I bought this a while back and nobody has been able to positively ID it, so I thought I would try you folks. The best guess has been some sort of engine block heater. Anybody here have an idea?
The tank looks typical of the brass USA-made Swede style stoves of the c1895-1910 era but all the Primus one's I've seen have been marked on the tank. Maybe another brand with a Primus cap fitted? It would have sat in a stand originally on which a pan etc could be placed over it's burner. The burner on yours isn't original to that tank & the small spirit-cup would struggle to heat things up sufficiently for that burner to light with a flare-up. I reckon this has been cobbled together by an enterprising antiques dealer or by someone for decoration. Not sure where Optimus comes into it? Is there Optimus markings on the tank we can't see? The date on the cap refers to a patent date so the stove (or at least the cap) can't be older than that date but could be a few years younger - but no more than a decade I believe. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/9378
Ross, I think the bigger spirit cup near the knob is the one that needs to be filled up as a pre heater. You may be 99.99999% correct in saying that the cap may be the only original primus part and may have been cobbled up for a specific purpose. Then again, if the thread on the riser tube is not buggered up, it may still be ressurected into a stove with just the correct burner and a cobbled pot support. Have you test fired the stove Smarti? Ron
Sorry for the Optimus error - obviously it is Primus. I have not fired it, but it pumps up, holds pressure, and hisses when I open the valve. I honestly don't think it is a piece that was cobbled together. Everything fits too well together and works smoothly. The head rotates easily. There are no signs of "modification" on it. It may be a Frakenstove, but I don't think so. By the way, I paid $1 for it, so I don't think an antique dealer modified it to make some money.
I'd guess a Lovett Primus. Take a look in the 1901 Lovett Primus catalog in the Primus catalog section of the stove reference library. You will see they had an assortment of burners available - though your specific burner is not shown. Also, look more closely at your fuel cap and you will see the patent year is 1893, not 1898. This is the identical cap on three of my examples. It does not indicate the age of your stove - it's the patent date. Your stove may be anywhere within the date range Ross has suggested though I'd guess 1900-1905 for no real reason I could defend. I have two identical tanks to yours that are unmarked and I believe (can't prove) they are from Lovett Primus. So these tanks do appear without engraving. The burner is likely for engine heating, lead melting or, possibly, for lab vessel heating. If I were betting, I'd wager the lead melting for tinners and plumbers. The design of the burner seems to have removable screws in clean out ports. This sort of design is common in blowtorches used by tinners and plumbers of that and later eras. It would be great if you could post some detail shots of your burner (close up and in focus). Likewise, if you are able to fettle the stove and can secure the fuel feed fittings so they are fuel tight, it would be helpful and instructive to see your stove alight. Thanks for posting your stove. It's a nice example. Please treat it respectfully.
It looks very cobbled up to me. Can you rotate the burner to point straight up? It almost looks like that long rod with a control wheel (or whatever it is) would interfere with the tank before you could position the burner in the correct way for preheating. Might just be as it looks by the pictures, though. That's why I wonder.
Wouldn't a burner that size, offset like that, put a lot of strain on the font? I am thinking it is a homemade modification for that reason. Still, very nice find.
Trojandog wrote: "The right angle section looks like a plumbing fitting to me." This is exactly what I was thinking, too. Looks like the fittings are galvanized steel, and made for plumbing, not stoves. Hey, until more proof has been found, who knows?!? Thanks for sharing it here, though, and maybe we can find more info about it. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Hi Smarti i have seen a stove/blowtorch like this somewhere before,but this i am 99% sure this has been made up by a previouis owner. From a furnace type stove and, a large vertical blowtorch that was used for preheating a hot bulb engine,the proof this has been home made is that there are two as mention spirit cups fitted on it,the small one would just heat the elbow joint on the burner and it would be immposible to preheat the whole burner for the fuel to vapourise,and as spiritburner mentioned, it would just flare up, sending a jet of flame out of the burner nozzle like a small flame thrower,so the small spirit cup is obsolete,the larger one just under the burner, is original to the burner and would be used to preheat this device. I my self think this device was made up by the previous owner for preheating a certain hot bulb engine.
Hi Steve it would be great to see it fired up, and as you say flare up i would imagine this one would be quite spectacular. Last year some time i was doing some decorating,and i was stripping the paint off my bedroom door with my half pint paraffin parasene blowlamp,i had it running about a good half hour, at full belt it may have had about a quarter of a tank full left,the fuel in the tank was quite hot and the vapouriser tubes was glowing which is normall, for some reason i tillted the lamp, and it shot a long yellow flame out of the nozzle about 6-8 foot down the garden,normally it would be impossible for it to do that while the lamp had been fully heated,even by tilting it the worst case when tilted is it will go out as it can not draw up fuel if the tank was getting low,what had happened was over time condensation must have built up in the tank, and while the lamp was low on fuel and tilted, it must of drawn up the water that was in the tank, and stopped the fuel from fully vapourising, making the lamp act like a flame thrower for a few seconds. I have since flushed out the tank and allowed it to dry out i have since used it a few times and it has never done it since,sorry to go on a bit but that was dam hair raising at the time and that was with a small lamp,what Smarti's lamp would do would be something else lol
OK, but if it were mine I could not resist the temptation to see what it goes like! Bet it is either very impressive or a real bummer. We will not know until we see the flame shots. Suitable, basic safety precautions, like outdoors, fire extinguisher, children coralled etc, should suffice to limit any extreme danger. I would love to do the test-flight! Steve.
Just had another look and realised that it has to be used (or at least primed) in the vertical position in order to be able to use the large spirit cup.
Yes, Trojan. That was why I asked as I did above, about; "...position the burner in the correct way for preheating" Why I asked this was because I thought it looked like the rod with the wheel (perhaps a control wheel) would interfere with the tank before you actually got the burner positioned correctly, which would be typical for something put together by someone who doesn't really know how the things work. So I still wonder about that! Can you rotate the burner to the correct position, Smarti? It might just be the angles of the photos that give me this impression.
To be honest Steve i would have no problem fireing it up out side. There should not be a problem, provididng the tank is sound with no stress cracking. The joint would have to be tightened up first, and the burner in the vertical posisition, so the spirit cup would be able to hold spirit, and for the flames to cover the burner. I would check to make sure all, the joints etc were not leaking before i would fire it up though,i would close the regulator knob and pumping a nice amount of air in the tank, so all of the stove could checked for any leaks
Trojandog, nothing to apologize for. I didn't mean it like that. I just jumped the opportunity to again ask if the burner actually could be positioned straight up. That rod with a wheel on looks like it would hit the tank before this could be done. But on the other hand IF it will go clear from the tank, that rod might actually act as a support for the burner if it aligns with the ground next to the tank. You see, I'm not so sure it is a control wheel (regulator knob) at all. It looks like it's just a fixed bit that's screwed at the bottom of the preheater cup... I guess some good images would help us out here.
Smarti Is there any suggestion anywhere on the tank, that it may have had legs originally, ie solder lines or anything like that ? Can you take some pics of the spirit cup from different angles.( top, bottom, side etc ) Ian
