I just bought a Svea 123 non R. It cleaned up real nice, but I can't get it to light. I took everything apart and it looks okay, I think. The wick is new looking. I could easily blow through the vaporizer. I poked the cleaner through the jet. I put a new gasket on the fuel tank lid. After preheating with alcohol the stove will light, but barely burn. Similar to a candle. I checked for leaks with my lighter as it was candle burning, but saw no leaks. I have not replaced the graphite packing. Ideas?
what fuel are you using? When you put the wick back did you get it all the way to the top? I failed on this once and got the same result. Took it out and put back correctly and the whole burner goes red. Did you redo the copper wire on the wick? If its too tight it will prevent fuel flow. If all else fails try putting the empty stove in the fridge overnight release and reseal the cap and put the stove in hot water looking for bubbles from a leak.
Maybe it's the SRV (safety release valve) in the fuel cap other than the large gasket, this one is a small pip that maybe could be leaking? It should pressurize with the valve in the 'off' position. What you could do is preheat in the off position and then open the fuel cap. There should be a slight let-off of air when you do that. If not, the fuel cap gasket is leaking still, or the SRV is leaking. Check to make sure that the main burner valve body has been secured tightly to the tank. It could easily leak there too after removal and replacement. Make sure the valve is lined up with the '1' in '123' when you tighten it back on. Other than that? I don't know, unless you have a pump fuel cap and a pump to pressurize and then dump into water and check for bubbles. sam
Assuming you are using the right fuel, it sounds like you have a leak. Follow the directions given by geeves to check for leaks. Terry
I am using good Coleman gas, burns fine in my 111B and 123R. I am new to rebuilding these stoves, so I will put a different fuel cap on first to see if it is that. Then, I'll have to check for leaks.
I tried a known, good fuel cap, it isn't that. I checked the wick, seems okay as described above. Today I bought graphite packing, will try putting new in there. I guess I will give everything a good soak in ? Would lacquer thinner work? I have more of that than carb cleaner. When soaking the vaporizer, should I dunk the whole thing including the graphite packing? Or keep that out of the solvent?
Hey, Brad, When you checked the wick, did you remove it, completely, from the burner? If not, you definitely have to do that. A wick can look just fine on the part you can see, but once removed, you see the grey/brown, to dark brown parts at the time, and know that it's charred and will not draw fuel. You can make yourself a new wick, using 100% COTTON mop string, and some brass or copper wire. If the string you use has ANY man-made fibers in it, it will simply melt inside your burner, and now you are up the creek, and not only without a paddle, but without your entire canoe!! Give it a check, and see if the wick has any color, at all, at the top part. If so, replace it. IF you are going to soak your burner in carburetor cleaner, or anything like that, remove the spindle, and graphite, completely, and the jet (nipple), too. That way, you will actually be cleaning, instead of mucking up your graphite, and without the jet in place, you can get a better and cleaner result. Good luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Doc, thanks for the reply. It looks like the PO put in a new wick. I have a rebuild kit for the 123R, my other stove, and I took it out and compared the wick in that to the 123. Looked identical. When I pulled out the spindle, all packing remained in the vaporizer. Think I should dig it out or just pack new on top? Not sure if I should soak in solvent, then dig it out?
The usual symptom of bad graphite packing is flame coming out the spindle. I doubt it would prevent the stove from burning at all unless the packing was completely destroyed. Check the jet to make sure the hole isn't enlarged. If the jet checks out, I'd pump the stove up with a mini pump and then spray it with soapy water to look for a leak.
Success! I took the 123 apart and soaked overnight in carb cleaner. Soaked the tank in lacquer thinner. I picked out the old graphite packing and put in new. As stated above, I had put in a new fuel cap gasket. After watching Bernie Dawg's uTube video rebuilding the 123R, I think the previous owner replaced the wick and didn't have the burner assembly tight enough. I turned it through one more full turn as in Dawg's video, and she fired right up. I just test ran it for 10 minutes, burned beautifully.
HI, BradB, Outstanding new! Glad it all worked out for you, and that your little SVEA is now up and running as it should! Congrats!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Sorry for bumping the thread, but does anyone know where I can find some of the graphite packing tape in Western Canada, and some gasket material? I own a newer Svea 123r (a knockoff from asia, only says "Sweden" on the tank). Recently I was given two older "made in Sweden" Svea 123r's that require some work. I had them both running, albeit roughly. I have stripped one of them down completely, as per Berniedawg's video. I have noted that the wick was charred (explaining the yellow, inconsistent flame). The packing material did not look like graphite, more like old leather actually. When I pulled it apart some of the packing material remained stuck in the vaporizer tube, which is proving interesting to clean out. I think I have most of it now. The end of the spindle looks fine, no grooving, or burrs. Both stoves came with the pump cap,and several pumps. One of the caps, when placed on a stove and lit up started to leak immediately and had a flame start shooting out of it (exciting!). The other cap leaks a tiny bit. I've taken the NRV spring out of both, and noted that the pips are hard, and therefore require replacing. It is likely the o-rings in the pressure release side of the caps are dry and require replacement as well. Any recommendations on how to go about replacing those? I am quite excited to get both of these stoves running. Even in the condition they were in I thought they burned better than the newer knock-off. Any help that you might be able to provide for sourcing materials would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to get one of these running for a trip I have coming up in early October. It is interesting to note the differences between the older stoves and the newer. The older stoves have deeper priming wells, and the bottoms of the stove are more concave than the newer one. The bells on the older ones have a different shape and different shaped ports than the newer ones as well. Thanks! Donovan
try looking at a craft store for graphite rope. I got mine at joanns here in the states. it looks like very thin string and fits my spindle perfect.
