Well it is now day seven of enforced isolation, so I ventured down to the shed! While I was there, I brought down from its shelf my "Hurlock" style stove. It came indoors for a little tlc and clean and to try to work out which, if any, of @cottage hill bill 's numerical examples it most resembled. I can safely say it would be a number one: details as follows:- There are no labels, no transfers, no stampings or other obvious markings on it. It has a steel tank, steel spirit cup and steel flame ring. The tank and pan support arms are painted a shade of green, as was the exterior of the storage tin. It has an articulating turned brass pump handle and brass wind shield. The pot support wires have a slight indent/kink (by design) just about one inch back from the open ends. It has the spares tin, with the screwdriver/jet removal tool, some washers, spare nipple, pricker and spare pump leather. I did have another a while back, which I believed had remained unfired. That one had the Hurlock transfer and, IIRC, that was more of a no.3. I shall have to see whether there are still pictures of it anywhere. In the spares tin of that one was a small square cardboard package of white powder, covered in a wax paper, which I assume was the basis for a lighting paste that needed hydration. I still have that as I was unsure of what it was and wouldn't send it through the post. Apart from the usual need for cleaning and refurbishment, the only obvious thing wrong with mine is the absence of a screw on TOP lid for the canister. Regards Dean
That white powder will ignite (I tried a small amount of it on a metal scrap), and is presumably for priming. I don’t know about mixing it with water. It will eat holes through the tin if it escapes from the wax paper. ….Arch
It it the remains of cubes of solidified alcohol. They were packed in a white paper box in the spares kit for pre-heating. It is still available as a fuel from Coghlan's and others. There was a full box of them in the stove I labeled as number 1 at the beginning of this post.
Actually yes, mine were in a box, but were mostly powdered with some larger chunks. Some had escaped the box, and had eaten holes in the bottom of the spares tin. I’ve never been sure exactly what the fuel was — it burns vigorously. Is it really the same as the Coghlan’s meta fuel? ….Arch ….Arch
Meta tablets (metaldehyde) were in use in the UK in the 1920's as a Meta stove fuel but also to prime paraffin stoves. Certainly I've purchased paraffin stoves with a stock of Meta tablets in the stove tin.
OK, so it seems to me (in my usual bumbling way) that from the accounts of @ArchMc and @presscall and my own limited experience, the "powder" in the box with the Hurlock is a different formulation to the META tablets. I draw this conclusion for the reasons that: 1 I too have some old meta tablets acquired with old stoves which have not necessarily been stored "well"- none of these have disintegrated into powder form; none have wreaked havoc or corroded their storage places. Accounts on other threads suggest they are still usable. 2 The Hurlock powder I have appears to be in powder and not tablet form. It has been stored (not necessarily well) for perhaps 70 years in a box, wrapped in a wax paper and then inside a tin within a tin, the outer of which appears to have been in damp conditions at times. 3 ArchMc's experience seems different to mine in that his powder has not been so well protected by the wax wrapper, such that it has eaten through the steel tin in places. So can there be any inherent properties of the wax wrapper, other than keeping the powder dry? 4 If the spares tin was intended for military issue and field use, then the effectiveness versus the danger of the powder would have been a consideration. Meta tablets would have been available at the time, but at additional cost. Just my thoughts. Dean
I believe my stove may have been in storage for decades when I bought it, so the corrosion may be a slow process. ….Arch
@Sedgman It's interesting that your stove has no stamped markings but has the bare metal pump handle (no heat insulation washers)
If a crew of two used a Hurlock for 3 meals a day, plus drinks - how much fuel would it possibly use over a day and week?
@Mark_Ellis When I was a lad, if I asked questions like that my dad would reply "How long is a piece of string?" It was a bit frustrating to be asked that and not get a proper reply to what I wanted to know, but it seems most fitting for your enquiry. I have never really used my Hurlock in the manner you suggest - it was more of a curiosity than a working piece of equipment, so I cannot comment on fuel consumption for it. Some years back I did some extended periods of camping on my own, using an Optimus 45 stove for cooking typically a morning drink and fried egg, 2-3 evening drinks and my evening meal. IIRC the tank (+- 1 litre) would generally need a little top up by day 4 or thereabouts. I never metered the fuel in, I didn't have pans with heat exchangers, I wasn't particularly exact with my quantity of boiling water or turning it out at first rise of steam, but I always used it with an external windshield around it. It is a 20 year old recollection and I suppose, rather than the length of a piece of string, with my variable amounts, is more like how long is a piece of elastic? I suggest you subject your Hurlock to the type of use you will give it in the field and keep a note of its consumption. Perhaps take another stove as back up?
@Mark_Ellis If you're trying to ask how long it would last soldiers in active duty in a front-line situation your unit of measure is way off. In the European theater where the Hurlock would have seen duty, if you were in the front line you were lucky to get one meal a day, occasionally two and probably never three. An occasional brew up, one or two meals a day and it would last as long as it lasted. How and where the Hurlock stoves were issued and used is a mystery. I would love to see any sort of documentation on how they were catalogued in the supply system.
I'm presuming that the armoured cars etc of the 1920s and 30s had them in the deserts. I did put a shout out on the Bovington page, to see if they were C.E.S. on anything.
Hurlocks in the desert? Doubtful as the timelines don't overlap. Earliest dates I've seen on any Hurlock is 1944 and things were well over in Africa by then. In the inter-war years it would have been Primus type brassies. Only place Hurlock could have been issued based on when they were built would be NW Europe, Italy and the Pacific.
I'm afraid I may have started a rumor here when I wrote: I was being facetious, and have no knowledge of Hurlocks being used in North Africa. ....Arch
Hello all ... delving deeper into WW2 "living history" I was quick to pick up this T&C / Hurlock stove when I saw it for sale. Stamped with the Broad Arrow and '41. It has had a poor life recently and will take a bit of cleaning and rebuilding to bring it back up to operational. My biggest issue at the moment is that the brass filler cap has seized / corroded onto the steel canister. I will try a strip of silicone sheet as grip / protection and an adjustable spanner to undo it ... unless you have greater wisdom for me?? Thanks, Tim
I use an old strip of bicycle tyre rubber which I wrap around a seized cap before using mole grips to free it. Always works a treat.
@Onfire Do not use an adjustable wrench and the silcone will make the problem worse. That nut is brass and your best bet is to use the proper sized wrench (spanner) or socket. An adjustable will stand a good chance of rounding the corners on the nut because of the sloppy fit, even more so if you try to put something between the jaws of the wrench and the nut. Use some penetrating oil (not WD40) and let it soak for a day or two. Take a look at my response to someone else with the same problem. Jammed pump chamber Hurlock Stove Edit. Apparently I misread, for the filler cap a suitable protector such as a piece of leather, rubber strip some type of pliers are about your only options. Penetrating oil and patience will still help. The date on your stove is going to make me rethink the history of these. Earliest I've seen before is '44. I've still never seen a photo of one in the field, that would help a lot to understand how/when these stoves were used.
@cottage hill bill Good advice but I think it's the filler cap in question rather than the pump tube.
Thank you both for your help. It is indeed the round filler cap, I imagine the soft brass has jammed / bitten into the steel thread. I will start getting penetrating oil into it whilst I read the linked article, thank you for sharing it. I was surprised with how much earlier the date stamp is than others I've seen on here.
