I bought a Svea 123 recently that was extremely cheap as it was in a very sorry state and only suitable for spares. The riser and burner were bent over about 20 degrees off vertical and there was a very large dent in the top of the tank, about 1/2" deep on the 'leeward' side of the riser. The hex nut on the riser was virtually rounded. It appears that someone had tried to remove the riser from the tank but had been somewhat over zealous and had bent the riser over causing the top of the tank to buckle. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before pic . It was also 3/4 full of what smelt like petrol (gas) but was brown. However, it had all it's bits - tank cap, bell, flame spreader, spindle, key and windshield. Even though I don't own a 123 it was too good to turn down. When I was looking at it, I remembered a post about removing dents by freezing. So I did the spindle up tight, filled the tank with water and put the tank cap on. Popped it in the freezer and kept checking it every 20 minutes or so. After about an hour the dent was much reduced and the riser was about 5 degrees off vertical. Thawed the ice out, refilled it and put it back in the freezer for another hour. This time the dent was virtually gone and the riser was vertical. You can see the remaining dent below. Not perfect but I can live with it. I wondered if it was worth trying fire it up? Took the jet out and could see that the little hole in the burner going down to the spindle was completely blocked. Cleaned it out with wire and a tiny watchmaker's screwdriver. Took the spindle out which was OK but had no gland packing. However, to fettle it properly, I knew I was going to have to separate the tank from the riser. If the burner was blocked above the spindle, it was probably also blocked between the spindle and tank. The part of the wick that I could see through the tank filler hole also looked 'iffy'. I did ten or so heat & quench on the burner and then attached a pair of mole grips to the rounded hex nut. Wouldn't budge. I decided I needed as big a temperature difference as possible between tank and riser. I attached the mole grips, then inverted the tank and fitted the riser into a small plastic pot of water. With much fiddling and swearing I managed to balance the assemblage in the freezer (to bemused looks from the wife). When I took it out, the riser was nicely encased in a block of ice. Filled the tank with boiling water and attached the cap. Held the tank with thick gloves, pushed on the mole grips and the riser unscrewed on the first push! The wick was pretty cruddy and blackened. Also cleared out the hole leading from the top of the wick to the spindle. I could now blow air through all three apertures in the riser. Replaced the wick with unravelled cotton string. The bell was also slightly off centre (must have been knocked at some time). Rather than try and straighten it on the riser, I screwed it onto a bolt with the same thread size and straightened it on that. Gave everything a good clean with Scotchbrite (I know it scratches but if I got it going it was going to be a user stove), fitted a new jet and reassembled with new gland packing and copper grease on all the threads. Didn't have any CF or Panel Wipe, only unleaded, but decided that would be OK for a 3 minute test burn. Slightly yellow on the tips, but not bad for a first lighting. Only downside is that the depression for the pre-heat fluid is low on the side that the tank top was dented, so doesn't hold much fluid. May have to go with paste. Finished the day quite chuffed with myself!
Hi Trojandog a very nice restoration brining a what was a scrap/spares stove back to full life,a shame you forgot to take some before pics it would haave been good to se what a terrible state it was in,i must rember the freezing trick to remove dents as it is ver effective looking at the pic that is a sharp dent as well the hardest to remove,the only thing with these self pressureising stoves is doing a pressure test on the tank with the amount of damage it has had i my self like to pump a good amount of air in the tank to check for leaks i know these can be used with a midi pump but but we dont all have one and are they capable of pumping a good amount of air in the tank for a good pressure test,may i am a bit to cautious working on petrol CF stoves, well done there on a superb job bringing a great old stove back to life
Mr Tdog: nice job! i take some fiberglass insulation, then wrap stainless mesh around the base of the riser/cup on my user 123R this arrangement holds the meths with less worry of a drip and seems to work pretty well for me (the stainless mesh is from one of those cheap kitchen sink filter packs at the dollar store - usually 3/$1 in various sizes) hth, willie on the Gulf of Mexico
Hi TD, Congratulations on a real nice fettle. I love the trick with the ice on the riser tube and hot water in the tank. Will give it a try next time I encounter a frozen joint. Yonadav
You could use a removable Tilley re heat torch, I have a short tank Primus 70 with a twisted riser tube, where a hand fisted so and so tried to strip it down. Works great but these dings and marks are part of the stoves life story..
That is what its all about getting something useless back to life! Great job and now you can use it for another 30 years. When you froze it did it also pop the concave out on the bottom side of the tank or is that OK?
No, the underside was fine. I kept checking it every 15 - 20 minutes. You don't need to freeze it solid. I guess it was about 50% ice when I removed it.
Sweet! Another one saved from entropy! Like the rest, I'm loving the creative use of ice in your resto, I've filed your system away for later. Like Trojan I also use the rope trick as standard on my 123's and 71E, only differing in that I use a couple of turns of heavy copper wire (stripped from a piece of surplus house wiring) to hold it all together. I tend to prime with fuel anyhow, one less thing to carry and the rope stops it from spilling and going all over the place. Don't sweat using unleaded petrol, I do it commonly if I'm out of the good stuff, just remember it gives off a witches brew of toxins and nasties when it burns, outside only! Fine effort!
Freezing out tank dents?? Well, I have two dented primus 41 tanks, I wonder if it could work on them?? But how would the nrv take it?? I guess it and the pump would need removed and a cap put on?? Could be a bit risky. Very well done on your 123 rescue
Hi Trojandog, nice fettle, nice stove, good documentation of your efforts. Thanks! One question regarding the riser: how does your spindle look like in the end? What packing did you use? Reason for my question is that I have a 1953 Primus 71 that both leaks through the spindle (flame there) and apparently does no longer shut off completely (flame at the jet while priming). I dissambled the riser into its parts and found that it did not have a packing at the spindle(but a strange spring instead ). After putting in a graphite packing the spindle did no longer leak, but the flame at the jet was still there. So I am guessing that the spindle itsself is perhaps deformed letting gas through to the jet. What do you think as your Svea 123 apparently has the same riser and parts? Thank you and best regards, Philipp
Nice fettle! I am going to file it too. I want to re-read your bit about the temp difference method to remove the burner tube. I was thinking about that also for my recent Svea123 fix, but couldn't work out how to accomplish it. I flipped my stove upside down (no fuel in tank obviously) and put the "Y" in a vise and used an improvised oil filter wrench on the tank to get some "gription" as my daughter likes to say. It may not have worked for you depending on how badly yours was locked up. Your solution is much better. And the ice bit, brilliant!
Awesome Best thing I've read in awhile. Bring old abused stuff back to life is all good. I guess someone has to do the buggering up first.LOL buzz
I have read somewhere, although I havent tried it yet, that some mechanics secret was to place dry ice where the dent was and the metal would partially straighten itself out. I have a donor tank that I may try first by denting it and then put dry ice on the dent to see if it has any effect at all. Ron
