What fuel bottles does the pump of the Nova fit? Apparently Optimus went from making the stoves in Sweden to having them made in China at some point. I believe the stove had 'issues'. What was it? Just wondering if there are some Novas that should be avoided.
Also MSR, Primus and old Sigg fuel bottles work with Nova pump. Kovea fuel bottle also seems to work at least with older Nova pump: Soto bottles wont work with Nova pump. NRV assembly in Nova pump is side ways so for smallest bottles there might be some challenges to insert pump into bottle and to get appropriate clearance from NRV to the bottle wall: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/new-optimus-nova-pump.23764/ I would avoid Nova+ since control spindle is attached to the fuel line. Seal might wear too easily, it is difficult to repair and maybe spare fuel line costs more than "normal" fuel line. Was there some issues with dirt & debris in some late model Novas years ago? If I remember correctly people needed to clean them to get them to run properly. Maybe those dirt & debris issues were/are already solved. Older CEJN fuel line connector was better compared to their self made one. I just bough new Nova couple of weeks ago (it was cheap, so I was not able to resist ) In box it says "Made in Taiwan". If I remember correctly production moved to Taiwan when Catadyn took over/acquired Optimus.
I bought a new one 6 months ago, it has been excellent. If you want a "classic" to tinker with I would try to get a swedish built Nova with CEJN, otherwise I think the current production are the best yet. The current pump is excellent and the build quality of the stove is good. The Optimus fuel bottles have a flat rim and the gasket for the pump/bottle connection is a flat rubber gasket, not an o-ring, so I don`t know if MSR bottles are a good fit. Otherwise I think the threads are pretty standard. Tron
I have several brunton bottles that are identical to some Primus bottles that I have. Both labeled from Spain. I’d be shocked if they weren’t made in the same factory. I’ve never had issues running the msr bottles with my nova either. It’s true that the lip is shaped differently, but it makes a good seal. The 1.5l Primus bottle might not be a good choice for the nova. I picked one up and it came with a fuel pickup extension tube that seems to be made specifically for the Primus ergopump. I don’t think that bottle would work properly with anything but such a modified ergopump because of the large diameter of the bottle.
MSR bottles have worked fine for me with Nova pumps. Lip area that contacts to gasket/seal is more narrow than in other bottles so it 'bites' more hard to surface of gasket/seal.
My experience from when I used Nova, was that it was easier to get it sealed with MSR bottles than with Optimus bottle, because of this shape of the rim.
