I ordered one to strip the burner off of for the KAP arctic project i'm working on. (And almost done with i'm pleased to say) The initial one i got had a few problems... The gears on the spindle and cleaning needle were messed up and it looked like someone had taken it apart to try and fix it. The graphite seal and brass washer were completely absent. Luckily for me there are some great folks here who set me up with what i needed to fix it. Then i wrote to the sportsmans guide and told them about the missing parts. I got a prompt e-mail basically saying... "we'll get you the graphite seal within 7 days" I thought hmm. and graphite washers always seem to be improvised around here... they must be hard to get... How does the sportsman's guide have access to a bunch? Were they thinking 'we'll just strip down a couple of the uglier stoves for parts?' If so they would have soon realized that the graphite seal is self destructive and basically doesn't come out in one piece. So they sent me a whole new burner!!!!! I assembled it onto the stove and presto! I get the Kap AND another T!!! (Thanks to Gary for supplying the knob required)(as well as enough bits to completely overhaul the burner to be used in the KAP) Talk about having your cake and eating it too!!! I think the folks at SG are doing the best they can considering the nature of these well used surplus items. We do this for fun... but can you imagine if working on campstoves wasn't fun to you? Can you then imagine working at a catalog place being led to a pallet or four* of beat up campstoves and being told "Ok, try to figure out if these are complete and functional. Oh and by the way UPS and the insurance company say you can't light them up." *Granted, this would be a wholly different experience for any of us here.
I just got one last night and sent it back today. The stove wouldn't hold pressure nor light. It was also missing its cleaning needle and sounded like it was plugged. I normally would have just decided to tear it apart and fettle it back to life but when I spend $90 for something that says is in very good condition I expect that it should at least run a little I'll let you know how the exchange stove works when I get it. One nice thing is the return policy and customer service is pretty good. Dave
I mean i'm sure we're getting down to the dredges of the world supply of these things. I wonder if they even know how to find a parts list. maybe i'll send them an e-mail.
Mine from SG was actually quite nice, Although I had some problems with the cleaning needle and the cap had a small deformity that was preventing proper burning. I already had the replacement parts on hand, though. I was considering ordering a second, but not anymore. Pics of mine HERE
I think when they sell surplus they can be hit or miss I once order Swiss ranger boots that they said were "very good" and recieved something that looked like a dried up rat with laces needless to say i returned for refund - other products from them have been great though
My stove came today! It LOOKS pretty good. I haven't had the chance to check the functionality just yet. I'll need to read up on how to inspect it for usability. It was pretty tarnished up and has some rust on the bottom inside. I gave it a good cleaning and ran the shiny parts under a buffing wheel with a bit of rouge. Looks great!
That's a pretty clean one. Good looking stove. A little less polish and a little more kerosene with flames and you have a great photo. HA! just kidding. They do look spectacular all polished up like that. Mike
I just fired it up. I looked at the seal for the tank and it looks like a rubber O-ring in good shape. I also opened and closed the fuel knob a few times to see if a bit of fuel would come out. So I put a bit of Heet in the primer cup and applied spark. After priming a bit it started on it's own so I eased open the knob and it sputtered a bit and after getting warmed up, it burned nice and evenly - a gorgeous blue flame. After a few minutes the flame got a bit yellow, but that may have been old kerosene too. I didn't have much fuel, but I may see if I can pick up some K1 kero from the hardware store. I think I have to call this a successful purchase!
after seeing these pics and reading about the enthusiasm for these stoves, i ordered a couple... one turned out to be a 111b (roarer) in extremely good condition w/new tank seals and a perfect cup... this stove is a hot little number, indeed! the other was a 111t, also in good shape w/a decal ("For Kerosene, White Gasoline, and Alcohol), although someone's name is written on the lid - not mine unfortunately - but easily removed... both came with the funny white meths bottle and little wrench... the 111b has the red handle with 'Optimus Made in Sweden', while the 111t has the black handle (unmarked except for '') these are neat stoves that will see good use - thanks to all for the pics and tips!
oops! must correct myself (not being familiar w/the 111-series): the roarer version i recv'd is a '111' not a '111b,' as it has three vaporizing tubes... (and burns kero extremely well!) w00t!
Well, I finally got some K1 kerosene. Here are the requisite kero burn shots... "Medium" nice :-) "High" also nice "High +" Note the yellow streaks on the far side "Low" Lots more yellow :-( "Simmer"?? Looks sooty and unacceptable. It could be that what I am calling "low" is fine for simmering and what I am calling "simmer" is not a normal operating flame. NOTE: I had a difficult time finding kero in St. Louis! Go figure. They wanted $38 for 5 US gallons and $9.50 or more for a single gallon at Lowes (a super mega hardware store here in the states). Well, their prices aren't Lowe! I bought the single gallon in the hope of finding a better price - if it can be found. BTW, these are all taken without the brass windscreen for the burner - not sure why I didn't use it.
your experience mirrors mine - i found the 111 to simmer much better on kero than the 111t - but both are fabulous for bringing the kettle quickly to a boil!
Greetings, Gents, It's very cool to see so many "new" converts to the 111T, and that you have been able to score one of these outstanding stoves for such good prices! I have used them for many years, and still think they are one of the very best of the 111 series of stoves! I'm not sure why the simmering photos show such a flaring yellow flame, though. All of mine, on all three fuels (Meths, Coleman fuel, paraffin) simmer with no yellow at all, and with a very stable, very small blue flame. Maybe the surplus stoves need a few tanks of clean fuel to be burned through them to clean out the gunk that may have been leftover from previous owners/uses. ?? Don't know.... But, don't give up on them, as I do believe that, once they are cleaned inside, they should offer a stable blue flame, all the way down to almost off. Again, great stoves, and a very good price. Well done, Friends!! 8) Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
There's still plenty of K1 right at the gas station pumps here in Northern New York, $3 or so a gallon. The photo below is using K1, un-dyed, at close to a maximum output of my SG surplus stove. I too have more yellow when simmering but it does not appear to be quite as much as you have in your pics above. Using Coleman fuel the simmer capability is much better, with no yellow at all. Scott
I took apart the burner and gave the whole works (and fuel filter too) a good cleaning with carb cleaner. Took an old tooth brush to the whole thing and a brass brush in places. Cleaned the holes in the silent burner cap too. It is burning much better now and sounds identical to your description. Storing it under pressure revealed a slow leak where the tank meets with the burner at the big copper nut. Doing some research now to see what to do. Glad I switched to K1!
Fantastic! Found the fix here: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/15701 I had to crank it down very tight, but the soapy water was my guide. No more leak.
My 111 arrived today. I was very pleased with the condition, cosmetically. I'm not sure what they were burning in these stoves. It smells more like kerosene than diesel. I noticed that the cleaning needle was visible and did not move no matter what I did with the control. What's the best way to troubleshoot this? I removed the packing nut and withdrew the valve stem. Is the graphite packing re-usable? Thanks.
Sounds like your needle has come out. The best way to do that is to take the jet off with the wrench on the case or make a tool. Then take out the cleaning needle. The you can take off the stuffing box nut and then unscrew the spindle. The packing most likely will be find and can be reused. Jeff
I made an extraction tool for the orifice and tore the burner apart. There was several large scraps of graphite packing clogging the fuel ways. Is there any simple way of identifying which nipple has been fitted? Thanks!
