We have more to offer new ideas and tips to new Optimus Nova owners. If no fuel comes out of the jet, they need to inspect all fuel passageways: 1. Nothing blocking through the spindle shaft all the way to the jet. 2. If original filter is attached, remove and replace with fine brash mesh 3. If fuel does not come out or not enough pressure off pump, inspect the passage way where the tube is inserted for post plant assembly goo or fuel line tube plastic which may have been left behind 4. Make sure the jet is not clogged or the cleaning needle stuck. If everything else fails, wrap it up and send it over and forget you ever bought one Ron
thanks to all for the tips on the brass mesh... found a 12x12 sheet on-line w/free shipping from a large retailer! this will help me with a number of stoves, and i'll have a lifetime supply!
Hope it works well for you but, what's the big secret? What large retailer are you speaking of? Inquiring minds want to know. Perhaps more of us would like to get a good deal as well. Mike
Ok, thanks. I never would have even thought to look there for this kind of stuff. There you go, another resource right under my nose. Please, let us know if it's what you expected when you get it. We all can benefit if it turn out well. Thanks again, Mike
thanks, mike... i appreciate all the tips on gear and maintenance tool procurement here on SB... there are some fantastic folks here and some mighty fettlers who have made my stove experience better in many ways (i use a stove every morning on the lanai for coffee and sometimes for lunch or dinner)... so i'm a grateful member (and soon to be subscriber on the next retirement check)...
Super! I'm glad that CCS has helped you. I've learned so much here myself. It's a real doozy of a resource and it gets better with every small nugget of helpful info that's added. It's the people who are on here that make it what it is. Of course you already know this, so I'll quit rambling now. Mike
Hi Ron It will be interesting to see if the mesh works in the longer term. I can't see how it could out preform a filter made from a ball of cotton. It most likely will work with white fuels but maybe not so well on kerosene and I doubt it will have any effect of the chugging that novas do with out a filter. I hate to be negative and hope you prove me wrong. You have done some great work here and a really hope it does work... Dan
Dan, when I finally fired up the stove there was a some part of the throttling where I had the more distinct chugging (if I am correct would be the sound made by a 123/123R) but on full throttle and simmer its without any of that. Had to re-upload the video as there was a problem on YooToob. I will post the link as soon as its done and you will indeed notice on a part of the throttling where it kinda chugs. The original filter may clean more of the fine debris that came with the fuel but will eventually clog and as with my case, it was not letting any fuel into the jet. The brass mesh has definitely more bigger holes but if you do filter and use clean-clear fuel, I do not forsee a major problem. Ron
Hi Ron The way I see the nova working is the filter on the end of the fuel pick up is to filter the fuel and the filter in the stove is to moderate the fuel flow and filter a little more. The filter optimus has on the pick up does let some crud through and this can quickly block the second filter. To improve mine I stretched some tshirt fabric over the end of the fuel pick up. Since I did this my nova has not clogged up. The real solution though is to filter all the fuel you use in a filter funnel. I do think what you have done is a good solution which I hope works. One thing to note is you have a older(ish) Nova. The newer novas are quite different and there have been some improvements in the areas we are discussing. I can't be specific on these changes as in optimus's words my new nova is a "frankinnova" made from several generations of early Chinese production. One example is the reg spindle in the newer stove has larger grooves in the threaded part of the regulator that should not build up carbon as easily. Dan
From a pure filtering standpoint, I agree that the cotton will do a better job of filtering. The one issue I can guarantee, is that with screen mesh, no cotton strands will be pushed into the spindle tube from high pressure fuel at initial startup when there is no backpressure from vaporization. Could you elaborate on why the mesh screen would be less effective with kerosene than white fuel? As to the chugging, I don't notice any chugging in mine. I have several Coleman Apex and Apex II stoves that chug like a Choo Choo. But then, the Nova is a loud burner to start with. I would be interested to know if those with the chug have used one of Bernie Dawg's caps and what affect, if any, they have on the previous chuggers and if they just pulse quietly now. I use paper coffee filters for my fuel when I can. But don't always have that luxury. Again, I have been running filter free on this stove for years and many, many tanks of different fuels. The only stoppage I ever had was on some dirty diesel fuel. (I didn't know it was dirty until after the fact. My buddy filled my fuel bottles from the sediment filter drain on his vehicle without chucking the first ounce or two. Something I would not have done.) The stove clogged within a minute after starting it. After several attempts to magnetically clean the jet, I removed the fuel hose and blew through it(no stoppage there), connected the loose hose to the bottle and fuel and air immediately started spraying out(good pressure and no stoppage there. Thats a 2 for one problem elimination) then pulled out and chucked the little ceramic disc(I had read about others doing the same without incident) Opened the valve to full on and blew through it. I heard it hiss from the jet. I put it back together and haven't looked back. So the bottom line for me is that from my experience, this stove can handle dirty fuel pretty well. But the bottleneck is that little filter disc. So it keeps micro particles out of the stove, big deal. Now they pass on through. It hasn't stopped up since. I hit it with the magnet before every startup and right after priming. I don't need the stove to tell me I have dirty fuel by not working. I'd rather the stove give me a little cough when it spits out a piece of dirt and keep running. It does just that. I wholeheartedly agree with you that clean fuel is THE cure to most ills with ANY stove. Keep your bottles and fuel clean and there is nothing to get caught in the filter in the first place. BTW if anyone wants my spare filter disc, you're welcome to it. Mike
I do hope I am wrong and apologise to Ron for being critical of this idea as it may well work very well. I have been wrong many times before. What I really think is that the mesh Ron put in the stove won't work as well as cotton or the correct filter, therefore fuels which my have more impurities may do a little worse. If brass mesh was going to work well sure optimus, primus and MSR would all have used it. It's not that I think the mesh is worse with kero than white fuel (if both fuels are equally clean) it is that I think the mesh is not going to work with impure fuel and kero is more likely to be impure. In most situations the brass will be a effective filter and Ron will probably not have any problems. I agree this stove runs well with no filter at all, but as I only use kero and the nova is (again in my opinion) a dirty (no filthy, I think optimus really dropped the ball with the single jet for all fuels) burner of kerosene I always use a filter to help regulate the fuel flow. I use one of my novas with a DB nova cap. I have ground down the fins in the burner so the cap fits deep inside the stove. It is brilliant but... it no longer functions as a roarer. It is really a great stove this way but had I know it would no longer roar I would not have done it. Dan
No apologies are in order here. We are trying to learn from each others experiences here. And it's a give and take thing. As for being wrong, Take a number buddy. There is one big difference between our use of this stove. I burn Coleman fuel in it until I don't have any more. So my percentage of kero to Coleman use is probably 25 kero 75 Coleman. This may be why I don't see carbon in mine when I disassemble it. It may also have to do with how the stove is used. Nearly all the on time on my Nova is on full blast to boil water or make coffee. Once its boiling, I back it off of course but mostly it's rock and roll baby. You make an excellent point about kero. I've had some pretty nasty batches of kerosene, but Coleman fuel is always crystal clear with a light blue green tinge to it. Or is that the can. Unfortunately, Coleman fuel is slowly getting harder to find where I live. And I see the proverbial handwriting on the wall. I wish we had Esso Blue here. Can someone across the pond call BP? HA!! How much do our UK friends spend on a gallon of aspen 4t and panel wipe? What's the advantage of the roar? Wind resistance? Or just plain old testosterone rush? HA! What model of nova do you have? I'll break mine down and post pics of the components soon. I'd like to know what has changed in the design over the years. I will apologize to Ron for inadvertently hijacking his thread though. Sorry buddy, it good discussion though. Mike
Alright guys, have uploaded the firing of the Nova for the first time (3rd try). Mike - need your opinion as a regular user. Optimus Nova Gentlemen, no problem on the discussions on the filter. That IS what this forum is for - us to see/deliberate/modify/improve on the design of a particular stove to its utmost state of pure flame. I would have kept the disk filter only if when I blew hard on the hose I would have heard a tinge of hisssss on it. Nada no such luck so I had to improve on it. Perhaps also that the disks were not made equal as am pretty sure they might have outsourced it so different batches perform differently. So in my case it the filter was a bad batch to start with. USE ONLY CLEAN FUEL - with or without a filter or using cotton t-shirt or even cotton balls or brass mesh will not clog any of the above. Thanks for looking. Ron
I have an old nova, like Rons but the optimus branded one. I also have one that optimus made up for me out of spare parts from early production chinese stoves. They are different in quite a few ways but the burner is essentially the same on both stoves. The only diff on the burner is the tab that lets remove the flame spreader but it stays attached at one tab. There is little point me posting photos of this stove as it really is a one of a kind and also because I have butchered it with my dremel for the silent cap. Things that I can think of that have changed are bigger feet, different colour, now a new pump connector with an off knob at the pump. A different bolt that holds the reg spindle in (old one has an female bolt, new one male) Raised bit at the end of the pot stands on the newer one and a much better D shaped bolt under the stove on the newer models. Ron, Will give you video a look, I don't go to you tube much as I am on dial up but look forward to seeing what you have done. Dan
Ron, First off, great video production!!! You really did a professional job on that. My first thoughts are that it seems very yellow. Did it appear that way in person? I saw your XGK video and it seemed about the same color to me. I did hear some chugging in a couple of spots but was nice and strong. Looked much better with a pot on it from underneath. Yellowdog uses kero exclusively and I'll defer to him for some input as well. I'll load up some kero and we can compare notes. Have you run it with C fuel yet? Have you tested the magnetic needle while it's running? Most importantly, how do you see it. I want you to be happy with it, bottom line. Back in a bit, Mike
Mike, thanks for the compliment on the video. Yes, the flame tips were more yellow/red than yellow actually and I use no-sulfur kerosene. I still have not fired her up on C fuel but I intend to tomorrow. Like my MSR's they do tend to do that with kerosene and much more bluer with C fuel. What I would like to do is fire her up using tequilla or vodka just to see how it performs. The manual never mentioned alcohol as a fuel though Most happy with any stove that works PS. Like the original Humvee that is multi-fuel, I saw that thing run on vodka...quite an expensive demo. Ron
