This old Svea 123 was sold to me as a 'basket case'. The original owner thought the wick had burned out. It was coated in a sticky reside (spilled food?) varnish and wouldn't hold pressure. When I got it I stuck an LED snake light down into the tank and figured out that what I could see of the wick indicated it was OK. The gooey 'varnish' covered the jet so I took that off and sprayed it down with carburetor cleaner and I replaced the seal in the filler cap. Everything back together, a little alcohol for a preheat and zoom! She lit right up and soon settled down to a nice blue flame with a few yellow tips when turned up high. This is by far the best behaved 'non-R' 123 I've played with to date. I love these old gals! One man's junk is another man's treasure. Thanks for looking! Brian
Congratulations to a nice find! And I thought I was to sit back and enjoy a lengthy restoration post..... /Lars
Don't show that to the person who sold it to you. If they see how fast you got it running, they will not sell any more bargains, only ask you to fettle them!
Bem1965, I was ready to head down the 'teardown and rebuild' path but I always try to start simple. Most of the old stoves I've worked on - Swedish brass or Coleman - have pressure issues due to bad cap seals. Replacing the seal usually solves 50% of the performance issues right at the start. I also suspected that the gooey 'varnish' I wrote about was partially clogging the jet. I figured if I got the pressurization and jet issue resolved then it would be easy to diagnose a bad wick. Frankly I was surprised to see it run as nicely as it does with just these few fixes. I re-secured the burner plate and gave her a rub down with some Brasso and she shines like a Christmas ornament! Now I have to tackle the windscreen. It's OK structurally but is virtually black with soot and tarnish. I love life's little surprises. I went after this stove not for the stove itself but for the original Optimus mini-pump and pump cap that came with it. Essentially I bought the pump and cap and the stove was tossed in for free. It's going to make a dandy weekend hiker outfit!
Hi Brian, I used to regularly visit a fleamarket called 'Trash & Treasure',you've definitely scored a good one there, I would certainly celebrate by brewing a good pot of coffee with it. Sparky may be right in you not showing it to your seller, especially if he finds out how much they go for on the bay of evil where ships pass in the night, Best wishes=John. --------------------- If in doubt, brew up.
BWH, A short soak in a 50/50 mix of warm water and white vinegar followed by a scrub with Barkkeeper's Friend on an expended toothbrush or soft cotton cloth will have it looking all shipshape and Bristol fashion. If You've got the pot and handle too, Barkeeper's Friend will clean those up in quick order as well. My favorite stoves are the 123 NonR's. My first one is now 46 years old and the only maintainence on it has been one new cap gasket and replacement pips. I figure it is now good for another 46 years. If you can get hold of a Sigg Tourist Cooker for yours, you will have the acme of camp stove design and accomplishment. To my way of thinking there have been no useful improvements in backpacking cookery since the introduction of the Sigg Cooker and Svea 123. Gerry
Nordicthug, I've got a little used SIGG Tourist sitting right beside me that included a Svea 123R. The 123R needs a little work (I'm hoping it's just a cleaning needle set a little too low) but the Tourist is in crackerjack shape and included two SIGG aluminum plates, which I've rarely seen. Even the stretchy molded plastic strap is in good shape (sort of like an old Swatch band). I figure it'll go just fine with this old 123.
