I have an old Svea 123 that has set unused for 15-20 years. I have fired it up and it still runs great, but I want to refurbish it before heading out on the AT in March. Is there a place where o-rings, gaskets, and "how-to" suggestions can be found? Thanks. Jim Moody
Jim, Is the stove's valve stem. (Where you turn the stove off and on) on a slant or straight out? If it is on a slant it is the older model. If it is not leaking near the key and gives you a steady blue flame with that putta-putta sound then don't mess with it. It is a rock solid stove that requires little maint. If it is the straight out stem you can buy a maint kit from A&H stoves listed under the link section here on the website. They will have all the parts you need. Schematics of the stove are also on this website. Plus you can ask for more help once you decide to buy the parts. There is not a how-to or guide but, it is straigt forward and A&H can also give you guidence. My opinion is if it runs great not to change the wick. Removing the stem from the fuel tank can have a bad effects one of which is breaking it clean off the tank. You can run a little carburator cleaner through a tank full of fuel to clean things out a bit (about a capful per tank) This stove is a great one that should not develop catistropic problems over time just because it sat on a shelf. What section(s) of the trail are you doing this year? Are you planning to through-hike this March? Chuck
Chuck, Thanks for the advice. I was planning to only change out the o-rings in the filler cap, not the entire "innards". Mine is an old model; the stem is at a downward angle. I plan to thru hike from Springer to Katahdin, if the knees hold up. I just retired; I'm what Buffett would say is "an almost 60 victim of fate". Thanks again, Jim M.
Jim, That is an easy fix. The o-ring in the filler cap needs to made of nitrile rubber. Coleman fuel or gasoline will deteriorate regular rubber. Once you get over that first month of walking and living outside you can pretty much do anything. Buffet also says "Cheeseburger is paridise" After living on ramen noodles and other assorted trail food I bet you will feel the same way. Send me an e-mail if you can't find one anywhere. Just roll the mouse of my name and you will see the e-mail. Chuck
Right on, Jim!!! You'll have a good time. I've tramped enough to have a grip on the basics and (in my view) it's just this. Take a better sleeping bag than the one you think you need, too hot is easy fixed, too cold's a bitch. Take a Therm-a-rest self inflating mattress, 3/4 size. Make up the length with a chopped up sno-foam pad that doubles as a dandy seat when you're on the move. A good night's sleep is paramount. Ramen noodles look and taste like food but aren't. I favor Uncle Ben's Boil-in-the-bag rice packets and dried satay sauce mix with a spoonful of peanut butter. I'll gladly pay the 2 or 3 lb toll for a good feed and a comfortable night. If your planning on taking a tent, think really REALLY hard about getting a Hennessey Hammock....
Food is a real issue with me, even if I was young and fit enough for long treks, I could never go ultra lightweight, I just need good food at the end of the days walk. The thought of going a long walk, and bland food as my reward just puts me off the idea of camping (Chuck and I have mixed opinions over Raman Noodles, sorry mate). Mikes advise about the sleeping bag is sound, its easier to cool off than get warm and your choice of the 123 is spot on, great stove PS, a small MP3 player, a couple of AAA cells, and around 100 of your favourite songs to pick from, round off the day nice as well (and in my case, helps stop the sounds of my 17 year old boy's snores keeping me awake)
Hi, Jim, Mike's suggestions are very good, and well worth considering. If I may add my own two-cents, please. My Sweet Bride and I have done over 1,250 miles of the PCT, and we learned a ton on our trip. 1 - Mike's suggestion of not skimping too much on a sleeping bag is a good one. But, don't get carried away. We started out with sleeping bags that were WAY too warm, and had to dump them for lighter bags, quite quickly. We ended up with bags from The North Face and got by, quite nicely, with their Blue Kazoo, 20? down bags. We used their original stuff sacks, and placed that sack into a thick, plastic sack, to double bag them. Through rain, snow, and some sleet, our bags stayed dry and warm. By the time you get the first 200 miles under your feet, your metabalism will really speed up, and you will not need a bag warmer than 20?, no matter how bad the weather gets. If things get really nasty, you can always sleep in your capilene undies, as did we. Also, another good hint: try to wipe down every night before you crawl into your sleeping bag. We did that, and after all those miles, our bags are still in perfect condition. We saw other hikers, who did not take good care of their bags, freezing their butts off, because their bags had become too dirty, matted, and greasy to keep them warm. 2 - We dehydrated our own meals for the entire trip, and ate like the King and Queen of the PCT!! Nobody we met, either then, or since, has eaten as well as we did!!! We bought 140 lbs of fresh buffalo meat, and jerked it out, ourselves. With this dried meat, and tons of home dehydrated veggies, we ate buffalo stews, buffalo speghetti, and lots of outstanding soups!! I cannot suggest highly enough, that you do your own food and meal dehydrating! Ramen is nothing but empty calories, for the most part, and not worth it's weight. For those that are doing weekend trips, it's OK, if you like that sort of stuff. But, Mike's rice idea is much better than Ramen. The average weight loss of long distance backpackers is quite high, and most of the time those that lose the most weight are eating things like Ramen!!! Need I say more?? 3 - Your choice of the SVEA 123 as your stove is an excellent one!!!! Many hikers have replaced the 123 with stoves like the Whisperlite from MSR. But, the SVEA 123 is actually a better stove, in my opinion. We tried a Whisperlite Internationale on our trip, and despite meticulous care, it let us down when we really needed it, and without the generous loan of a Coleman Multi-Fuel from another hiker, we'd have been strong candidates for hypothermia!!!! I believe the SVEA 123 is MUCH more dependable than the Whisperlite series of stoves, and would gladly stake my life on it. While I have quite a few MSR stoves in my collection, and haved used them quite a bit, the only ones I would really trust are two older X-GK stoves. I have no such reservations about trusting the SVEA 123! Along with the stove, I'd take a Nalgene eyedropper, for priming, and if I thought the weather was really going to turn against me, I might add the Optimus mini-pump. Though with the eyedropper, it's probably not necessary. If you have any questions about anything else that you wish to take along, or leave behind, on your adventure, I would be honored to offer our experiences with any items you may have in mind. Please don't hesitate to send along a PM, or to post your questions here on the forum. If you plan well, get in good condition, and keep a positive frame of mind, your trip on the AT will create memories that will last your lifetime!!!! As the home made sign at the beginning of the PCT reads: "Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what you get"!! Best of luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
RE: Svea 123. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Those little things are nearly immortal and bulletproof. If you can find one get a Sigg Tourist cooker to go with it. Tourists are widely available and simple to field dress, but tend to be tough and are inedible raw. Gerry
123+ the Sigg Tourist Cookset, one of my favourites, although a 111 with a good set of Billy Cans are just as good (if there are two of you to sahre the weight). If you are on your own, get a Trangia 27, no moving parts, takes a little longer to boil, but is 100% reliable.
Hey, Rik, and All, I agree with your comments on the SVEA 123 and the Trangia 27, but on a long distance backpack, it would be best to leave the 111 at home. When you have to average 20 miles a day, for almost 6 months, the weight of the 111 makes it completely untenable, even if it's shared with someone else. ONE of those folks is going to be carrying a 3+ pound stove in their pack, and on a true long distance backpack, that weight is way too much. Also, I think anyone carrying a 111 on the AT, PCT, CDT, or any of the other outstanding long distance wilderness trails in the US, would be laughed off the trail as a complete moron, if they carried a 111!!!! About the only practical way to make that happen, would be to take the stove and fuel tank out of the steel case, and then use it with some other, much lighter replacement case, or pot/pan setup. You know me, I LOVE the 111 series stoves. But, they are not good choices for an extended backpack, covering thousands of miles. TOO heavy. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
Doc, what do your weapons and ammo weigh? I'd leave them at home and take the 111 if there were two of us
Hey, Rik, The choice to take along a stove as heavy as the 111 is definitely your perogative. And the decision not to take along serious protection for yourself and your loved ones is your choice as well. But, to me, you are comparing apples to oranges, and your comparison is not valid. You must compare stoves to stoves, and not other pieces of gear. You should compare tents against tents, boots against boots, stoves against stoves, etc.. I can tell you, that only those that have walked 1,000 miles, or more, have ANY idea what it's like to have done so, or what it takes to prepare for such a trip. When Cynthia and I were preparing for our own PCT trip, we got advice from all corners of the backpacking community, as we know TONS of backpackers! But, after listening to all that advice, and after failing to complete our 2,650 mile PCT hike, we thought, long and hard, about why we had failed. Now, please understand, we did not "fail", in the larger sense, because we got to spend 3 months on the trail, sleeping under the stars and taking care of ourselves, and on that one trip, we hiked about 850 miles. But, we did not complete our planned hike, which was VERY disappointing to both of us. After years of preparation, and months of conditioning, we failed in that regard. Again, we gave much thought to exactly why we could not complete our trip. One thing, that was completely out of our control, was the weather. The year we attempted the PCT, saw record and early snow! Few, if any, hikers finished that year. But, we could have done much better, had we listened only to those hikers who had actually done a real long-distance hike. Instead, we took advice from many well-meaning friends, who had NO concept of what it takes to endure and survive, much less enjoy, a hike of 2,650 miles!! Because we listened to them, we made many mistakes, most of which had to do with carrying gear that was way too heavy. Later, we went out on the trail again, having learned our lessons well, and did a trip of 170 miles, in just niine days, and that included many of the highest mountain passes of the PCT!! We came through in fine style and did much better than on our original PCT hike!! Had we attempted our original trip, using the same skills and equipments that saw us through that 170 miles, we just may have been able to complete our entire hike, in spite of the snow! You must choose each and every piece of your gear very carefully. You must weigh not only the actual pounds and ounces, but also the need and utility of every single bit of gear you are going to carry. I have never met one serious long-distance hiker that would ever consider taking along a stove as heavy as the 111. And, I must say, that we have met hundreds of thru-hikers over our years in the backpacking hobby. For a thru-hiker, the SVEA 123 can and will do anything that needs to be done. There are many other stoves that will work, too. And, all of them share one thing: they weigh about 1/3 to 1/2 as much as the 111 series of stoves. Taking the 111, fine a stove as it is, is carrying wasted weight, for NO reason, period. Anyway, like I said earlier, you can and should make your own choices, when deciding what you need for a hike of such epic proportions. But, choose WISELY, or else you may find yourselves in the same boat as did we, and you WILL be very disappointed, I guarantee it!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
Great to see you doing a bit of the AT. After reading Brysons book I have been fascinated with it. The thing that would give me the shits on the At are the Bears! The most dangerous thing we have over here is the weather. Are there any other books on tramping the AT?
There are likely scores of books on hiking the AT. I love Bryson's book, especially that part near the beginning on how they were throwing away all thier stuff because it was too heavy. Having thrown away the coffee filters they had to strain coffee through toilet paper. Bears really are not that big of a problem, more a pain in the backside than anything else.
Hey, Grunter, The AT, as well as the other premier long distance trails in the US, the PCT, and the CDT, all share one thing in common: bears are prevelant. Most hikers have NO problems with the bears, IF the camp "smart". For instance, we never cook and eat where we sleep, period! Usually, as the afternoon begins to wain, we find a spot to cook and eat our evening meal. Then, we put away all our food, wash our cook pots, utensils and dishes, and then horse up the packs and walk another 4-5 miles before making camp, well off the trail, and hidden. We also try never to camp where others have camped before us, especially if there is a fire ring. Bears can smell fire, and cooking food, from many miles away, and lighting a fire in bear country is a direct invitation for a bruin to visit your camp in the night!! We seldom light fires at all, unless forced to it by the need to dry out wet clothing. Whatever backpacking stove we've chosen, is "fire" enough for us, and the days of sitting quietly, and looking into the blazing embers of a real campfire, are long gone in the back country, for a variety of good reasons. Our food is either bear-bagged and hung on a rope, high in a tree, or put into another safe place, away from our tent. We've never lost so much as a morsel to curious or hungry bears, using this method. While backpacking up in Alaska, where the Grizzly bear population is much more a threat, and there are few tall trees, we triple bag our food, then place it under a few rocks, several hundred yards from camp. Works a treat! Never keep perfumed items, such as toothpaste, sunscreen, and lotion, in your tent, either. Rather, put such items into your food bags, and keep them away from you while you're sleeping. This is one of the most important points, and one which is often over-looked by those unfortunates who have bear problems. Finally, as do a very few long distance backpackers, we choose to carry protection in the form of a relatively small, but quite powerful revolver, and appropriate ammunition of my own manufacture. For normal backpacking, the pistol is usually a Taurus M415, .41 Magnum, 5-shot revolver. It's small, handy, relatively light weight, and has plenty of power to put down a bear, should I need to do so. Or, I may take along something smaller, depending on the country in which we'll be hiking. But, for Alaska, where the bears are much larger, and sometimes more dangerous, I carry my larger, and extremely powerful .454 Casull revolver. With the proper loads, it's about 2 1/2 times more powerful than a .44 Magnum, and can be counted on to save your bacon, and the lives of your loved ones, if you should need it. So far, thank God, we have not needed to shoot a bear while on any of our many backpacking adventures. But, to us, having a proper firearm, and knowing how to use it, is a real comfort, and we would never think of going into the wilderness without it. Should the day ever come when I am forced to use it to protect myself, my Sweet Bride, or other innocents, the weight of my firearm and ammo will have been well worth adding to my kit! Better to have it, and not need it, then to need it, badly, and not have it!!!!! For those that live in places where the "wild" has been taken out of the "wilderness", then of course, there is less need for a firearm. Judge your own situation, and make your decision based on your own needs. So, that's what works for us. Maybe some of these tips can work for you, too. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
Doc Mark et al., Thanks for the advice on several topics. Someone asked me to post updates - I'm keeping an on-line journal at trailjournals.com/JimMoody. Back to my original question - where can I get a replacement gasket for the filler cap on my Svea 123? Thanks in advance. Jim Moody
I must admit I am a fan for light-weight hiking. I carried a down 3 season -10c bag for years and spend at least 75% of that time sweltering in it. I now have a one season bag and I sleep in extra my clothes when it is cold. A hat makes a lot of differnece as do socks. Most bush walking here isn't too bad, its when we get above the bushline that I think you need the cold condition bags. I would agree with Doc about the 123. I used an 8R for years on hiking trips and they are a totally realibable beast. I got a new 123R recently and KNOW from this forum that it will be a great hiking stove.
The only warning I would give about the 123 is that you top up it's tank before you light it EVERY time. If, God Forbid, the stove ever burns dry, the wick will be ruined and the stove rendered useless. My 123(notR) is 37 years old, has never needed attention and lights in seconds without fail. I trust it as completely as I trust my wife. More perhaps because it's never broken into tears because of black flies. Gerry
