The "new" 123 I just overpaid for is not fettleable. At least not without a replacemnt riser tube. I could not get more than a feeble candlesworth of flame from the stove even with a new jet, and a known good fill cap, fresh fuel and a proper prime. So I emptied it of fuel, screwed the valve in snug, chilled the fount in the freezer for a few minutes to get as much dense air in the fount as possible, screwed the fill cap on snug and put the whole thing in a pan of heated (70C) water. Bubbles streamed forth from the under side of the shutoff valve body where it joins the riser. Looking at it with a 15X eye loupe, one can see a tiny crack there. So, unless I can procure a useable replacement or get that crack brazed I paid USD $30.00 for parts. I do not hold the seller responsible, the stove looked good to me as well until it failed and I looked for faults. I did get a nice windshield, a good pot and handle, a fully useable valve spindle and a useable, if somewhat dinged up fount and and a sound fill cap, burner bell and flame spreader. Perhaps I can learn to braze by practicing on the riser. That area gets altogether too hot for chemical mends to have any effect except making a gooey mess. Although over the years I've had some great fun making gooey messes and wallowing in them. Not usually alone in the garage, however. Any ideas on where I might obtain a 123 non R riser tube in good working condition? This is also a good reason to start looking for a brazing set up. Hmmmmm? Mapp gas, torches and small oxygen bottles perhaps? An opportunity arises from catastrophe. Gerry
Hi Gerry. Send a PT to Doc Mark and see if you can sweet talk him into a deal on one of the job lot he got back in the summer - Link . Regards, Terry
Hey, Thuggy, Terry is right. You should have given me a PT about this, as I'd be very happy to send you a spanking NOS SVEA vaporizer, complete with it's jet and wick!! SEE?? Good things come to good people, you Old Rascal, you!! 8) Please send me a PT, reminding me of the proper address of Thuggy Manor, and I'll up date the one I have, if necessary, and send out your brand spanking new, never used, NOS vaporizer in today's Post (of on Monday, if this misses you today before our PO closes early, as it does on Saturday). All's well that ends well, and I'm happy to share my supreme good fortune with a long-time, and good friend such as yourself, Sir! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Gerry, This NON-R Svea. Is it a Sievert? Does it have rings on the vaporizer below the burner bell. If no rings, its may be a Sievert, and then worth the effort to repair. Ken in NC
Actually, Gerry, you don't even need that much. Bernz-O-Matic has copper phosphorus rods that work splendidly with copper and brass, no flux needed. http://www.amazon.com/Bernzomatic-PC3-Copper-Phosphorous-Brazing-Welding/dp/B000GAV83M Darn things are formulated to work with a regular propane torch as well, no need for oxygen, either. Here's how to do it, and it's really just that easy, too! http://www.jm-metaljoining.com/technical-pages2.asp?parentid=2§ionid=1&pageid=28&dev= Murph Murph
There are no rings on the riser, I do have one 123 non R which does have rings turned into the riser. It is onl marked "Svea 123 Made in Sweden" and the familiar fuel notices. It is the one I bought in '68 or '69 with my "Dividend" from the Mountaineers Co-op, now REI. It was priced at the time at USD $8.95. I've been using that one fairly steadily since, it still has all it's original parts, except a newly made cap gasket about three years ago. It's the one that had the mini-pump cap failure recently. I swapped a cap from one of my Optimus 80's to keep it running until I fabricate a new seal for it. I've never actually used an 80 or 71, I don't like the box/pan support they come with. And with the taller fount they don't play well with the Sigg Tourist set. And Murph, I'll look into the Bernz-O-Matic brazing system. Thanks for the heads-up. Gerry
The one without rings is golden. Pictures please .... A pre-Optimus Sievert made Svea. Pre-1969 when Optimus bought the Svea brand. So, date ... 1955 - 1969. I have one, and love it. They have the part numbers written on the parts. They seem to be very hard to find. There is a guy on this forum that gets them occasionally, refurbishes and sells them. He also gets parts from time to time. Ken in NC
Greetings, Thuggy, and All, A "no rings" vaporizer, NOS and never been used, was sent to you today, Gerry, complete with jet and wick. Should get to you in a few days, and hopefully, it will cure your recalcitrant SVEA 123 woes. Glad I could help you, my Friend! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc (Blessed in spades and happy to share with my long-time friends in need.) Thank you, Lord!
The packet from Doc arrived in this morning's mail. It's a lovely little riser with the rings. Now to the snake pit to try out my new strap wrench to get the fount off the riser, then install the new one. I should have this stove puttering away in no time. Thanks to Doc Mark. My original 1968 or '69 123 has no rings and no part numbers on it, just the fount markings: "SVEA 123", "Made In Sweden" and the fuel names. Gerry
Evening, Gerry, Thanks for giving a progress report, and I hope that riser will work well for you. I do realize that I made a mistake about the rings. Whilst in my mind I "saw" all those vaporizers I go having no rings, in truth, they ALL have the rings!! Oh, well.... In any case, I hope it works great and you're soon putting away in the Snake Pit, brewing some tea for you and Bella! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
After Action Report. Got the old riser out with the aid of a set of Harbor Freight metric tubing wrenches and an Harbor freight el-cheapo-supremo strap wrench. The old riser had an interesting bit of brass or bronze screen wrapped around the wick rather than a wire holder. In any case, after installing the new riser, it snugged perfectly at the "1" on the "123" as it should. The old riser had been forced 2/3 of a turn too far. I fueled the stove, installed the burner bell and cap and primed. It lit fine, then the flame died down to a low simmer and in just a few minutes turned into a candle flame blowing sideways out of the jet. I'll wager a week of someone else's wages there's a burr or a bit of swarf in the jet. As soon as things cool down, I'll clear it and try again. As I suspected, a wee bit of swarf in the jet. pulled the jet, cleared it with a pricker and the stove fires and runs just like a teensy jet fighter. Wonderful. And Doc's the man Gerry
Well shoot, Another glitch. There seems to be a pressure leak though the threads where the riser screws into the fount. I'll need to dismount the riser, wrap on a layer or maybe two of PTFE tape and reinstall. Then I'll try another fill cap on it and see if I've taken care of the problem. I really do not want to try to turn the riser a full turn further. I'm afraid I'll overstress and break something. With those two things, I'll put a minipump cap on from one of my Optimus 80's. four or five pumps into the fount should tell me if there's a leak. The PTFE tape should cure the problem. If not, I've got a tube of high temperature Form-a-Gasket in my bag of tricks downstairs. That will cure almost anything. All these shoulda's, coulda's, and might'ves are driving me nuts. Short drive though it is. Then all I need do is wait patiently for my packet of viton cap seals to arrive. And perhaps ritually slaughter a chicken or two to appease the Stove Gods. That's always helpful. We need all the help we can get in the life of a stove fettler. And for you who are thinking it, NO I am NOT giving up! There's fight in the old boy yet. Gerry
