OK, here's another N°3 double roarer burner. Thanks to RonPH for the lead on finding this one. Here it is all closed up, weighing in at approximately 40 pounds. The designers spared no expense on the amount of steel used to produce this behemoth. Here's what it looks like under the hood: Probably one of the heaviest grates for a stove made. The grate weighs as much as two SVEA 123s, maybe more. Tool box is attached to the tank heat sheild. Two large roarer burners. The tank is almost completely surrounded by steel and insulation, probably asbestos. By the way, the tank is made of brass. Here are the accessories: You can see the instructions that were posted here. Very useful to get them in French and Dutch. I speak neither language. Tools, extra flame spreaders, jets, washers, prickers, and a new NRV pip and spring. Looks complete. Should have enough parts to make this stove last 200 years. Closer up. The NRV pip and spring in the plastic bag. Spare parts in the event upon which I wear this thing out. Flap that goes over the fuel filler cap. I would have never guessed had the words not been stamped on. Here's the filler cap: When removing the filler cap, don't cut your fingers on the inner edges of the tank heat shield, wouldn't want to get lead poisoning from the 27 coats lead green paint used. (Did I say green? Yay! Save the environment!) I believe the white stuff is some kind of insulation, perhaps asbestos - yet another hazard. Front of stove where fuel control knobs are accessed: Not very ergonomic. The knobs are difficult to turn. Need an iron grip or a tool to turn them. Will we need to invent a tool to turn these knobs, perhaps? No. Here's the pump: I removed it to inspect it. It was in perfect condition, all the way down to the NRV, which is down at the end of the pump tube. Sorry no picture here of the pump detail. Use imagination where required. Now this is interesting: The piece on the left is the safety release that's mentioned in the instructions. The tube comes out from there and points down, much better than pointing it into the flames like a few other stoves we know about. It looks almost Primus 71 in nature. Fuel filler cap on the right. Again, tank is made of brass - yes, no magnets stick to it... The tool box, which is on the tank heat shield, is opened in this way. My question: Why is the tool box on the tank heat shield and under the grate. If it gets hot, you won't be able to open it. So you'll have to get all of the tools and parts out first before you do anything. No tools. I already took them out. See above pictures. Here's the whole thing: Notice no riveted instruction label, so I don't know the date of this stove or how to use it. It looks clean in the picture, but it is actually quite greasy and oily. Priming: OK, I used a little too much fluid to get things started. OK, here's what really happened. I pumped the tank up and forgot I had the valves open, so I lit it anyway. Nice flames, huh? Don't worry, it only lasted a minute and then...look at the next picture. Ahh, nice pretty blue flames: My favorite. That Coleman Fuel works great in this stove. What I didn't tell you was that this stove would not push fuel through to the burners. Somewhere along the way I had a blockage. Care to guess where? OK, I'll tell you where it wasn't: Tank, fuel knob, needle valve, burner, jet/nipple. Here's where it was blocked (use imagination) just under the riser tube but after the needle valve block where it turns upward toward the riser tube - yeah the place that does not come apart. I jumped in with a needle and dug out the petrol gum. Came out in one big wad from both sides. Right side burner flame: Flame spreader turning red: This is a good thing. You know, this thing is loud when both burners are going. You can't hardly hear yourself talk in front of them. Here it is simmering: You're right, it's not really simmering. I can still boil water with that flame, but that is the lowest it would go. So maybe simmer 5 gallons of water? Overall, it was quite satisfying to receive this stove on Christmas Eve, such a nice gift from my sweet wife. The N°3 has numerous quirks, which, to me, make it quite interesting. It's like my beater car that no one else can drive since I know how it works. Being an American, I like how big it is - like a big V8 truck, maybe more like a 58 Cadillac, without the bells and whistles. It lacks ease of use but was really easy to light and remove eyebrows. I beat my knuckles while pumping, however, the pump pressurized the tank in no time and I found that it held pressure for the duration of the burn I did, which was about an hour. I like the table and the 27 coats of paint and enjoyed getting it working. sam
Nice one Sam. No problem on the lead as when there is always something interesting to post I would gladly share with CCS brothers. That would likely be replace the coleman in your terrance for cooking breakfast. Perhaps a SS flat slab on one of the burners to cook burgers, hotlinks, bacon would go well with it. Ron
Great stove!!! Not the ideal backpacking stove, but you can't wear them out! The good thing is, yours has the brass fuel tank, the steel ones tend to rot away. I don't know that much about their history, but my guess is yours was made after the war for the Belgian army (I know 100% sure they used them, as well as the ovens). You'll love this one I'm sure ! Regards, Wim
That stove is more solid than the Rock of Gibraltar. You ought to be able to pass that one down to your grandchildren's grandchildren.
Nice stove Sam . Great flame and nice job getting it up and running. I watched a youtube video awhile ago with one and thought it was a heavy duty stove. I saw some listed at Billings Army Navy and thought about getting one, but with my luck I'd end up with the steel tank version and it'd be all rotted out . Have fun with it. Dan
Wim, It would be an ideal backpacking stove if you only had to go a few feet with it! So you think it has a strong chance of coming all the way from Belgium because that is where I'm leaning. How it got from there to the U.S. would be another great story. It had to be in some army's possession for a number of years with all that paint on it. The paint color changed too. Some layers are darker and others lighter. The lighter coats are on top. Jim, the heaviness of construction makes me think that the case was made by tank and armored vehicle engineers rather than a stovie. I'm sure it could take some light shrapnel if exposed to it. Dan, I truly 'rolled the dice', if you will, when I bought this stove from the Billings Army Navy. I suppose I could have driven up there to see what he had, but as it is winter, I didn't take that chance on the roads going up there. I saw only one picture of it and it was not a good picture. There's a guy there that I've got the email for that will answer questions, but I'm not sure what kind of answers he would give, but worth a try. Hope this helps, sam
Hello, Get yourself an older Cast Iron griddle. That will set you up real nice. Nice find too ! Chuck
Morning, Sam, and All, Outstanding pictorial on your new #3, Sam!! Well done!! I, too, got mine from the Billings Army and Navy store. The Gentleman you mentioned, is very helpful, and getting info from him was very easy. I've never fire mine up, but should do so. Maybe at our upcoming So. CA Stove Gathering.....! 8) I'll have to check and see if mine has a brass tank, too, as does yours, as I cannot remember, one way, or the other. Great stove, great pictorial, and great narrative, Sam!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Well, I didn't realize there were so many replies. I was hoping to get these pictures in with the rest. Oh, well, Happy New Year... What I wanted to show about this stove is another little feature that appears on the back of the case. I didn't realize this until after I had wiped it clean that it has a door that opens to get at the floor of the case. I found it useful for cleaning things out, unlike Coleman suitcases where there is no door. I thought that maybe we could include these for your viewing pleasure. Here is the latch that holds the door closed: It doesn't look used at all. As a matter of fact, it was buried in paint around its edges so that I couldn't turn it. After I worked it delicately with a hammer, it came loose. Here's the door opened from the back of the case: It makes things quite accessible, as in my case, to clean and wipe excess fuel and oil that I spilled getting this honey fixed. Here's a view of the door opened from the top: I like it. I might have to get another one of these. Ok, so now we venture back inside to look at the burner base. This is the left burner base if you are looking from the front: Down inside that hole is where the petrol (gasoline) gum was lodged. You can't see down in there now but there is a small orifice (2mm diameter) for the fuel to pass through. I suspect that it's designed this way to keep fire from blowing back into the tank. Well, underneath the small orifice was where the hardened gum/carbon deposit lay. I took a T-pin, bent the tip at about 2mm into an 'L' and fish-hooked the gunk out. Fuel spat out as I did this and I was home free. Here's an exploded view of the burner: It's quite simple and very large. What I found interesting was the fact that the riser/generator tube has no wire screen or filter of any kind, like those found in lipstick burners like the Optimus 96 or Coleman 520s, etc. The tube is quite a large chamber to be vaporizing fuel in, I thought, but then again, it works well, as can be seen in the above flame pictures. Here are all of the flame spreader/burner plates that came with this stove: The three plates on the bottom have an interesting point on one of the retaining arms, while the two burners on top do not have this feature. Just thought you'd like to see that. I don't think it provides any extra functionality other than maybe attaching the plate to the burner basket easier. I tried it, it didn't seem to make a difference. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Anyway, I believe this completes the pics for this stove. I've really grown fond of this stove since it arrived. I can't wait to find it's little brother, the N°2. Have a great New Year. Don't lose too much weight and don't set too many goals. You'll just disappoint yourselves!! sam
Nice one, Sam - I'd spotted that clip on the back of my own No. 3 but hadn't realised it's purpose. Next, you'll be telling us what the two brackets are for on the inside of the rear panel! I don't suppose the toolkit detaches from the back of the fuel tank and fits there, does it? That would improve accessibility, if nothing else. I'm away from home at the moment so I can't look at my stove... (edit - and then I looked at Andy's image in this thread and found out what they were actually designed for!)
Yes David, I knew what the clips were for from the very same link you posted. Thanks, I forgot! Mine came with a funnel, but it's not for this stove, it's more for a truck or car - it's too big to fit any of my stoves! sam
