I bought this stove on French eBay and clearly the seller had done a great cosmetic job but the stove had seized up. The control valve was difficult to turn even once. I disassembled the stove and packed the valve with graphite. This freed the control valve which now turned easily through several revolutions. However the cleaning needle was failing to drop meaning the jet was blocked so I removed the jet, needle and the spring and cleaned the needle housing. I also stretched the spring a little to give a bit more push on the needle to move it down. This did the trick. The stove was bone dry so the wick took a while to soak but eventually she came back to life. For those unfamiliar with the stove I've included a shot next to my 8R for size comparison.
I've got a number of these Vestas and like them a lot. I suggest you turn your pot support as shown below. You'll find it much easier to fill the pre-heat cup with alcohol. Ben
This is a great stove. What a pity seller only took care of the stetical aspect and miss to fixed it. I remember you should turn the control valve some revolutions before you light the stove. @z1ulike Thank you for the trick. I bended the stand a little towards the center
@Robert Radcliffe Glad to be of help. Vestas are really great stoves but under appreciated in my opinion. The heavily built steel fuel tank makes them a little heavy for backpacking but they are self-pressuring and and put out plenty of heat. I also like the hinged steel case which contains any spilled fuel. I've got 3 of them outfitted with silent burners and another in my traveling coffee kit. Ben
Very nice stove! Congratulations. The tank welding seems heavy duty. I was a little surprised that there is no heat shield between burner and tank. Must get hot under a pot. I have not seen a spring to push the cleaning needle down. Is there a cam on the spindle to push it up? Nice size and color.
The spring was under the jet above the cleaning needle and I'm assuming there must be a cam to push it up or down.
You are correct as you can see in this photo of the cleaning needle assembly I pilfered from @presscall . When the stove is turned off the rounded end is force up on a cam, compressing the spring and driving the needle through the gas jet from below. When the stove is turned on again the cleaning needle rides down the cam forced by the spring. It's a pretty nifty setup which eliminates the need for separate cleaning needles. Ben
@z1ulike thanks Ben that's helped clarify what I was trying describing. I agree it's an elegant solution and easy to access.
