Frech Vesta

Discussion in 'France' started by teckguy_58, May 25, 2017.

  1. teckguy_58

    teckguy_58 United States Subscriber

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    Washington USA
    Hi there folks,

    It is very good to have the site back up and running. I was starting to go into withdrawals.

    I have a Vesta and during the cleanup I applied too much heat to the burner body and some of the silbraze melted creating a small leak so off to Gary, Bernie Dawg, it went for the repair.
    DSC059621.jpg

    While Gary had my stove he made a very nice trivet for my Vesta. The trivet works very well and stows inside the stove case with no problems. As can be seen in the pictures I'm using a Bernie Dawg Minicap and it works quite well for this stove. As can be seen the Minicap fits the burner very well.
    DSC06116.JPG DSC06118.JPG DSC06112.JPG DSC06114.JPG DSC06115.JPG

    Here it is in it's stowed configuration and with stove case closed.
    DSC06158.JPG DSC06159.JPG

    Thanks to Gary this stove runs like new. 1 liter of water came to a rolling boil in a little over 4 minutes. The Vesta with Minicap is a real blow torch. From simmer to high it is very controllable.
    DSC06129.JPG DSC06137.JPG DSC06138.JPG DSC06139.JPG DSC06140.JPG

    I dismantled the stove 3 different times to get all of the carbon and other junk out of the burner body. I'm now pretty good at taking the Vesta down to it's individual parts.
    The wick on this stove was shot so I used John's , @presscall, idea of using 6 mm copper tubing with some cotton wick inside the tubing so this stove would run properly. I made mine a bit too long and had to shorten the side which goes into the fuel tank/fount. I forgot to take before and after pictures of the process of dismantling the stove so I borrowed a picture from John, @presscall. Thanks John for doing what I almost always forget to do.
    IMG_12061.jpg


    With the trivet which adds a bit more room between the burner top and the bottom of the pot or pan the stove seems to run more efficiently, but I will have to leave the explanation to those who are far more knowledgeable then I am.
    I'm very pleased with the performance of this stove. It is compact and easy to carry, but it is also a bit on the heavy side, but I can live with that.

    This stove wouldn't be running if it weren't for Gary. He was very helpful and did more then I asked. My appreciation and many thanks go to Gary.

    Cheers,
    Norman
     
  2. Big Si

    Big Si Subscriber

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    Norman, loving your restoration, it really looks good. I like the fabrication mate. I bet the stove will last another 50 or so years without another carbon clean out.

    Si
     
  3. teckguy_58

    teckguy_58 United States Subscriber

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    Hi Si,

    Thanks for your kind comments.

    Cheers,
    Norman