It arrived today (well yesterday now as I'm writing after midnight) and I'm very happy with it generally as a fixer-upper to be a working stove. It's been repainted a fairly garish yellow, but I'm already thinking on what colour to use if I can find some high-temperature paint. I don't think I have a chance to test fire before the long weekend. It arrived with some old and very smelly paraffin in the tank. That it hadn't saturated the cardboard box is hopefully a good sign most of the valves are tight Part of the reason I want a stove running on white-gas is that my wife, who is otherwise fairly tolerant of me tinkering on the lounge table, finds the smell of paraffin highly objectionable. On the other hand Panel-wipe (which I've used successfully as a white-gas substitute in an 8R) has the advantage that the smell disperses rapidly, although this is coupled with a greater explosive-vapour risk. My Wife will occasionally deign to go camping with me if I guarantee the mealtimes are free of the smell of paraffin. Sorry to mention Diesel. That was a bit of a red herring. I just threw it in as the 111C and the Brit-Army No.12 can run on Diesel in a pinch (probably useful as nearly every army vech in now diesel as far as I know.) Looking at it, I'm now convinced it's a 111T, but I'll put some pics up later so you can give me a second opinion. It's missing the little jet spanner and the brass windshield as well as the second nipple/jet and the restrictors for switching fuel types. Questions: 1) Basecamp-UK has windshields for both 111Bs and 111C. Do you kind folks know if either of these will fit the 111T? I'm doubtful about the one for the B. 2) Looking at the manual in pdf format from the archive section of the Optimus Website, you can burn alcohol thru the petrol/paraffin jet, but there are dire warnings against burning petrol/paraffin through the alcohol jet. Knowing my luck, someone has tried doing this on this stove! How can I tell the two jets apart? What damage will using the wrong jet cause? How can I spot the warning signs that this has happened in the past? 3) There's a wire loop over the burner-head to keep the two domes in place. It's nearly burned through I've heard that using copper wire is no good, it burns through in no time at all. I have a little "Monel"-alloy wire that I nicked from my Dad's boating tool kit years ago. Would this be suitable, or am I better off bending a paperclip? Thanks for the advice, Snowgoose! I certainly consider using paraffin for the test-fire. I have an NRV tool already, as well as NRV-pips. I guess I'd better get another tank-lid washer off the Fettle box. Thanks all!
Re: using the alcohol jet with kero/naptha - You'll do no harm to the stove, as such, but will be rewarded with a huge, orange camp-fire like flame from the stove, as the fuel mixture will be massively rich. The alcohol jet is quite large compared to the kero/naptha jets. Usually kero/naptha jets are in the .25-.35 mm range, while alcohol jets are nearer .45-50 mm. Alcohol jets LOOK big. Have fun! J
Oh, there's a thing! I have the tool already, as well as some replacement pip-carriers and viton pips I've bought off other forum users for my brass 1 & 2 pinters. Where does one get new springs from? Is it a matter of breaking apart retractable Biros until you find one of the correct gauge?
(1) The wind screen for the silent burner is bigger than that for the roarer burners. It is not absolutely necessary, or you can rig one from a tin can until you find one to buy. (2) The stove is unlikely to have an alcohol jet installed if it was being used regularly. In the unlikely case that it does, and the owner was unaware, it may explain why it was sold. As already mentioned, the hole in the alcohol jet is noticeably large and unmistakeable. (3) Again this wire is nice but not required. First get the stove running as you like it, and keep you eye out for some wire -- no hurry. Finally, explain to your wife the safety and benefits of kerosene over white gas in this stove. Once the stove is filled and capped off, there should be no more kerosene smell during use. And, if there is, you certainly don't want white gas in it.
When finding my first 111T I had the same questions. Here are some things I learned on this great forum. The 111T can run very well on ethanol, if jou use the proper jet #2508 (marked A or S, size 0.5mm) AND an air restrictor tube. The larger jet size compensates for the ethanol having less energy per liter and the restrictor tube reduces air flow to get the right mixture. As they aren't easy to find, I made a restrictor tube myself: length ~38mm, two holes Ø4mm, centers of holes 6,5mm off the lower edge of tube. If you want to use parafin, be sure to buy a good quality with a very small amount of aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur, for example clean lamp oil. It has almost no smell at all.
