice and trustworthy design - it just worked flawlessly! This stove will definitely see some forests with me! (BTW - Does anyone know where I can get the Jet Pricker?)
Your stove looks hardly used, almost new. Nice one. I would guess mid 1970s by the radiating rings on the upper regulator. The ridged handle for the cup/cover is also a later type. There are experts on this site who could tell you more than that. I bought mine in 1970. ''Bombproof" is climber slang. To Bomb, was to take a short fall from a failed protection point [broken bolt, piton, ''Friend", carabiner gate, rock fracture, etc.] down to the last protection point. Svea123's have survivability if secured right in your pack.
@SveaSizzler and @IvanN Thank you for the age-estimate I really like the “bomb” story! Again - I learned something. Will contact Ross and see what he might have in his box. (Got the 123 Yesterday afternoon - have fired it up at least 5 times since then )
The folding pricker that came with the stove is near impossible to find on it's own. Every once in a while they come up on ebay, expect to spend at least $15 for one plus shipping.
Anyone know if there are any musical instrument strings which are the right [0.23mm] diameter? Guitar, piano? One of the higher keys.
@SveaSizzler 'Superlight' electric guitar E-string should get you a steel wire of 0.009 inch diameter (0.23millimetres). John
Berniedawg home-made prickers: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/diy-stove-pricker-and-a-silly-mini-rant.13555/#post-132412
@Harder D. Soerensen Svea 123 addiction is a difficult beast to manage. I just tried to count in my head how many I have... I couldn’t do it as they seem to breed in the dark. Optimus 8Rs are the same. Tony
@presscall: Thanks, John. That is the High E, last string down, right? I still have my OEM max sievert jet tool, but if I ever break the wire, I'll know what to cannibalize from. @Tony Press : I know. One 123 turned into two, [well no.2 is an "R", but I'm tolerant -- it was a gift or semi-permanent loan]. Then a mini Trangia. Summer before last, I was intrigued by an ARARA 37, since it looked so much like the Svea 123, but it'll require massive fettling, no tools, no spares, no key, no instructions [but that I could guess] and most sadly-- no workee. [The Arara search did lead me to this august company of fellow-sufferers.] But by then it was too late and the pox was upon me, beware all. Also acquired an Esbit Spirit burner only to find it was not German-made, but a Chinese clone of the Trangia, with brass-plated aluminum. Scriptclip handle on simmer ring is its only improvement over the real Swede. As the pox rages on, I acquired a Finnish collapsible sheet steel bio-mass [sticks] burner, and most recently a China-made Lan Shan ZYH-001 remote gassy. Passed tea test, need to post entry. Weight of Svea 123 complete [cup, windscreen, handle, key and pricker + 1/2 full] = 565 gm. Lan Shan + 3.9 oz iso-propane can = 559 gm, but you also need a folding aluminum windscreen for another 125 gm. So weight and bulk of components is very similar. I saw an EBay entry for a Svea123 as "Working Antique Camp Stove" BIN for only $2500. Yes, two thousand, five... Seller in North Carolina. Unpolished, (a "robust patina", one could say) missing cup, handle, one pot support, pricker, and flame spreader. I wonder how much extra those missing parts would total up to? Hundreds, if proportioned similarly. Can a Svea really work without a flame-spreader? I passed on bidding. Cheers All, Brian
@presscall : Thanks, John. I've got feelers out among my guitar-playing fellow-workers. Somebody might have an electric Hi E short-end. Always good to have a spare pricker.
That stove will be round when all life has left the planet. One of the truly great designs. If you use clean filtered naptha (Coleman Fuel in the US) you may need to prick the burner once in five years. I bought mine in 1978 used. I had a nice little REI stuff sack for mine, which kept it clean. I packed an eye dropper to prime it, and it never failed me. Stolen in 2004, and I still miss it. The 123R was supposed to be an improvement, but was more complex. Supposed to be better in winter. We usually carried a pie tin and a scrap of insulation to put under it in cold temps. With a little more prime, it worked fine.
