Linking members’ names works fine for direct replies, as does quotation. Very fortunately we don’t do ‘likes’…
I hope myself that's not so in practice. I've never seen how they add anything in the very few sites I go to. Why would the popularity of post be of any significance?
Hi @Stanleysteamer There is a for sale and wanted forum "The Trading Post" within this site but it is a subscribers only area. It doesn't seem to get a lot of use - I suppose it is like preaching to the converted. As for the meths tins - most of them have rusted bottoms and are no longer fit for purpose! Occasionally you might get one with a stove and they do crop up on ebay etc from time to time. A plastic dropper bottle would be more practical, although less aesthetically pleasing.
I think one reason for them might be to encourage people to post and of course if advertising is involved then it is a sensible business move. I'm on another forum where I have a huge number of my posts "liked" TBH I find it embarrassing and it is utterly meaningless, as I am one of the least knowledgeable on there, although of course I do have some rather old skool knowledge that I pass on where I can. Maybe someone could ask the mods why "likes" will be appearing on the new site?
Thanks for this. A small bottle of some sort is what I had been thinking of. I am not bothered about maintaining authenticity that much, practicality is more my thing. The only other thing things are : How to use the little tube with the clip on and the apparently asbestos in the wide end. (If it is asbestos maybe I should just dispose of it?) ..... and..... Where can I obtain seals, fibre washers, O rings etc? I have to confess that although I have found sources for Tilley lamps I have yet to search for suppliers for stoves and there seem to be a bewildering number of different makes of them..... I have a large collection of washers of all sorts for use on the cars I am forever playing with as well as for plumbing. But I would like to be certain they are suitable for use with paraffin, although if they work with petrol and diesel i would imagine they would be OK. Again, thanks to everyone for their help. It is much appreciated. Stan
You can obtain the washers you need from The Fettlebox. This set is the one you need for your Optimus 00 stove. You will need an NRV tool which to remove the Non-Return-Valve at the bottom of the pump tube if you need to replace the pip in it. The tube with the wadding is used as a lighter for the burner. The wide base goes into the spirit preheating cup and the end of the tube should end up by the top of the burner. When you fill the preheating cup the wadding will soak up some meths and the vapour will travel up the tube when the meths is lit. It will act as a pilot light to light the burner when the meths in the preheating cup is just used up. I don't know if they have asbestos in them or not.
Thanks @gnome, I'll be getting onto this if i need the bits. i have yet to fire it up, but now I know how to use the pilot tube, I can do it properly. I was expecting it to fire up just via being pumped once the meths has nearly burnt down. as a Tilley light would. I read elswhere on the forum that the material in the pilot tube base was asbestos. i cannot see why it would have to be, I would imagine wick material for oild fashioned oil lamps would do the job just fine. Maybe this info isn't correct. I have no idea. I'll lokk at the NRV tool, to see what it is and how it works, i would be surprised if i haven't already got something like it or that could be modified to do it. But if it is really specialised then I now know where to get one from. I'll know if i need one on attempting to fire it up, but the pump seems to work fine so i don't think it will be urgent. So thanks very much for all this info. I am now very close to trying to light it up. I just need to free off the feet under neath which are stuck in the folded up position, although I think it would work OK as it is. Just need to find my camping kettle! Thanks again. Cheers! Stan
Hi Stan, As someone pointed out on page 1, it sounds like in addition to a nearly complete Opti 00 you also have a few parts from other stoves in your kit. We still need a few pics to determine exactly what you have but the 00 generally did not come with a pilot tube and when the windshield is in place there would be no place for it. Pilot tubes were usually used with silent burners and even then they were an accessory rather than a necessity. The Opti 00 is well regarded and very popular here. Here's a link to the Optimus 00 reference gallery where a 100 or so are pictured. Take a few minutes to browse them and maybe one will look like yours and show what the complete set would have looked like. If you can pump air into yours and the fill cap seal is pliable, I would try lighting her up. Warrior's video is a good start and if you need additional help we're here to assist. Ray
Stan, A drop of diesel will free off the feet fairly quickly if needs be, but yes, you can light it with them tucked under. I may be wrong, but I think the little lighting tubes are more relevant to the silent burner stoves, the one with the caps with the rows of holes around. Your 00 has a roarer burner which will light from the last bit of burning meths. You cannot do a silent burner that way or it would underburn. If you miss the burning meths, it will light with a lighter or match, providing there is no undue delay to let it cool. The NRV tool: this has to reach down into the extent of the pump tube and be a close fit over the head of the brass NRV. The NRVs have flat and parallel sides but rounded ends so a sockey won't do. It then needs some form of tommy bar or wrench handle to enable it to be turned. It needs to fit the NRV head or you will chew it up, keeping it square on is most easily achieved if the shank of the tool is close fitting within the tube to prevent rocking - bear in mind that different sized stoves can have different sized pump tubes. NRVs can be tight and are quite small so exerting downward pressure while unscrewing them is desirable to stop the tool from slipping off and chewing the head. Some ingenious souls have creaed a tool whereby a pump tube end cap secures the tool shaft in place to prevent lifting, while the turning from outside the stove is undertaken. NRVs and filler cap seals are critical for retaining pressure, while a suitably oiled pump leather is needed to create it. Fit the reserve cap disc from end of pump handle and close the air release screw on the filler cap - does it pump and pressure? Yes? Does it lose its pressure? No? If all is well, fill it and fit the burner assembly nipped just beyond hand tight and give it a try. Paraffin is nowhere near as volatile as petrol so if the NRV should leak (often with pump creep where as if by magic the pump shaft starts to withdraw from its tube) it is unlikely to be too serious.
Cheers Dean! All very good advice, As you will see once I put the pictures up, (that I have yet to take!) I have a lot of bits that sit over the burner, and one of them is a cap with several rows of holes going all the way round. So this sounds like a silent burner, I have yet to suss out what combination of these goes with what, and with the small holes I assume the flames burn outside of the cap. Like on a Campingaz burner? The NRV tool is intriguing. i have yet to search for an image of one. I do have a tool which is a longish thin bar with a T piece on the end, at the other end is a tiny UJ and socket. But i think it must be to remove the jet. If not? Could it be an NRV tool? I'll have to look for an image of it! But from your description I doubt it. Having been messing around with volatile liquids for years I appreciate their dangers! Hot metal and brake fluid for instance! To free things off, like rusty nuts and bolts, my favourite mixture is acetone and ATF, but again, acetone is pretty inflammable! And I am all too aware of the dangers of putting petrol in a blow torch! So I appreciate all your advice and will heed it before proceeding. cheers Stan. Yes, I noticed that too. Currently have yet to try and fire it up. I will worry about washers etc if I need them. I already fixed the cup thing on the pump by soaking it in oil. ;-)
Thanks both! I have a way of testing for leaks on Tilley lamps that would probably work on this stove. I fill them with a reasonable quantity of paraffin, close the air screw or whatever the bit is called that seals the tank, close the valve under the lamps mantle having removed all the top of the lamp, pump up the tank to pressurise it. I then open the valve and see what happens! If it leaks it'll leak from the bottom of the valve, if the jet is blocked it quite simply will not come out, but if all is fine then a fine jet shoots out. I appreciate there is no valve equivalent on the Optimus but the rest seems the same. So I'll give it go. Clean it up, then fire it up for real if I find no leaks. Interesting about the pilot tube, confirms what I thought. About the lack of necessity for it I mean. I looked on the gallery before I put up my first post and I don't think I saw a windshield like mine. Mine has vertical slots in addition to the keyhole shaped hole. Some people really are lucky, finding pristine unused stoves! Still I didn't pay much for mine! Cheers Stan
Here's a link where I fettled my 00. Give you an idea about the NRV: Optimus 00 Fettle And Boil Test Also, the kits gnome posted above are back in stock. Just ordered a few.
You are welcome sir. The Optimus 00 is a hell of a nice little stove. You can see it in action here: Cabin Trip...With Stoves! (Photo Heavy)
Stan Typical roarer arrangement has a burner with a round but flat top with, like a cross with print on it and generally no central hole, which has a very flat and thin wide funnel shaped ring (flame ring) that sits over it, thus Anything with holes in the centre or the silent outer cap with rows of holes around a dome are for a silent burner and can be put away for spares (along with the pilot lighter). Lets worry about the silent some other time. The u/j sockety thing is a jet removal tool for a roarer. The silent uses a fixed version, accessing the jet from the central hole atop the burner (cap removed). As the roarer has no hole (there can be exceptions) you have to feed the tool in from between the burner top plate and the ring that the flame ring sits on and dangle the uj part until it fits over the jet. Tighten/loosen is a combination of twisting the tool handle and pulling it around in the 80 degree gap between the burner tubes. Small fingers are quite an asset for refitting it, leaving the uj tool until you need to finally tighten it. Some NRV tools look similar to jet removers, but are altogether bigger and longer. Search the forums for some unique designs though, incorporating features to overcome issues previously mentioned. A piece of rod a close fit to the id of the pump tube, a slot cut across the end to fit the NRV head; and a means to hold it down and turn it, would be all you need.
Dean, Thanks for your advice I must get around to taking the pics. (Have relations arriving in a minute.) Thanks for the advice about leaving the silent burn until after I've got the roarer going! Cheers Stan
Right, before taking pics, any advice on size or whatever? I will be using my Canon digital SLR and I usually modify my pics using iPhotoplus. This just to make life easier for anyone trying to see them, and myself for uploading them! all contributions will be very gratefully received.Thanks in advance. Stan
