Hi guys, Not been here for a while as my computer developed a huge virus and lost everything. Taken ages to get it sorted out. Anyway..i am now the proud owner of an Optimus 111T which i won on evil bay but i have a couple of questions regarding the fuels to use and also the heat build up with the tank. Although i shall usually use paraffin with this stove, i also have this small brass tube with 3 holes in one end and two holes in the other. From what i've read, this is for using with Methelated spirit by sliding it down the burner tube. Do i also require a seperate jet for using meths ?. Also, and this is somewhat worrying, i've noticed that the tank gets really hot after a while. I decided to fold a piece of Aluminium foil, several times and layed this in front of the heat shield to cut down some of the heat. However,..i soon noticed that the tank was still very hot, so at the expence of burning my fingers, i decided to see if there was any difference with the heat shield. I was able to put my finger BETWEEN the Aluminium foil and REST my finger on the fuel tank with no problem at all and yet.. the tank below the filler cap was untouchable, it was that hot. My question is this, does anyone else have this problem, or is this normal. I've read that this happens if a pan is too large and transfers heat to the tank, but the tank gets hot without a pot. And this is with TWO heat shields. It would appear to me, that, the heat from the burner travels the length of the fuel tube and continues to warm the entire tank to quite a high tempreture. I would really appreciate any help/ advice regarding this strange problem. Cheers Dave.
Hay Dave, I have a 111T, came with two restrictors. I had to order a alcohol/meths jet. Either from our sponsor, Basecamp in the UK or from A&H in the states where I got mine. I've never noticed my tank getting that hot. Hopefully the real experts will chime in soon with advice or questions. Mine is in the stove gallery, the theme one painted black. Duane
S.D. What size pot/pan are you using? If the pan is too big there will be more heat radiated toward the tank. A large pan with a short cook time may be OK but the longer you cook or boil the smaller you may want to keep the pan. One of my very first post concerned this if I recall "how big is too big?" I have used 3qt sauce pans and 8" fry pan without ill effect. Even though the tank may be hotter than you want to touch, the main concern should perhaps be the temperature limits of the Vitron rubber seals. AR
Cheers for the replys guys, To start off with, i used a small milk pan then worked my way up to a small fry pan, but the size of the pans didn't matter..the fuel tank still became very hot. So,.i decided to place a further heat shield made of alluminium cooking foil, folded several times for a decent thickness and placed that over the existing heat shield. This left a half inch gap between the foil and the 111T heat shield. I could put my finger between the foil and touch the 111T heatshield and that remained slightly warm, BUT..the tank itself was very hot indeed. Far, far hotter than the 111T heatshield. This got me thinking that the heat build up must be coming from the fuel tank tube to the burner or visa versa making the tank hot. The stove itself goes like a charm, superb. It's just the tempreture of the fuel tank that has me a little worried. Cheers guys.
Hi I'm an avid user of the 111T. I use mine quite often with an eight inch fry pan, and have even used mine with a simmaler size stock pot. I run mine for the most part on kerosine (paraffin). After cooking a good meel, or boiling up a full pot of potatoes, mine will be quite hot. Not so hot that it would burn me at first touch but as hot as say a piping hot cup of coffee in a tin camping cup. As for the air restrictors I have a set of two one for petrol and the other metholated spirits. I prefer to change my jet to the optimal size for the fuel I am running, .013" for kero .015" for petrol, and I think its .018" for alcohol. Most people never rejet for for petrol I just do so since I want optimal performance from my stove without the air restrictor. The alcohol jet also allows the use of alcohol with out the use of an air restictor. My feeling is that use of the suplied air restrictors was to allow for quick fuel type changes in the field with having to change jets. However the use of the restictors will lower the heat output of the stove. Rick
You realy dont have to get all of these jets. The alcohol jet was origanaly suplide with stove, and the .015" jet that I like for white gas is not absolutely nessesary. By the way I just went back over the chart that I got this jetting info from, and learned that the alchol jet is actualy .020". However the a .018" will work very nicely for isobutane. Thats if you can figure out how to feed it to your 111T Rick
Can't recall if I tried gas in my "T". I've fired up a vintage Primus "B" and it has some yellow on gas, but gets better with a pot on. Duane
If this were my stove and concern, I would do an outdoor experiment without the extra homemade heat shield. I'd find two 1–2 liter pots of diameters that I'd normally use, fill them with water, fill the stove with fuel then light it up with one of the pots on board with the fuel cap pointing in a safe direction. With stove running at full blast, I'd boil water until it started to run out of fuel then shut it down immediately. If the NRV didn't blow open, or any other failure occur, I'd say the stove was eminently safe to cook in an ordinary way, or to melt a large quantity of snow in winter use. Be mindful that these were designed as hiker stoves so pans with diameters and capacities for group cooking probably aren't appropriate for use but you could run the same experiment with them. These stove also were designed well and originally made of quality materials. I'd rely on the engineering. If I cannot trust a piece of equipment, I get rid of it and use one that I can trust. When I rely on equipment, I try to discover its limits, within reason, in relatively controlled conditions to avoid surprises in the field. An experienced fettler here will need to tell you whether an experiment like this fatigues the NRV system. This is just what I've done, with no ill effects on me or my gear, yet.
Thanks for your replies, i appreciate it.I would have to agree that it is hot as a cup of red hot coffee in a tin mug. I know my 00 and 45 can get pretty hot, it's just that i thought the whole idea of the heatshield was to keep the fuel tank cooler on the 111T. I had a very interesting conversation with a gentleman who lives down my road. He,s an ex British Army Parra. Retired many years ago. He said that , he and a couple of his mates used these kind of stoves, as there own kit. He said that..The fuel burns much more effectivly if the tank warms up because it thins the fuel making it attomise better, and therefore burn hotter for longer. The result being, you use less fuel.This was vital when opperating in colder climates such as Norway when these stove became invaluable pieces of kit. Now, that seems to make sense to me but i would very much like to hear your views on this theory.
I would agree with the fuel needing to atomize to burn better/efficiently. Up to a point. I had mentioned a month back or so about my embossed 8's fuel boiling after it had to bring 1.5 and 2 cups of water to a boil with the SRV finally venting a little. A week ago, I had it running for a bit to use as a hand warmer and the fuel came no where close to boiling, but warmed up some I believe just from the thermal feedback from the fuel tube going to the burner. I may have had different results if it had been running full blast like it was when I boiled the water on my backpacking trip. Duane
Hi Duane, Always nice to talk to friends over the pond, as they say. I am pretty new to these stoves and the sheer power they can put out, amazing. The 111T is the latest addition to my small collection and i just wanted to make sure that everything was working as it should. It's reassuring to know there are so many people on here with a wealth of knowledge who are prepared to help us who struggle in our attempts to keep these things going. Mike at Basecamp, is a stove/lamp god and is always helpful if i have a problem, nothing is too much trouble. What i need to do next is, try the stove outdoors, hopefully this weekend and compare it to the OO and 45. I would love to get my hands on a 111 with a roarer burner. But i don't think my other half would be happy. She doesn't understand paraffinitis, and yet..she insists that i take the lamps to keep warm when camping in Autumn. Go figure!!!.
That sounds like a good plan. I think you will find that most of the heat in your tank is conducted back to the tank through the fuel tube. It may be good to remember that the smaller stoves such as the 8R and Svea 123 reley on heat from the burner to run, and in absence of a pump the tank needs to be heated to get them going. I'v got a 111B, the 111's petrol burning sibling. It a great stove, but I'll take my T's silent burner over it any day. Rick
Dave, I've only been doing the collecting part almost two years now. So much to learn, most have forgotten more than I'll ever learn. I've heard most like the roarer's better because they are supposed to put more heat out, but I do like the few silent stoves I have. I can see though where the roarers would be nice in any wind, whether lite or higher, you can hear the stove going still or blown out. Duane
Hi RBH, I missed out on 2 paraffin 111 roarers over the last few weeks because my computer was down and i could only watch items on my friends when he was home from work. Consequently, this meant missing out by only a few pence/ cents on your side of the pond. I have heard mixed reports regarding the silent 111T v 111 paraffin roarers Some say they think the roarers boil hotter/ quicker than silent 111T's and perform better if there is a slight breeze because the T's have a tendency to blow out. Either way, i love the 111T as i do my 00 and 45. I can live without the 111 ( i think) but if one does come up on evil bay , i might just put a bid in.
Be careful, all these stove have a bit of rabbit in them, they'll be everywhere in no time. I have four 111's and three 8's/8R's. I have a bunch of MSR stoves, but am loving the 111's and 8's more and more. Duane
Hi Duane, Oh my god, that's serious stove collecting my friend. I have come to the conclusion that you must be either, (a) Single (b) Married with a VERY understanding wife or (c) you have a secret hoard in a shed which has only 1 key.... ( in your pocket !!!). Mmmm, now there's a thought, must buy shed.
Dave, single, no car or mortgage payments. Only the credit card bill that gets jacked up due to stove purchases or parts orders. Basecamp hit me hard on this last order. The guys here are no help, always giving tips on conversions and improvements or acting as the town cryer and extolling the virtues of a certain stove. That is the biggest reason I've been in trouble all of this year. Wanting to do the silent burner on the smaller stove thing now, which may mean another order to Basecamp or A&H. Enjoy your quest for another 111. Duane
Duane, My god that made me laugh, sides ache. But i DO know what you mean about others on here being no use what so ever, to my pocket that is. By the way...have you seen the set up Spiritburner has. 88 cooking system . Trangia, kind off, BUT.. with SERIOUS attitude. I would love to get my hands on one of those, or maybe two. Oh crap, here we go again !!!!.
