I acquired this paraffin/kerosene stove today at Ardingly for £25 after haggling down from £35. The frame is enamelled cast iron and the whole thing weighs in at just under six kilos: The only scraps of info I have found are an entry in 'Recherches et Inventions 1st July 1926' (the French text doesn't describe the stove but the benefits of using Petrole (paraffin/kerosene): There is also an entry in the catalogue for the '26th Foire De Paris 9-24 May 1934' (Paris Fair): This shows the manufacturer of the Secip brand to be: Etablissements Bardeau, 16-18 Rue du President-Kruger, Courbevoie (Seine). The pictures that follow show the stove as purchased. I will add more post-fettle and clean. The enamel coating is very high quality with no chips or cracks: The lever at the front incorporates a plate stating: Cleaning ---------> Make a full circle and back down I'm assuming that leaving the lever in the three or nine o'clock position possibly equates to 'simmer'? There is a needle sticking out of the jet that remains sticking out when the lever is rotated. I assume that this should rise and fall with the rotation and I will discover more on disassembly: The burner is shielded by a very nicely made hinged cover. I guess that this is just to concentrate the heat from the priming spirit as this is obviously an indoor stove and would have no need for a windshield: The spirit cup is very shallow and appears home made: A second priming cup made of thin aluminium has been added to the base. This appears to be an old lid from something: The tank has no markings but is of a good size. Note the hole in the end of the pump knob. More on this in a moment: The tank cap is a masterpiece of elegance and function - no chance of a loose finger grip on this! The air screw is also nicely made: When I looked at the stove on the stall at Ardingly I thought that the pump was jammed as I couldn't move it: However, on closer examination at home I discovered it's little secret. The pump knob unscrews from the pump cap revealing the threaded end of the pump shaft: The knob is then reversed and screwed onto the shaft: Once pumping is complete, the knob is unscrewed from the shaft and returned to it's position on the pump cap, thus securing the pump. I can see an NRV at the end of the pump tube with a screwdriver slot, but that is for another day. The stove is missing it's inner and outer burner caps: I can see that this is a stove that is going to keep me occupied during the looming winter nights with a glass of something appropriate at hand Regards, Terry
it's a beauty. 8) could we please have another photo, including something familiar to us all, for scale?
Hi Tetley. Sorry, brain not working. I grabbed the nearest to hand - a CD and a Primus 71. Regards, Terry
Hi Terry what a Fabulous score, you really got a bargain there, even if you paid the full £35.00. A very beautiful and quite unusual stove, I would agree with the dates, in fact at looking at the first picture the style I thought was from the early 1920's. the style of the regulator lever, and the lettering on the brass plaque and the capstan tap style filler cap
Nice stove. Along with their 3 legged stoves, they never had spirit cups. A U shaped wicky would have been used. Pump fittings are the same as on the 3 leggers.
Beautiful stove Terry, love the design. I wonder what the holes in the legs were for, some kind of optional wrap-around railing perhaps for marine use? No history of her from the seller at Ardingly? Looking forward to the flame shots.
Terry Sounds like a Tilley pre heater would do the trick I use one when lighting my Phoebus 625. I do have a U shaped wicky thing that sounds like what Ian is talking about it came with my campus 5b if you want a pattern to copy? no luck on burner design yet I take it? Nick
