Disclosures: 1. I've never cooked on a 123 with a pan larger than about 8". (I just measured it to be sure.) (Also, this was using my Sigg Tourist, not the standard windscreen.) My opinion was that a 9" pan would be ok. 2. In light of @OMC 's post, I reread your (@Greeley 's) original and realized I had misread "doing a Mt. St. Helens on my 123" as "doing Mt. St. Helens with my 123", i.e. describing a climbing trip. So I didn't realize your SRV had blown. Obviously, this casts some doubt on my previous opinion. I still think that wind shielding and ambient temperatures have a greater effect with that pan diameter, and I'm curious about those factors when your SRV blew. However, your experience would make me think twice about using a 9" pan. ....Arch
It was perhaps twelve years ago, on a short solo canoe trip in the BWCA. I was frying a pork chop in the aluminum skillet when the SRV blew. I'm quite sure I wasn't using a separate windscreen. It was my first outing with the recently-purchased used 123. Previous outings I used my trusty Coleman 400A. I also remember cussing at the tippy pan on the stove as I managed to drop my fried eggs on the ground at an earlier breakfast. Tom
Some of these SRV failures surely can be attributed to a hard SRV pip. That should be another factor in determining the size of a pot.
@ArchMc , thanks for clarifying the Mt St Helen's thing for me, I read it wrong too. Drifting again, but in regards to Tom's post above, stability, for me, is everything. I used the 123 w standard cute windscreen a couple times to boil water, then bought a Sigg set, wowza
I haven't experienced it, so I have to ask. When the SRV functions and releases pressure, resulting in a flame up, doesn't it just go right out when the pressure drops back to a safe level?
Colin Fletcher coined the descriptive phrase"Mt. St. Helens" in his book "The Complete Walker". And I looked up my canoeing notes: it was August 1997, and I had fried fish and potatoes, and pan-baked bannock when the SRV let go. Perhaps a bit longer cooking session than the 123 was expecting. Tom
I still suspect the SRV maintenance had at least some part to play. I would say that SRV maintenance is a relatively new process for Svea 123 owners. Not like Ronco. "Set it and Forget it". It may not even be well known outside of this forum.
@snwcmpr, You could very possibly be correct about lack of fettling the SRV. 21 years ago I figured if the stove lit and didn't spew gas all was good. Using a 123 was new to me; my previous experience had been all Coleman - lanterns and stoves. SRV? What's an SRV? Perhaps all stove users should be required to follow this website for two or three years before putting a match to any stove! Tom
Good point. I have researched here and seen posts about the learning of the repair of the pips. Very interesting stuff. If you imagine a stove built in the 50s or 60s ... how long do you expect the SRV to be in tip-top shape? Ken in NC
Colin was quite prescient, considering Mt St Helens blew about twelve years after The Complete Walker was published. Basil
Mt. St. Helens did its big thing on May 18, 1980. The major editions of The Complete Walker were released in 1968, 1974, 1984, and 2002. If the phrase was used in one of the earlier editions, that would be prescient! Even with a Sigg Tourist, the Svea can be unstable if its on a sloping and (especially) rickity surface. He stacked windshield with the full pot on top makes it top heavy. Dont ask me how I know this. ....Arch
I seem to recall someone saying the small pot, boiled, is enough to: heat up another container enough >for a hot drink, or to >rehydrate dried food.
My MSR 1L pot is about 6 inches diameter and is ideal on the 123. It never even hinted at overheating. That was my favorite 123 combination before the Sigg set came along. I had soured of using the 123 in the woods because I consider it quite unstable with its small diameter and tiny pot supports. The Sigg set makes it a very useable stove.
Reading Colin Fletcher's book, 3rd edition to find the "Mt. St Helens" quote I saw a drawing of this windscreen and I cobbled it together this morning out of sheet aluminum. Wondering if anyone has (had) the original? Tom
