Here's a Primus 71, dated 1947 (AL) that I took a chance on. The original picture that the seller had was very obscured so I couldn't really tell what I was getting. When it arrived in the mail, I was really surprised at how bad it had been treated. As you can see from the first set of pics, the case was painted black right on top of the old gray/silver. That was my first surprise. The second surprise was how badly the stove looked once I got it out of the tin. It had been charred beyond recognition. I knew I had a lot of cleanup to do to get this even to fire up. My third surprise was that the stove tank has a nickel plating on it. Wonderful! I had been searching for one of these for quite some time. My fourth surprise was the adjustable flame basket! It hadn't shown up in the seller's pic so was astonished to see it for real when it came out of the package! So, two unhappy surprises and two very happy surprises. It works, but I didn't takes pics when it was all flamed up before making it purty, and I don't really want to flame it up now after all the cleaning and painting that I've done with it. Sorry. Here it is with black paint, yuck. You can hardly tell if the stove tank is nickel. Here it is all done up. What do you think? The case looks a little better. Looks a lot better. Redid both case decals. Printed my own and then sprayed 5 coats of clear coat on them before adhering them. The paint didn't come out too bad on the case. I used 2000F high heat paint (VHT). Top of the tin with logo still intact. Here's the four language door warning decal. Door logo decal. I really like the nickel tanks. Here's the lever for the adjustable air intake in the burner bell. This is how the stove chain came attached. I left it alone to keep it as received. Nickel and brass. Most of the logo on the tank is still there. Filler cap is a little worn. Someone really loved using this equipment. The other engraving on the tank is is pretty good shape. According to the Primus dating chart AL=1947. Here's the air intake adjustment inside the burner bell. Not going to burn that up. Too hard to clean. sam
Hi Sam, A great story about this classic stove. It came to a good home and you have carried out a wonderful restoration. Best Regards, Kerophile.
Hi Sam congratulations on a superb restoration the work on the case is stunning its a shame a lot of the nickel plating over the years has been lost but i am glad you never over restored the tank by polishing out the remaing nickel and any of the blemishies it now looks like a old well loved and cared for stove I dont blame you for not wanting to fire it up after putting so much effort and good work into the restoration as it would burn the paint work of the case in the future you do decide to show it fired up you could take it out the case once again Sam well done on a great restoration
Hi Sam, Excellent work of restoration and beautiful stove. The old stoves always keep magic ... regards.
Hi, I just got a stove like this, the tin is the same, but the stove (only guessing, no date) is probably a little older. I will clean it up a bit and add pictures. Before I fire it however I am unsure if the pin (sticking out on the top) or the larger looking pin which is soldered into the base is the safety mechanism? I ask because the solder on mine around the pin on top has a gold-ish tinge and I suspect it my be braised. Should be a great stove, still has a cork tank cap seal. So which is the safety pin? Top, bottom, both? Dan
Found the answer. http://www.network54.com/Forum/81021/thread/1078937011/Primus71 Next time I better do a site search before I post. Dan
Some pics of the 71 I mentioned above. The last pics show it with a 1950's 71 which is larger. It goes perfectly, just popped put the cork tank seal and put in a nitrile one (which will probably last a fraction of the time the cork did) and it was away. It came with a handy, unbranded, funnel. Dan
I have to confess to having a soft spot for 71's. The 80 is just as good but the silver and brass (or nickle) decor works well for me. The lil opening door/lid is neatly tidy and the burners are uniformly enthusiastic. That they are a bit tippy just means thinking before lighting. Excellent resto, another stove saved from entropy.
Do you think you can make those dekalmarks for me? I have the same type Primus and I would like to restore it just like you did.
+1 on the link that Steve put on. They are quite difficult to make yourself. Here's the full address: http://www.gaspressuredecalsandlabels.com/ sam
Great restoration Sam. Yup, you sometimes have to take a chance and what a surprise indeed. Well, you got lucky my friend and congratulations. Ron
