I have a Svea 123R which is driving me nuts with its pulsing! Whereas the Optimus 80 which I bought from twoberth and the far more ratty looking 80 I bought off Ebay both settle down into that regular 'Doodlebug' sound in less than a minute from starting, the 123R pulses so heavily on start up that it almost sounds as though it's going to cut out completely - pulsing at a rate of one pulse every two seconds. If I leave it running long enough, it eventually pulses less heavily, at a rate of about two pulses a second - but it still sounds like a knackered old Midland 4F labouring up a steep bank with a heavy goods train, rather than the 'express at speed in the distance' from the Optimus 80s. I bought it second hand on Ebay, but it looked like it had had little use. It isn't a 'made in Sweden' one, and I wonder if it was one of the early 'made in Taiwan' ones, where the quality control was a bit patchy? In an effort to cure the pulsing, I fitted a replacement valve spindle, checked that the jet was clear and that the carbon packing was in good fettle, and removed the rack and pinion pricker in case it wasn't properly set up, and was the cause of it candling on shut-down. And the beat goes on . . . In my box of goodies, I had a new wick - but I've had it that long, I'm not sure if it came with the 123R or another stove. It seems a bit thicker, but made up of much finer strands than the one in the stove - so I thought 'what the heck' and fitted the new wick. Pulsing absolutely appalling! Maybe it's fuel starvation because the new wick is too thick? Hmm . . . and a vague memory of somebody on here posting that they had problems with pulsing, which were cured when instead of pushing the wick all the way up into the housing, they backed it off slightly, so as to leave a small clear space between the wick and the jet. So I refitted the original wick - but on fitting it, felt it was still a bit tight in the bottom of the housing, so I pulled out some threads, and left a little space at the top. Tried again . . . STILL pulsing, as described above! Now, I don't know whether or not this should make any difference, but I've been running my petrol stoves and Coleman lantern on Aspen 4 for about the last year, and they all work fine. But my usual local supplier appears to have shut down for a couple of weeks or more over Christmas, and I'm just about out - so having heard people report running their petrol stoves on Panel Wipe, and finding some at a very good price on Ebay (cheaper than Aspen 4) I thought I'd give it a whirl. The Coleman lantern, Feather stove, and the Optimus 80s run equally well on Panel Wipe as they do on Aspen 4 - but, if anything, the 123R pulses even worse on Panel Wipe than it does on Aspen - and I'm now at the point of running, face first, into my own fist! Have any of you any suggestions to offer? Please? Pretty please? 'Cos I'm stumped! With best regards, Gunner
I had issues with a old Primus, nothing helped. Did about all you have done. Works fine now for some reason. Duane
Thanks, Duane - do you think a blood sacrifice at full moon to the Goddess Svea might do the trick? (getting desperate, now!) PS - and a Happy New Year to you and yours, mate! Gunner
try swapping the fuel cap from the 80 to see if it makes a difference. the PIP might have a small leak.
The non-return pip? I hadn't thought of that, but I've just tried swapping the filler caps across, and they do fit, so I'll try running both, see if it makes a difference, and report back. Thanks, CW!
I would get it burning really good and hot for a (almost) full tank, to clean the pipes, then see what it is like.
Well, the first one I tried was the 123R with the Optimus 80 fuel cap - and the pulsing was just as bad; then I tried the Optimus with the 123R fuel cap; if anything, even worse! I had to prime it twice to get it to go at all, and it was a weak, feeble flame, mostly orange. Even after running for about 5 minutes, it was still pathetic. That the pulsing was just as bad on the 123R with the Optimus filler cap seems to indicate that, whatever the cause of the pulsing, it's not the filler cap - so I'm at least that much ahead. Before I swapped the caps back, I had a look at the rubber washers inside them; it looks as though the top of the filler neck, where the washer presses against it, is a different diameter (even though the threads are the same), and I suspect that the Svea cap was not making a good seal on the Optimus filler cap neck. So I put the Optimus cap back on the Optimus stove, primed, and off she went. Having said that, after trying Panel Wipe as a replacement for Aspen 4 in both Optimus 80s and the Coleman Feather stove, the 80s seem just a tiny bit pernickety in getting going on Panel Wipe, and the sound of the burn very slightly wavers at times - whereas with Aspen 4, firing them up is child's play, and after a minute of running, the burn is rock steady. In contrast, though my impression is that the Coleman Feather takes very slightly longer to settle down on Panel Wipe than it does on Aspen 4, once it does get going, I can't detect any difference in running - apart from one point. When I shut it down, it does make a bit of a paraffin-type smell for a minute or so - so I think I'll reserve the Panel Wipe for running the stoves outdoors until it's all gone, and then stick with Aspen 4. But thanks all the same for your advice, CW - it's very much appreciated! With best regards, Gunner
Hmm - I think I'll leave it until tomorrow to do that, as the soundproofing between my flat and the one upstairs is about as effective as a net curtain - and if I started it now, it would run until gone 11pm - but I'll try it in the morning with the 4 fl.ozs. that the makers recommend, and let you know how it goes. Many thanks, and best regards, Gunner
On second thoughts . . . as the bloke upstairs is a pig-ignorant, selfish, loud mouthed, obnoxious, ill-mannered git . . . I filled a 2 1/2 pint kettle (Imperial pints, 20 fl.ozs.) with cold water, fired up the 123R, and boiled it; refilled the kettle, boiled it again - by the end of that lot, the pulsing was slightly less pronounced, but still bad enough that I just turned it off I'm stumped! But thanks all the same for the suggestion, snwcmpr, and best regards, Gunner PS - re. me new avatar; to paraphrase Mr Dundee:- "That ain't a gun - this is a gun!"
Have you tried to adjust the height of the burner plate? My experience is that these little self-pressurized ones can be touchy to the height of the burner plate? I adjust the height when the stove is warmed up - using a wide flat screwdriver to either lift or push down the plate very gently while making sure the lugs on the plate still holds on to the burner bell
Now, that's interesting; I couldn't quite grasp what you meant at first, so I took a close look at the burner plate on the 123R - and I noticed that the four lugs which clamp the burner plate to the bell were slightly bent so that the outer edge of the burner plate is very slightly below the top of the bell. Then I compared that with the burner plate on my well-worn Optimus 80 - and, on that, the burner plate was very slightly above the top of the bell! Hmmmm . . . then I got out my other Optimus 80 (bought from two-berth) which is in much better condition, and checked that; same again - the burner plate is very slightly above the outer edge of the bell! I note that the difference between the two plate positions is only about 1 or 2mm - and I'd never have guessed that the plate height was so critical for correct operation. I will raise the 123R burner plate tomorrow morning, Harder, and let you know what happens! Many thanks for your suggestion, and best regards, Gunner
@hikerduane - have a look at the suggestion from Harder D. Soerensen, above, and what I found on my stoves when I checked them out. As I said to Harder, I'd never have thought that dimension was at all critical, but it will be interesting to see what happens when I try giving the 123R burner plate a tiny lift tomorrow. With best regards, Gunner
I can’t recall if the burner bells are interchangeable (then you can just swap them) but I hope it’ll improve your stove’s performance
@Gunner, Just fired up my shorty 71, shot of yellow flame sometimes every 5-10 seconds, not consistent. Mostly runs blue but not a'ripping. Never had one of these small stoves run like it does. I also bought a Optimus 80 from Twoberth, seems clearing the vaporizer and jet on it really helped. Will look later, beer:30 now. Duane
They certainly look very much the same, Harder - and that would be a very quick and easy check to run. I'll try that before I try adjusting the plate height. Thanks again Gunner
Enjoy your beer, Duane - I'm just about to crack one myself - a Diceman stout, from Hobgoblin Beer. Cheers!
Mine pulsed like crazy as well, then I changed out the fuel cap seal, and it was night and day different. Still pulsed as they do, but much smoother.
I only fitted a new sealing washer a few weeks ago, and when I inspected it earlier this evening, it was clearly making good, solid contact all the way round, with no signs of any scuffing or cuts, so I don't think that would be the problem - but many thanks for your suggestion - and best regards, Gunner
Good morning, Harder - you've got it; it's the burner plate that's causing the trouble - and "touchy to the height" is right! Having compared the relationship between the plate and bell on the 123R with the Optimus 80s, I tweaked it up a bit before starting, and the pulsing effect was way less - but still enough to be irritating. I tried adjusting it once the stove had warmed up, but even a tiny shift in height makes a noticeable difference - and I found it very difficult to get it right all round. Trouble is, a slight shift in height at one point tilts the whole plate; I tried comparing the four streams of flame coming out of the bell, and adjusting the plate to get them all the same, but it's still erratic. I'll give it another go later on, and see if I can get it burning steadily; if I can't, I'll try ordering a new burner plate from Base Camp. And if that doesn't fix the damn thing, I give up - as I'm sick of the sight of it. Mange tak for hjælpen, Harder, Gunner
Right - I just tried it again, sighting all the way round to make sure the burner plate was level, checked the size of the flames coming out on all four sides to get them level - and it's STILL pulsing, but now it's really erratic - not a pulse every second or every two seconds, but all over the place, and every once in a while a really big surge of flame . . . The ****** thing is up for grabs for a tenner plus postage - I just want to see the back of it, and ASAP. I'll stick with my Coleman Feather, Burmos Army 2 pint, and my two Optimus 80s, all of which start and run with absolute dependability, and which have never given me any hassle at all. A really, REALLY hacked off Gunner.
