Hallo everybody. if you dont mind i have a few question about a specific stove. I've read all the topics about fettling and fixing here and allso in other resources but i stil canr find a solution. i hope that you guys could help me. i found this stove at my grandmothers house and she said it belonged to my great grandma. it looks in good condition but it havent been used in the recent decaids. after reading here i replaced the valve to an homemade leather one and cleand the nipple with a needle. but it does not work yet. i tried to open up the head but it is stif. i tried two swedes and a ranch and it didnt work. allso heating the thing didnt do much. oiling didnt help either. what can i do about it? plus i couldnt find the brand no where. on the body its writen "quality stoves" all around and thats it. i had here photos of the stove. if you please could help me i will be very thankfull. p.s. i know this will ofend you as collectors but i just need the stove to work. it's for cooking purposes. so i am not affraid to damage it a bit if i must. thanks to you all
Hello and welcome to the forum. Firstly, don't worry about offending anyone, stoves are primarily for using and there are many on here who regularly use their stoves for the intended purpose. Some prefer to keep them shiny, nowt wrong with that! There are many people on here willing to advise and help you get your stove running again. Firstly, when you say it is not working yet, what have you tried? Can you pressurize the tank, this would indicate that the pump leather is doing its job, and that the non-return valve is also functioning correctly. A photo of the pump leather might be useful.
Hi avi, Let's start with the basics. What fuel are you using, and are you getting pressure into the tank when you pump? Cheers, Graham.
Hi avi welcome to ccs here are a few very common faults with a stove that has not been used for decades the leather pump cup is probably dried up the nrv valve could be stuck and not allowing air in the tank as mentioned by bd the filler cap washer has become hard and not making a air tight seal the vapouriser could be carboned up not allowing fuel to emit from the jet properly so cleaning out the jet with the pricker. but a nice interesting stove you have there and it would be nice to see it working properly and some more pics of it
thanks all for replying. as for what i did so far: i used what i believe is kerosene (it's a problem recognising it due to the languge difrences but i'm 90% sure its kerosene) i've replaced the leather pump with a new homemade one as shown in the guide here. i've cleaned the vaporizer with an improvised picker from a broomstick. when i press the pump in there is a bit of presure in the begining then a release. so doc, is that sound familier to anyone? much oblige.
Avi could be your filler cap seal has become hard and poke the seal with a nail and see if you can indent it if it is hard then it will not make a good seal and when you pump presure in the tank does the pump rod shoot up whats nown as the viagra efect then you havae a fault non return valve seal but you have described sounds like presure loss and sounds like the most common fault the filler cap washer seal
Hey avi .... You are pre heating/priming the stove .. usually with meths/alcohol or burning paste ?? Of course you are :-) Nick
allright, i checked the filler cap seal and it was dry. i've put in a new one and now it is sealed but now... i'll try to describe it: it's as the air in the pump doesn't go nowhere. it's hard to push in and after it's pushed in (probably the air goes back in the direction of the pump handle) it's hard to push back. no sudden aruption from the vaporizer. and to preheating: i tried: kerosene, benezin, a flame thrower and a fire tourch. p.s. i've tried to recognize the brand so i could maybe get the blueprint of the mechanism but i couldn't identify it. is "sfinx no.3 quality stoves" says something to anyone? and again, thanks allot for the help.
Just read your last post: If the pump will not pressurise the tank, the nrv valve is stuck, and needs to be removed. Depending on how it is fitted, it might need a special tool to remove. Remove the pump, and with a torch look down the pump tube to see how it is fitted in. -------------- Hi Avi, looking at the amount of soot around the burner tubes and head, makes me wonder if indeed as Nick says, you are trying to light the stove without pre-heating. I don't know how much you understand of the stove, so I'll take it somewhere near the bottom end of the learning curve and start there - forgive me if this is already known to you. If you are using kerosene that's fine, it's called petrole in mainland Europe and paraffin in England. (Do NOT use gasoline/essence/Coleman fuel) There are sets of instructions for lighting HERE, and though you may not find one specifically for the Sfinx, a Radius or any of the Swedish stoves that look just like yours will do. Some of the instructions are multi-lingual. I suggest you tip the fuel out of the tank before proceeding as follows. There is in the bottom of the pump tube a non-return valve. If this is not functioning correctly, after a few pumps the pump will slowly come back out to its full extent. This means the non-return valve (nrv) needs a new seating pad. If the pump behaves and remains in - so far so good. Assuming the filler cap does not leak, top up with fresh fuel - just half a tank will do for now (never fill to the top). Leave the air bleed vale open a couple of turns. Clean all the unburnt fuel and oil from around the burner, and fill the little spirit cup around the base of the burner with Methylated spirit. This is otherwise known as de-natured alcohol. It also comes in paste form, but the liquid is more usual. Now light the methylated spirit. The flame will burn blue after the residue of kerosene has burnt away. This is the 'pre-heating' sequence so very necessary to get the kerosene in the burner tubes to vapourise and become a gas. Close the air bleed valve, and just as the methylated spirits start to die down, give a few pumps to get some pressure up. This will force fuel up into the burner head which will vapourise and come out of the jet as a gas. If you time it right the last flicker of meths flame should light the fuel with a satisfying roar. If the flame goes out before hand, just put a match to it and it should light. If it does not light, it may be down to a couple of things; 1 The jet is blocked. 2 pressure has been lost through leaky seals. Use your pricker to clean the jet - try not to use wire too much as it wears the jet orifice. Replace any seals and leaky washers. If you get it lit and the flame is uneven - more one side than the other, it may need a new jet. A special spanner is needed to remove and replace the jet. Controlling the flame strength is all down to releasing some air through the air valve to lower (and turn off), and pumping up to increase. Let us know how you get on! You mention 'Swedes' and 'Ranch' - I'm going to guess you mean spanners and wrench! Derek UK.
Welcome. Sounds like your NRV is jammed. Brand doesn't matter - looks to be a standard type. Have yu had the NRV out? A common subject of discussion here as you've no doubt already noticed. General info https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/90
Avi, that's definitely a kerosene burning stove. When you open the valve, does any fuel come out of the jet? The jet is the nipple like object in the upper part of your photograph. If no fuel is coming out, then you definitely have a pressure problem and the tank gasket is the first place to look, the pump cup the second, and the non-return valve (NRV) is perhaps the third. As far as lighting a stove of this type, if you look right below the jet, you'll see a small cup like object that encircles the metal tube that carries the fuel. You need to put ethyl alcohol (sometimes called "meths" or denatured alcohol) or something like ethyl alcohol in that small cup and then light the alcohol on fire. The small fire in the cup will heat the coils leading to the jet. When the liquid kerosene hits the hot coils, it will turn from liquid into a gas and then be ejected through the jet. So, before you can properly burn kerosene, you must use alcohol (or something like it). The use of another type of fuel to get a stove started is called "priming." If you already know all of this, please pardon me. It's just good to make sure the basics are covered before we get into a lot of details.
Oh, and one more thing. I believe kerosene is called neft in Isreal. In some other countries in the Middle East, kerosene is called naft. Is that helpful to you as to which fuel to use?
Hi there Need help from a local give me a call 054-7589002 and I can meet and help located at haifa as well I think the best thing is to meet - this are fairly simple and I have all the equipment here
further resolts: i did pre-heating (i did it before with petrole and other things but this time i used spirit) and it didn't change much. the problem i have with the pump is not pushing it in but reather pulling it out. i can push it in fine but after its in when i pull, the vacum inside stays and just pull the pump back in. i looked at the nrv at the end and tryed to clean it with a wire. but i have no idea as to how to get it out without the use of a can opener i can't get into the body to check things out because the nut of the head is impossible to release. kerosene indeed called "neft" but neft is a somekind of a generic name to oil and oil substence. hebrew, like arabic, is quite short on terminology Doron, the moment david sayd that there is a local here i said to myself "he is either from haifa or jerusalem"
I would check to make sure the leather cup is "pointed" in the correct direction, if it is difficult to pull pump handle out. Gordon
Hi Avi Neft is what you need and can be found from the pump at Atlit gas station What looks to be the problem is that the NRV is stuck and you wont be able to push air is give me a call
success! after careful cleaning and replacing all that is replaceble i had fir at last. it didn't last long but it was a good burner fire. incoridging i must say. anyhow, i have a lost of pressure and the problem for egnition seems to be the pump. i'll try to fix it and see hoe that goes. and i found neft in a gas station infront of the old police station in the city. if you don't mind, doron, i'll give you a phonecall on sunday. just tell me when is it comfortoble to you. and again, thanks allot to everyone about all the help.
