Hi, I'm new to fettling with stoves, but came across this lovely stove in a shop in France and couldn't resist it! I've not managed to find it in any catalogues and although it looks in good condition (bar the missing burner cap) it was very seized up. The lead washer under the fuel filler lid was completely corroded on and took a lot of force to move, the pump washer completely disintegrated, and from what I can see the pump valve is going to be a pig to remove and need new bits too. I would like to source a seal kit and burner cap for it. Could anyone tell me whether this stove is likely to be interchangable with other stove (primus 2pint?) parts? Any tips on how to unseize and get the NRV seal out the bottom of the plunger tube would also be greatly appreciated. Kind regards Chris
A very warm welcome to the forum! I would recommend you to go slow!!!!! 5 minutes with force and the wrong tools and you can ruin that lovely stove forever (ask me how I know). Take some time to look around the many fantastic posts about repairing (fettling) old stoves. Personally I use a mix of ATF (oil for automatic gears) and kerosene for NRV:s, I just ad a mouthful or two to the tube and seal it up and leave it for a couple of weeks. The key to loosening stuck old thread is the right, well fitting, tool and the application of force in the right way. Hopefully some more knowledgeable stovie will chime in with a lot more information. /Lars
And, if you can see how dirty is the NRV throgh the filling port, try to take all that crap out. I had to manage more than 45" trying to extract an already loose NRV because I couldn't see how bad it was inside the fount. Enrique
Hello Chris A very nice example of a typical French domestic stove! Worth to be restored with care. One of the most astonishing facts in the history of kerosene stoves is, that the really odd sized threads of the earliest PRIMUS stoves have survived until today. They survived two World Wars, hundreds of colonial wars, rise and fall of several empires, uncounted manufacturers and not talking about the technical development since the end of the 19th Century. Even the French who proudly, and for some good reasons, claim the Metric System as their invention, used the odd Swedish threads in the French kerosene stove-parts. It is highly probable that you can use other stove-parts from other brands. Just try it. If they don't, they will fit with the next stove you certainly will be attracted from irresistibly. I hope you will present the stove in the stove Gallery later. Best Regards Radler
Yes indeed, welcome to CCS Chris. You've certainly hit the ground running with that beaut of a stove. Different but the same manufacturer and with some dismantling photos HERE from Lampenkeuche. John
Another gorgeous green enamel stove from France. And here was me thinking it's British Racing Green..... clearly not when it comes to stoves. Regards John
Dear all, Thanks for the very warm (pun?) welcome and great advice. I shall certainly take it slow and leave it to soak before attempting to loosen anything. I am currently trying to source a quality NRV removal tool while the whole lot soaks (It was fun trying to measure the size of something at the end of a long dark tube!) and Ross from Fettlebox has offered to make any seals to custom size should they be required, So I shall get the measurements to him when I get a chance. Am I right in thinking that, at just over 4cm a standard flame spreader should fit? Kind regards Chris
