Has been found in the attic of a house, alone, crying in a corner, full of dust and rust, although in good condition, only seals had to be replaced. Much work still to be done but I have no patience and put some photos.
Fantastic oldie. Those German Aetnas are almost spitting images of the first Primus stoves. Same knurling on pump and pump cap, same pressing of the tank etc. Same pump and NRV that Primus used atleast before the newly patented came in 1896. (Earliest Primus stoves) The name Aetna was used on some blow lamps by Primus. I wonder if there are some sort of connection? Can you post an image of the date stamp too, please?
I had an Aetna blow torch, with a B. A. Hjorth & Co. signature on it, not Primus, which made me confused when I've first time seen the sign of DRGM made by the Germans... btw, the burner head is Primus, that could be a connection
This is the same stove so I am continuing on the original thread line. As @kristi said there really was much work still required. In particular 3 mismatched legs and a seriously bent Primus No.4 burner which was on its last legs - that flame shot above masks a plethora of hidden issues. The burner was found to be jammed onto the riser using a fine cord packing as the original Aetna riser threads are an odd size. The riser threads are roughly same TPI and pitch as those found on standard '00'/No.4 burners, but are of a larger diameter which is just less than the diameter used on standard No.1/No.5 burners - hence the bizarre packing which by some miracle had actually functioned to a degree!! The full strip down has shown up some more oddities which are relevant to the debate over what relationship, if any, the German Aetna stoves had to B.A.Hjorth/Primus. Firtsly all of the threads, when checked, turn out to be non-standard: caps, pressure release, burner and pump. Secondly, the pump, although at first sight apparently identical to the pre-1896 Primus pumps, is in fact different in all details. Here is the flimsier Aetna NRV(upper) compared to the more substantial equivalent Primus NRV: . The Aetna pump tube is also very slightly shorter and 1mm smaller in diameter than the Primus: At the other end the Aetna pump/tank fitting thread is coarser and 1mm larger in diameter than on the Primus tube: These differences, I think, further substantiate the view that, although this German stove copied a huge amount from the early Primus', it was certainly not made by Primus or on behalf of Primus. There are even detail differences, including, yet again, in the choice of threads, on the pump rod assembly that would have made no sense if the companies and production had been linked: (a leather washer has now been put in place on the stop plate behind the floating pump cup carrier since the photos were taken).
Replica legs, similar to what would seem to have been the original pattern, in process of being fitted in place of the 3 all different mismatched legs that the stove arrived with: A slightly more appropriate looking burner is now fitted in place of the disintegrating Primus No.4 unit that had been in place. This is an odd old tubular coil burner of possibly German but most likely French origin (c/f): The problem of the mismatch with the non-standard riser threads is once again being temporarily bodged over, this time using a packing of automotive exhaust expansion paste. Unfortunately this burner is still running rich, even with the best-so-far of several outer caps tried out and a new jet: (Next step might be to try a 0.23 size 'economy' jet)
Well done! This is a very interesting stove, just like all from the 19:th century. Good to see it up and running again.
Extract from a German publication dated 1903, 'The modern installer - a practical manual', by Walter Häntzschel, (editor of the "metalworker" and the "German plumber newspaper"): "We had occasion to see Hetel Kretschmann, Berlin SW, Lindenstrasse 37, with his petroleum stove "Aetna" in operation and believe that a message about these really practical apparatuses is probably in place. In the Aetna Cooker, which we depict in Fig. 437 and 438 in two constructions, we first notice its solid construction, which is particularly appealing in its simplicity. On the oil basin, the burner builds up, which consists of a double fork tube, which opens at the top into the carburetor head and is closed at the bottom by the alcohol heating tank b. The filling of the basin is done by the screw c, and the pump d serves to increase the pressure on the flame as needed. The apparatuses give a broad, very hot blue flame, radiate little heat to the outside and bring the petroleum gas smoke and sootless for burning. Fig. 438 shows an apparatus with two burners: " This contemporary account appears to support the view that this German 'Aetna' stove was produced entirely independently of any direct collaboration with Primus in Sweden. (translated from transcript posted by Hytta.de here).
The NRVs we see in this thread are similar to one I have on an old Clayton & Lambert plumbers furnace...made in USA.
Courtesy of Stonewasher Hi Iani, Some collaboration with Sweden must be, while in the time 29.4.96 to 12.2.98 are owner of mark PRIMUS in Germany Hugo Kretschmann. And 18.2.98 get to B.A.Hjorth & Co. in Germany till 1938 . Dusan .
@dusan, thank you for the documentary confirmation that Kretschmann was also an early Primus sales outlet. The technical details of Kretschmann's 'Aetna' stoves, however, show no evidence of any help from or collaboration with Primus. It is probably significant that Kretschmann relinguished ownership of the Primus name in German just before the Aetna stoves were launched. It is also noteworthy that the Aetna adverts clearly describe Kretschmann as 'fabricant' (manufacturer), not simply as seller('verkaufer'). Moving between the roles of Primus outlet and independent producer was not unknown. Stadelmann in London later marketed both Primus brand stoves and their own separately commissioned stoves (Virtus, Farringdon & Veritas) simultaneously with each other.
