I have an Optimus 199 that was given to me by a friend several years ago. He had originally been given this stove by another friend (the original owner, I believe). Both of these previous owners said it just didn’t run right. It has been a long time, and they weren’t very specific at the time, but to the best of my recollection they said it just wouldn’t run very strong, and would start out with only fair power, and go downhill from there. One of the two previous owners did a rebuild (there was old graphite packing and a used spindle in the box when I got it). I finally dug it out and started to try and figure out what is going on with it. It also ran kind of weak for me, and I assumed it was due to low fuel pressure. I suspected the spindle nut was not tight enough… held a lighter by it while it was running, and I got a little flame there. So I shut it down, tightened the spindle nut a little, and tried it again. It ran better, looked normal to me. No more flame by the nut. After about 10 minutes of blissful flame watching with good power I was about ready to declare victory and shut it down. Then, suddenly… the flame changed, got uneven and weaker, and the sound changed. Eventually I could see that I had flame under the burner, not just on top, however the windscreen mostly blocked my view, so it was hard to see what was going on. Yesterday I took the windscreen off and fired it up again. It did not prime normally, started flaring up around the burner even with the valve completely off. Now I can see that the burner tubes must have cracks in two different locations. See attached photos. It was hard to get very good quality shots, hopefully these are good enough to get the idea across. So… what to do? Elders of the stove community please weigh in. Is it possible to fix something like this? Can such cracks be plugged with solder, or welding? If repair of the existing unit isn’t possible can I get a new part for this, if not an actual 199 part is there some equivalent part that could be pressed into service? I’d like to keep it original while getting it running, but if that isn’t possible then I’m willing to consider Frankensteining it, as long as it still looks OK. If all else fails I’ll just clean it up put it on the bookshelf and look at it. I really like the design. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
@Doug's Kid If the burner has cracks it can be brazed (silver-soldered). It can’t be repaired with plumbers or electricians solder. You nipple (jet) also appears to be loose. Can you photograph or see exactly where the cracks are? Cheers Tony
@Doug's Kid Hi, Tony is correct. You stove can be fixed but will need to be silver soldered. The jet may just need to be tightened a bit more to stop the leak. If you have never silver brazed or silver soldered then you will need to find someone that has a good working knowledge of stoves. I would recommend contacting Gary at: http://www.bluewaterstove.com/Bluewater_Stove_Restoration/Main_Page.html You will find his email at the bottom of the page. He may be able to help out. Cheers, Norman
I'd recommend you contact Gary as @teckguy_58 suggests. I'm sure your stove can be fixed and Gary will know what needs to be done and how to do it. If you don't feel competent to do the repair yourself he'll probably offer to do it for you. BTW a friend that gives you an Optimus 199 is a friend indeed! I should be so lucky. Ben
Thanks for the advice. Yes, in looking more closely at my photos I'm seeing the flame near the nipple too. Didn't see that in real time. Possibly because I was leery of the leak that was blasting right at the fuel tank, and was getting ready to flea the scene of the impending explosion. The lose nipple is probably a side effect from the rebuild not being done right. However I'm dubious that it will correct my problem. The two jets of flame (leaks) are both up where the vertical tubes join the circular burner plate, so there is quite a bit of separation between them and the nipple. Any pointers in getting a wrench on a 199 nipple? It is far less accessible than a 123.
That's fine, but are we talking purchasing, or making? If purchasing... where from? If making... I'm sure I can kluge something using a grinder and files, but any tips on what material/tool to form the tool out of, and what tools/methods to form it with, would help. Thanks.
@Doug's Kid If you've got hard steel rod that will fit snugly in the internal diameter of the burner tube through the middle of the burner, cut a 1/4 inch slot in it at the bottom. Cut a square at the top and use a correctly fitting socket set to turn the rod to unscrew the jet. If no tube, do the same with a modified bolt of the same diameter. Cheers Tony
Both. There are a lot of tools that I have acquired since I started this hobby. Dental picks from my dentist for one.
I finally got around to sending my 199 in to Bluewater Stove Restoration, to fix its significant problems. Gary did a fabulous job on it. He said there were multiple cracks in the underside of the burner and that it leaked like mad. I have no idea how those happened, the stove is a twice over hand me down, and I never met the original owner. But he got it all brazed up, and replaced the seals in the fuel cap, and repacked the stuffing box too. He said the old graphite came out as little granules. Something he’d never seen before, and that he was guessing the stove had seen “significant heat” at some point in its life. But again, I’m not privy to the stoves early days so I can only scratch my head and wonder at what happened to cause the packing to do that. But (for perhaps the first time in its life) the little 199 is running as it should. Thank you Gary! I found Gary to be uber-competent and very fairly priced. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone. Gary, on the other hand, might rather not have me as a customer again, as I initially thought the repair hadn’t held, and caused him stress while I travelled the path to understand the stove was in fact running just fine (I'll detail my foolishness in another thread “It’s Supposed to Fart”). Sorry again Gary. But thanks to those here who recommended Bluewater to me. Without you my 199 would still be sitting on a shelf, dead in the water.
Wow that really came out nice. Your little stove has had a hard life and it's wonderful to see it brazed back together and running like it should. Its blue flame warms my stovie heart. Ben
Job well done by both Gary and you! Here is my homemade tool for the larger jets (like the 199, 111 and such) and for those stubborn NRV in pump shafts. The garden hose is pushed up when working on tiny stoves like the Primus 96 and down as a “guidance” on the larger ones. The large handle gives me a good firm grip. I have yet to make one of the more advanced tools - Like this one made by @Twoberth Cheap home-made (Twoberth-proof) NRV removal tool hmm - feeling a small shed job is inbound - Thanks @Twoberth :-)
