Here is a 1921 Primus No.30 (1 pint) stove with a silent burner. This is a good example of the condition many old stoves arrive in, so I decided to record all of the things I had to do the make it work. As it came: 1. First remove all the fittings except the fixed legs. 1.1 I used the 17mm odd-shaped spanner which fits the burner perfectly to take the burner from the riser. 1.2 To remove the NRV, I first soaked the NRV in penetrating oil for a day by filling the pump tube with the oil. I placed the NRV removal tool in a vise and, putting firm downward pressure on the tank, turned the tank anticlockwise to free the NRV. 1.3 The NRV would not come out even though it was unscrewed completely (too much old fuel holding it in the bottom of the pump tube), so I used a pipe cleaner to get it out. 2. The next job was to get rid of the excess plumbers solder. Having large amounts of solder does nothing except look ugly. The task here is to get the solder off without solder running and sticking to places it shouldn't; and not unsoldering other parts of the stove. 2.1 I used "permanent marker" to paint around the excess solder so that the melted solder would not run and stick to the tank. I filled the tank with water to cool the other soldered pieces. 2.2 I heated the excess solder with a propane torch and wiped the melting solder off with a damp cotton cloth. 2.3 The very thin layer of solder remaining was then cleaned up with a very, very fine emery paper and a Dremel with a brass wire brush. The little ball of solder on the filler cap tube was ground off with a fine Dremel finishing wheel. 2.4 The excess solder on the filler cap was removed in a similar manner. 3. The NRV was taken apart using a drill chuck and an NRV tool (the drill chuck is to stop the end of the NRV being broken by using a screw-driver). Of course the spring was replaced, as was the pip. 4. The inside of the burner was cleaned by heating with a propane torch and pumping air through the burner. I found that the Coleman lamp pump I had did a good job. Note: the nipple (jet) has been removed for this task. 5. The pump was disassembled and the washer taken from the filler cap. All loose parts were then cleaned in "Marine Clean" (but any good detergent-base engine cleaner will do). 6. Here are all the cleaned pieces and their replacement washers and seals: 7. The tank, having lost the uniformity of its patina after removing the excessed solder, was polished by hand with Autosol. It will be lacquered with VHT high temperature gloss clear and baked at 94C. 8. The stove was reassembled with its new seals and washers. Seals and washers by @The Fettlebox ; pump cup by @sefaudi. And then it was lit! The Reference Gallery post of this stove is here: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/primus-no-30-1921.33925/ Cheers Tony
I love that first start in years aurora in green. Beautiful. I won't look that good at 95 no matter how much fettling I receive.
Excellent step-by-step fettle. Thank you for taking the time and effort to document it so meticulously.
of course the stove is now beautiful, and the step by step is even better! Thanks for the careful documentation. The permanent marker is a great tip. Thanks, Ivan
Another masterful job Tony! You have a great talent to be able to see and reveal the beauty that lies hidden under the years of wear and tear! Those green Phoenix flames are truly memorising and are the reward for the effort that goes into producing them! I don't have any stoves with an agent's name plate. The provenance from the Brandts plate makes it even more special!
Tony, In this photo that you took and I reproduced here, where does the washer go that is next to the NRV?
Trevor, Thanks mate. I have removed perhaps 4 NRV's and none have had a washer. I thought that perhaps the washer went on the pump cap. That seemed as handy as flyscreens on the doors of a submarine. Thanks again Trevor and thanks to Tony for the fettle.
@Matty I use The Fettle Box HDPE NRV washers most of the time; but lead ones are fine as long as you don't overtighten them. My experience is that old stoves that have never been serviced, often come without a washer. It is these (which have metal to metal contact) that are the hardest to unscrew. Cheers Tony
@Tony Press When you say, old stoves that haven't been serviced, usually don't have the washer - does that mean that washers weren't part of the factory build and are in fact an aftermarket part?
@Matty I am sure that some stoves I've refurbished never had a washer. It appears (to me) they left the factory with the NRV tightly screwed to the end of the pump tube with no washer fitted. Most, of course, have washers. A couple of weeks ago I was working on an old Australian Aladdin twin burner kitchen stove. Both the NRVs had no washer; I refitted them with lead washers. [The washers were peculiar in another way, but that's a different story that requires photos]. Cheers Tony