This is a real old guy, the oldest of all my stoves. According to the catalog, it was produced in the United States around 1897. It's a little different from the Swedish production of the same period The stamped text on the tank is beautiful There is some useful information on the tank lid No text at the bottom This is what it looks like when I get it, it is wrapped in thick oxide I removed the oxide on its surface, but did not polish it. The next thing to do is to restore his function. Below are some details of the parts. The pump can be removed as a whole, and the structure is more complicated than later products The structure of the pump check valve is old, but it is very easy to maintain The burner flame cup is also larger than the later products. Unfortunately, the burner cover is missing. The original owner replaced it with an optimus cover. Its inner cover is original, the inner cover is threaded and it is fixed to the burner. I'm very happy to watch this stove over 120 years old burning again!
Good job getting the old girl up and running so beautifully. It gives me something to shoot for if and when I ever come across mine again. Thanks for taking the time to photograph and share your little beauty. Ben
Thank you & Congrats anfeng ! I too join enthusiastic praise of your early example and presentation . Yourself and readers if interested will find convo indicating / comparing early details related to yours. "Comparisons" begin on pg.3 re c1897 Primus US -vs- 1890s Primus Sweden. There are striking similarities not the least of which is re pumps: The near or exact match of the c1897 pump assemblies (US vs Swedish) down to tiniest pieces and, if you read-on in that convo we find, for Primus Sweden, there was a pump version earlier than c1897. From what we've seen, I find that yours is a 4th example (as seen in 1897 catalog) that is among the earliest of these stoves HOWEVER, a bonus!, among these 4 (all 4 with much in common, Ben's made an impression), yours is the only "No.1". No.1 was sold *minus legs/pot supports, the other 3 are Primus US No. 103. Links to the other 3 are found in convo link above. We see production for these began by 1897, not yet clear for how many years the early version was offered (and approx. year the next version began). *The "...useful..." (or necessary ) pot support option for your No.1 is the No.105 Standard Frame , "...Cooking Stove Frame..." . My apologies to members, (subscriber's) ref. library is the only cooking frame (US or Swedish) I can refer to. That rare illustration is in the 1897 catalog. thx again
What a beauty, I love those really old stoves, congratulations on finding that one. Great work. Cheers Rob
The burner inner cover is threaded, and the height of the inner cover can be adjusted. After repeated tests, the old girl now has a beautiful flame.
