I have been talking to Matt Hooper who is working for the British Antarctic Survey and he has kindly sent pictures from the base down there he is stationed at of one of the stoves they still use on field trips, Optimus 45. More pictures are coming; just spotted the Tilley diagram on the wall.
Hi Richard, Nice! I wonder how long that 45 has been there and whether it has any previous history. Look's from the picture as if it's had some pan holder tube surgery at some point in the past. Cheers, Graham.
Graham I'm told its been there 40+ years and is still used on the 'camping' trips they do certain times of the year.
There is not a lot of difference in basic terms between the classic brass stoves and the new remote canister stoves like the Nova; these old boys will outlast the new 'upstarts' in the future I think.
In my books the classic three legger brassie is a bit like the wheel really - no one's ever really come up with a better shape for that either
The probelm with the remote canister stoves is there are too many parts and eventually something will go wrong - bad O ring, lost connector, ... The new stoves do perform well, but you have to watch the little details much more closely.
With the new stoves like other camping and backpacking gear, we sacrifice durability for weight savings.
It would appear from the looks of the support board that stove has had a bit more preheat fluid than was necessary for a given time of preheat. That or they have had a serious bit of overfilling of the fount. i do like the ring in the support board to keep it in place while at work. Right niffty idea. lance
I've asked Matt what the liquid is Lance and I'll report back, all being well he intends to light one up tonight.
Hi Rik, Nice to see a classic along side newer gear. The board may be used as a base when used on the snow? Cheers Tim
Looks like the board could double as a lid for a storage box. Wonder if it's met the three stoves in the top pic in this post? https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/10133
Hi, I believe that one of our fellow CCS members, Dermot Connolly, served in the British Antarctic Survey, and is knowledgeable about their use of Op.45 stoves. Best Regards, Kerophile.
Yes...and it appears to be undergoing som fettling as the burner and a leg are missing. There is also a lantern hanging from the shelf above the primus.
Matt is still there George and using them. The fluid under the stove is paraffin spill from over filling the tank. IIRC the Australians still have the 'Chuffa stove' (paraffin 111) and the Americans have a combo of MSR and paraffin 111's.
Hi it was the early seventies when I was in Antarctica and the Optimus 45 was the workhorse for all field trips. Avtur fuel was used in the stoves, the same fuel that ran the diesel generators on the base. The 45 was always kept intact in a sledge box for easy access and was always lit inside the tent. There were three people in each tent. If you were on cooking duty the first thing you did in the morning was to get that stove working and melt a lot of snow for the porridge. Some guys had never seen a primus stove before so it was new to them. I was lucky as I always had one on my bike back home and still do. No women down there in my days boy they sure have got it easy down there now. Dermot Connolly
Anybody notice the phillips SAD light behind the stove, thats how dark it is that these guys need one of these lights.
