Hjorth ‘Caesar’ broken cast iron trivet repair

Very impressive John- a week back from Newark and it's looking smart and back in action!

I can almost smell that flame shot from above...

 

I reckon this trivet has the thinnest-section casting I’ve seen on a wick stove, going on comparison with other marques I’ve encountered, notably Beatrice and Rippingilles in the UK. It’s almost as though Hjorth knew they had the technical ability to cast thin and were showing off!

That said, it’s plenty strong enough to serve as a trivet, but like most cast iron stuff will fracture if roughly treated, like taking a heavy knock if dropped.

With two substantial dents and a crack on an upper surface the fuel tank suggests rough treatment at some time in its life.








Ian (@igh371) won’t have been the culprit and I commend him and custodian predecessors for hanging onto the trivet bits. They could so easily have been scrapped, stove and all.

I don’t have any urge, much less a strategy, for taking out the dents though I’m aware that a snarling bic would be a promising method. Mind you, my pal Duncan (@Zincman) is a master sheet matalworker and makes the snarling bic technique look easy.

Zincman




The sporty 3-wheeler he made (BMW bike engined).



John

 

Ah, but Primus made a point of promoting its ‘odourless’ qualities and it holds to that in use. A bit of a paraffin smell on extinguishing, but that’s all. It’s interesting that @Remus1956 has just now referred to wick stoves/sad iron stoves he’s seen in antique stores covered in soot. Entirely avoidable by not having the wick turned up too high. If it is, visible smoke appears out of the top, instantly stopped by turning down the wick a fraction. A serious user of this type of stove as opposed to those curious to try it before consigning it to the antique store would soon learn that and live in harmony with their wick stove.

The yellow glow from the flames picking out the model name.





John

 

It sounds as though from the burning qualities that Primus were as thorough in their testing and development with this wick diversion as they were with their pressure products.

 

I think so, Chris.

 

I was aware that the stove and trivet were "damaged" (according to my original source); but certainly wasn't prepared for the loose pile of trivet fragments that greeted me on opening the package. I suspect that some additional disintegration had occurred in transit; it's a long story. But for a static exhibit it still served a purpose, until a better No.1 turned up. And then a new chapter in its journey began at Newark ...

 

Amazing to see the masterful rebuild of the trivet that now allows it to be seen working once again ... That I never imagined would ever have been possible

 

@igh371
Thanks for parting with it Ian!

John

 

I'll have to give that one a whirl as I've seen these often but just ink black in rust. Never been one to be in a rush to cook but the work you did on that @presscall you should be proud of. Amazing job and inspiration to look again at these stoves

 

Well thank you, @Remus1956. A wick stove’s ace for cooking long and slow, as with this ‘Champion’ (Germany) stove I used here coupled with a Dutch oven to cook a lamb tagine.






Good windshielding’s essential if they’re used outdoors or the wick flame can be disrupted, blowing out if set low for simmering or flaring and creating soot on the pot.

 

The finishing touch to the trivet. It was evidently broken into five pieces, the fifth piece being on the opposite side of the circle to this stubby ‘spoke’ and small enough not to be spotted and retained with the larger pieces.




The gap left by the missing piece.




I roughly fashioned a replacement out of a steel offcut, the final finishing to be done when silbrazed in position.




Rear view of the repair, the silbraze flowed to add strength to the repair.




The finished replacement ‘spoke’.




Now I’ll just use it!

 

@presscall is the yellow flame normal for these stoves? I'm more familiar with closed top Aladdin heaters with a blue flame.
Regards
John

 

Another nice little stroke to make all fully complete
That cuppa well deserved, and from a stove perfectly suited to the Thompson Ritchie too

 

It is John, yes. They don’t generate smoke or smell unless the wick needs ‘trimming’ - actually a rub along their length with a rag to remove a carbon crust that forms with prolonged use.