This arrived today covered in dust and dirt looking like it had been sitting in an old shed for many years. I removed most of the loose crud leaving only a bit here and there where it would have been during it's past use then sprayed a light oil over it to stop any oxidation and to preserve it. It is complete apart from the tank air bleed screw and the flame ring which were both missing. The main differences to the other Alexandra that I have shown in this section are the burner and the tank bottom is convex, instead of being flattish. The tank bottom looks like it was hand shaped then hand soldered in place and it looks like a small leak was repaired many years ago along the seam next to the leg with the handle attached to it. I don't know if the bottom is original or not but it looks like it could be. The pump still works and is complete and the tank condition looks like it should be able hold pressure but I don't know if it will run unless the burner is stripped down and cleaned first. I don't think that I will touch it though as I might do some damage to it and I wouldn't want to risk it with this rare old lady. There is old kerosene that had gone through it that had hardened(black and like coal) on parts of the trivet and tank. The trivet has cracks in the usual places but it is still in very good condition and lucky to survive as it is thinner compared to some of the early Primus ones. I wish the photos could be better but I have got camera problems and have just got it going again.
Very nice old stove! It is interesting see these older stoves and constructions on them from the time before when everybody started to copy each-others. Burner head with screw openings to fuel channels is nice construction since you can clean any coke/residual that might build in them. Maybe screw openings are not made for cleaning purposes, maybe it has been easier to manufacture that way.
That's a glorious find, threedots, and beautifully presented, camera problems or not. I wonder what the non-return valve configuration is. You say the pump works, so I take that to mean that the non-return valve does too? The benefits of cork in a NRV as opposed to rubber that would have hardened up decades ago I suppose. John
NRV in that LUX that I found and it is around 10-20 years younger than this Alexandra still works some how. I have not tried it with kerosene (yet) but it will hold some air when I pump pressure to tank. Also pump leather only needed just some oil and it was ready for use. I just wondering how current stoves will work after they have been stored in some barn for 100 years in winter and summer weather.
Hi threedot . you are stove not rare. i say your stove is treasure !! would you show us treasure flame shot ? really congratulation threedots Gunsoo
Hi all Compare to the stove in this post. Looks almost the same except from the name Alexandra. I have one similar somewhere in my barn. Think I have better dig it out to see what is actually is. But if I don't remember wrong it i like Arne's. The interesting thing is to see it probably has the original burner. Those are often replaced to more modern ones on old stoves. Bo
Hi John, your second Alexandra stove and one with a completely different burner from your other one. A very impressive piece and great for your collection. The burner seems to be an amalgam of two Oscar Wollert patents from 1895. It is not identical to the burners in the patents but seems to use both of the ideas. The full patents can be found here and here.
Hello everyone and thanks for your comments. Gunsoo; You are correct that this stove is treasure and I have to thank my wife as she was the one who won it for me from an auction site here in New Zealand. She knew that I wanted it but I was unable to be home for the auction close time and I did not think that I would win it anyway so she asked for a "Buy Now" and got it for me. That was the second Alexandra I had got hold of in New Zealand. I have had a little more time checking out this stove and found that the 'air screw' thread is slightly different to what the later Swedish standard sized ones are. I was lucky to find that the regulating spindle from and old Optimus Campingo burner matched so I was able to get the stove sealed so that I could pump air into it. Yes it holds pressure so I cleared the jet and the air flowed through. The old pump NRV still does it's job after say 118 years and I don't think it has been serviced as there are no tool markings on the removable pump tube collar. Yes John and Afterburner, it does appear that the old cork system is far superior to the more modern NRVs. Mind you, cork had been used in them as well and seemed to last longer too. I still come across them from time to time but mainly in SVEA's. The screw plugs are for clearing out the burner and it is obvious that someone in the past has undone them. The gas nipple looks like it is past it's use by date so the stove may burn rich when I do try it. Thanks for those links shagratork. Oscar Wollert stated in his patent that he preffered the square shaped roarer burner(shown with the 4 vapour tubes) instead so I wonder if this burner is older than the patent showing the more developed "square" version. I also wonder why he was developing that version of roarer burner when Primus had already developed their sootless roarer and it was far superior. I am anxious to get it burning again to see what it goes like. Yes Bo, the burner does appear original and I am certainly lucky to get it with the stove. It may be rarer as well and may have been made in lower numbers if the 4 vapour tube version was the prefered one. Yes Tony, I did get it here in New Zealand. I bet that there are some treasures still yet to be found in your country as well. I am still looking for a very early Swedish Primus but that would be a hard one to find. Fingers crossed though. John
