Hello stovies, Just recently acquired a Homestrand Mariner, alcohol version with Svea 839 burners (it's still in transit from seller's location, probably bouncing around in some USPS vehicle). I've read through many topics on the stove and there was one where one stovie converted a couple of them to kerosene (I think it was dday). I could not find anything definitive on the subject and would ask for someone to point the way. I would like to know if it is just a matter of just changing the jets and cleaning needle, or is it more involved than that. I understand that if the burner is strictly for alcohol (straight shaft no vaporizer tubes) then there is no chance, but if the stove has the burner tubes, then it seems that the jet is what is left to change. Would this be right? Let me know. Alcohol is a bit pricey and kerosene is plentiful, at least at my house it is. sam
Sam, You just have to drink cheaper alcohol thats all. No seriously though, its as simple as jets and needles. That's all you will need to do.
It's totaly dependent on the burners supplied with that stove. If you have the 4 tube regulated burners, then it is just a matter of jet change & removing the restricters. If you get the single colume burners, then it will take a burner swap out to the above mentioned 4 tube type.
It looks like the stove has the 4 tube burners, but on one it is hard to tell from the pics. I'll know better when it gets here. Just thought I would ask ahead so I can round up the jets and needles. sam
Hi Sam, Congrats on the score as the Homestarnd with Svea burners is my absolute favorite user two burner without a doubt. To answer your question, you will need two kero jets, two kero needles and two inner burner caps (I used standard optimus 111 parts). Homestrand stoves were originally sent out with only the outer caps as they were built to use alcohol although the burner was originally designed to burn kero . The restrictors will also need to be removed. Please post some pics of it when you've finished or when you receive it . Have a good evening, Dan
Thanks Dan. I appreciate the direct information. I knew there had to be one more item - the inner cap. Hopefully, I have enough of those for this little project and some of my other nefarious experiments. I see you have at least three of the HMs, which look like they are operating quite well. Are all of them that are shown burning kero? Mine looks like one of the two above with the copper? or brass? railing. sam
Hi Sam, Absolutely all burning kero . I took the pic right after firing them up as it takes a few minutes to really get the blue flames going. The burners are fabulous, great simmering abilities as well as high end heat. You'll be very pleased!! Dan
Evening, Guys, I agree with Dan, 100%!! The Homestrand Mariner stoves with those SVEA 1915 burners are equal to any other two-burning kero stove out there, IMHO!! Have fun with your new Baby, Sam, when it finally arrives and you get into it! Well done! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc (who's been "into Homestrand stoves" for many years now, and still thinks they are the DB's!) 8)
Thanks Dan and Doc, It sounds like a new club has formed - the Homestrand Mariner's club, not to be confused with the Seattle Mariners. I can't wait for it to get here. I hope there is not too much wrong with it, but it certainly looked like it was hardly used at all, but we shall see... sam
First, you can see the whole stove here: Home Strand Mariner - Sweet Double Burner So, I finally received the stove and boy what a nice surprise that turned out to be. It came as you see it in very nice condition. It looks to be hardly used. So the first thing I did was tear down the stove so that I could get to the burners easier. The jet is the same size as 111T jets, so I used my 111T tool to get the jet out. That worked perfectly. I also took out the jet cleaning needle, which is made for the alcohol jet. I replaced both those items with kerosene versions and I was off to the races... Here's the 111T tool in action, removing the alcohol jet from the Svea 1915 burner. Here are the two different jets for comparison. The jet on the left is the alcohol or 'S'pirit jet, marked with an 'S'. It is next to the cleaning needle, which you can probably see is a bit larger than the kerosene version. This picture shows the kerosene cleaning needle stuck into the eraser of a pencil so that I can hold the cleaning needle down to 'click' it into place. I did 6 clicks on this since 5 would not let me close the valve. I measured the alcohol cleaning needle and found it to measure 0.41mm, quite large. The kerosene cleaning needle measures 0.28mm, which is what I was expecting. Time to try it out, starting with a prime. Here are the burners going at it with the air-restrictor tubes in place. You can see the yellow in the flame. When I first tried this, the stove would not light. It would just blow out. I put the restrictors in and the stove would light. I let the stove burn with the restrictors on for quite a while and then removed them hoping to get a good flame and finally got one. sam
Sam, Sure is a nice looking stove. Do you plan on using it on a boat? Or is it just part of the ever growing collection
Thanks for the comments guys. DaveD - yes to both questions. I guess I have a reason to get my boat back in order now. sam
Evening, Sam, Outstanding, efforts, and results, my Friend!! Well done, and congrats on getting such a wonderful, and reliable stove in your Homestrand Mariner!! 8) 8) As I've always said, that particular model of Homestrand stove is a real gem, and fully the equal, or BETTER, of many other more well known stoves of it's type!! You have chosen wisely, Sir, and I predict many years of faithful and reliable service from your new Mariner stove!! Thanks for sharing your good fortune, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
I realize this is dated but I found a rather battered Mariner stove some time ago and recently fired it up...sort of. The right burner was snapped off where the thread enters the round brass item that connects to the fuel tank via the thin feed pipe. I removed that brass cylinder. capped off the end of the fuel pipe and fired it up. Looking for more info, I found this site as an attachment to a U.K. parts supplier "The Fettle Box". As a one time machinist with a small tool room lathe in my garage I figure I can salvage the broken burner. However...in the nautical realm I have no love of alky stove fuel, for all the reasons everyone has, availability, BTU's, cant see the flame, if you cant get the stove to light you cant even cut your losses and drink the fuel, etc. I figure this example fell from a good height, dented up the aluminium case a bit, broke the burner etc. however if I can turn it into a Kerosene burner (here in Canada dyed (off road diesel) fuel oil is the same price per gallon as drug store quality alcohol is per pint). Having just pulled the broken burner out of the garage it appears these ones have the S mark have both an inside and outside burner cap, and I may be mistaken but the central air tube appears to be brazed to the complete 4 tube unit, so in this case if there is no air restriction tube could it have been already converted by someone to Kerosene?
Hi Alan. Welcome to CCS. I can't answer if someone already converted your burners for kerosene use but it sounds like you have the Svea kerosene burners. If you pull the caps off you can confirm that these are Svea #1915 burners, It'll be clearly marked Svea, Made in Sweden and have some Arabic scrolling. These burners were designed for kerosene use and then modified for alcohol use so we aren't really converting them to kerosene but rather removing the alcohol mods and restoring them to their original configuration. If the jets have an S marking then they are alcohol (spirit) jets and they will need to be replaced with kerosene jets. The difference between the two is the alcohol jets have a larger diameter aperture around .41mm while the kerosene jets are around .32mm. If you want to run cleaning needles then you'll need needles sized to fit the kero jets. The air restrictors used for alcohol are simply brass cylinders with a few holes that slide into the center burner tube and extend down to the jet. Nothing holds them in and they easily pull out. Sounds like yours are already gone. If you run these burners with the alcohol mods I can't recommend drug store isopropyl alcohol. Denatured alcohol with a good ethanol content is best. Also, these were originally designed for kerosene use. Maybe diesel or heating oil could be used but kerosene is by far the best fuel choice. Lastly, for others that are unfamiliar with the Homestrand Mariner stoves, not all Mariners have Svea burners. Most have alcohol burners that were designed specifically for alcohol and cannot be converted to kerosene use. Ray
Many thanks Ray Yes under the caps (inner and outer) it has the SVEA 1915 and Arabic scroll work (I assume there is a history lesson in that). There is a short stub of tube the same height as the inner cap (to support it and keep it in place I assume). I suppose now I will buy the appropriate wrench to remove the jet, needle, swap them out after measuring to insure they are not the kerosene units already... I also have an Optimus hiker stove (little blue box 8R I believe) that has worked flawlessly for the 20 years I have had it (Salvation army find, and sadly I could have picked up an identical one in military green a few years ago in Victoria B.C., but was travelling light and on a budget.) I assume the same wrench fits all Swedish made jets? This site has been a great asset, and since I am now shifting away from being a "project" car collector this will give me something new to hunt and peck around with. Rural Manitoba still has a large number of old family farm auctions in summer and occasionally you get lucky and the "Pro" buyers there are not interested in what you want. A great example, several years ago I left a farm auction with a 1953 Evinrude Fastwin (fully functional with the pressure tank and two Kerosene space heaters, and I think that was $50 total, no one else even bid on the items. Again thanks for all the info, once I get the wrench I will mic the cleaning needle and see whats what. Cheers Alan.
