Hi ! I bought a couple of Primus 210 on ebay. They both bear the mark of a long history, featuring missing parts and custom soldering… I really like that ! 1st 2nd While waiting for them to cross the Rhine River, I begin to inspect every pixel of the seller's pictures. I have poor knowledge in the 210 evolution. I would really appreciate your help in sherlocking the details !! Date ? patches ? Reparation ? For fun, I used some image enhancement technics to reveal some improbable dating codes. It seems that we have a AH (or AN) and AD. Does this match with the appearance of the stoves and the fact that they are now in Germany ?
The bottom one is certainly the oldest & predates any of the quoted codes. Check out the Stove Reference Gallery & Library for more Sherlocking opportunities. With the bottom one the clue is in the storage cap. You'll also find this in the SRG.
Hi Nikos, Primus did stove collectors a great service by date-coding their stoves. You must develop patience until you receive the stoves and can confirm the dates. However there are some important dates in the long life of the Primus No.210. in 1925 folding feet were introduced for the Pr.210, before that they had fixed feet. In 1935 a taper threaded joint between tank and burner was adopted for the Pr.210, and used up until 1962 and the formation of the PTC. Up to 1934 Primus used the same joint-type as the Optimus No.00 In 1955 BA Hjorth changed its trading name to BAHCO, so if you see BA Hjorth on a tank, it is pre-1955. In 1962 the Primus Trading Company was formed and the Primus 210 became an Optimus No.00 clone, although marked up as a Primus No.210. Of course the date-coding on a tank base, only dates the tank. Parts are interchangeable, so they may be earlier or later and even from a different Maker! Your second stove has a pre-1935 tank/burner joint style, so is unlikely to be date-coded AD, which would be 1939. Neither stove has the correct filler cap. Have fun with your new stoves! Best Regards, Kerophile.
Thank you both for these great informations ! So, to sum up, the first one should be post 1934, and the second one between 1925 and 1934. Here's a quick overview of different models of 210's storage cap (before 1934), found in the gallery :
Hi Nikos, Saw these on Ebay last night, but didn't bid myself as I have limited repair skills. Glad to see they've gone to a forum member so they will get preserved. Cheers, keithg
Hi Keithg, thanks ! I'll try to give my best to these old ladies. My repairing skills are also very limitated but someone had to save them anyway I think I confused a W with AH the graphic is close and that would make more sense: 1932' storage cap looks similar to mine.
Hi ! Does someone know if importation of swedish products to Germany has been stopped during the war ? What about after 45 ?
Hi Nikos, You can read the section on "Trade" and "1943 0nwards" in this Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_during_World_War_II The last Primus stoves of this era to enter Britain were in 1940, I believe, and the trade did not revive until the late 1940s as a result of import restrictions in post WW2 Britain. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/4062 Best Regards, Kerophile.
Thank you very much to point me out these articles, George ! That's very useful !! Do you know the origine of the big butterfly filler cap ? Does it usually go with an other stove ? Brand ? Or is it a random spare picked in the nature ?
After the war? Masses of stuff. They even have IKEA in Germany! That cap isn't original & is probably from a German brand. Does it have any markings on it or have you not got it yet?
Hi ! Something bugs me.... I can't recall having ever seen a 210's tank with this shape (cup at the base of the burner ?) Or has it been smashed !?
