I might be wrong to place this in the Stove Reference Gallery as a French stove, because as a photo of the box will show in a moment, Dudley Hill Engineering Company of London take the credit. However, the cartridges are made in France and that's the origin of the brand, so I'm guessing the stove was made under licence to the French company by the British one, or perhaps merely imported by the latter. Here's the stove, unfired, with a used gas canister from another appliance and an unused canister This is the connector. As the collar's screwed clockwise, the needle penetrates the cartridge and the rubber sleeve seals the connection Assembled, the comparison with a contemporary Campingaz pierceable canister (containing 190 grammes of gas) and the Jet Gaz canister (340 grammes) shows the difference in size The Jet Gaz rubber connector seal hasn't got the rounded profile of the Campingaz equivalent, and as this example from an unserviceable Jet Gaz lantern shows, that's the weak link. The sharp-edged profile means that the rubber tears after several canisters have been replaced and the seal eventually doesn't seal anymore The burner is a push-fit on the jet nipple ... ... which is equipped with a spring clip to secure it The box Full of entertaining period detail, which cries out 1960's to me Dudley Hill Engineering eh? ... apologies if I'm not giving the company it's true credit ... John
An interesting stove, and an interesting marketing pitch on the box. I take it these were a bit expensive? Interesting take they have on a pan ring. HJ
I have an identical stove that I bought in 1969 - this was my first camping stove ever. Whoever made it didn't think of putting a name or a label anywhere. There is only one letter on it - "F" on the valve knob, indicating the direction to turn the valve for closing, which confirms your classifying it as French. In sharp contrast to your shiny stove, mine is a big pile of rust, but still burns fine. Yonadav
Well, I see the box has prices in decimal currency (introduced in the UK in 1971) though I'll stick with my assertion that the marketing pitch is pure 60's, and that's consistent (just!) with Yonadav's confirmation that he bought his in '69. This advertising leaflet for Camping Gaz appliances, featured in the Stove Reference Library, has prices on a par with the Jet Gaz, though from around ten years earlier Camping Gaz leaflet The 'Super Bleuet' stove is comparable with the Jet Gaz one on specification I reckon and is priced at nearly £3 (3 GB Pounds). However, those prices don't take account of inflation, which is neatly tabulated here What would it be worth in today's money? By that account, in the UK at least, the Camping Gaz was selling (in 1961) at the equivalent of £51 in today's prices, and the Jet Gaz (in 1971) at £39. Gas cartridges for the latter would be the equivalent of a shade over 5 GB Pounds now. The Camping Gaz carts would be nearer 6 GB Pounds now at 1961 price equivalent (for nearly half the quantity of gas of the Jet Gaz version). No wonder my pocket money didn't go so far in 1961! (Presscall, aged 10) John
the stove pictured wasn't bought in 1969. we know this because the price is a decimal value. in 1969, it would have said, £3 10s 6p or some such thing. i'm not old enough to have ever used it myself however, if we guess at 1972, shortly after decimilisation, then that amount of money is the equivalent of between £35-£75, depending upon what you measure inflation by. so, it's approaching the price of a new trangia. i'd say that's quite expensive http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/
Ah, decimalization. Quite practical, but it did away with a monetary system with a certain charm to it. I remember seeing the announcement on TV. Uh, when I was a very young child I mean. HJ
Its not always the best technical solution who wins the marked. My guess: Its not easy to beat Camping-gaz! dsk
you're right there. not many places in the world where childrens pocket money for sweets was a silver sixpence or thr'penny bit. the real silver money carried on being used for quite a while, with sixpence being worth two and a half pence, or 5 blackjacks of course, at my age now, i'm more interested in thr'penny bits than sweets
