I recently purchased an optimus 8r always wanted one. Cleaned it up and fired it up. It seems to take significantly longer to boil water than my svea 123. Is this normal? I checked the wick and it looked pretty good only a slight brown at the very tip. I have had my svea since new in 1975 and used it on many trips. I was expecting the same performance e from the 8r. Am I missing something?
My experience is that it take little longer to get full pressure, and full power from 8R than 123. So yes, it will take longer time to boil water, at least the first boiling after fireing up. My 8R use to have pretty good power when I am fininshed boiling. So if I will boil some more water, it will go significant faster then the first boiling. A mini pump will help, but my opiniom is that a pump will defeat the purpose with 8R. If I need more power, there are other stoves that do that.
I have found that "upright" stoves like the SVEA 123, and the Optimus 80 warm up faster, and boil water faster than the Optimus 8R. My opinion is that the "upright" burner has a stronger thermal "connection" with the fuel tank, warming the fuel tank faster, than the 8R tank. Just my experience. Cheers Simon Foxxx
If you look in old catalogues you will find that the 123R has nominal power ratings that are approx 35% higher than that of the 8R. My perception is that the 123R design is capable of generating a higher self pressure than 8R, thus the difference. Edit - @SimonFoxxx was answering more or less the same while I was writing
Thanks for the info and explanation. I was just wondering if there was anything else I needed to look at in restoring the 8R back to good working order. from your comments I think that all is right and the stove is working normally. I do get a slight leak around the valve when priming. This goes away when the stove heats up. I have tightened the nut a bit. May give it another little tweak. Back in 1975 when I bought my SVEA 123r I was debating between it and the Optimus 8r. I bought the SVEA and in hind site I am glad that I did. It has served me well on many backpacking trips. When with the family I cook meals for 4 people over this humble little stove. It just works and it is beautiful when fully polished The only time the stove SVEA failed me was on a winter morning when the temp was about 5 degrees. My buddy and I couldn't get it primed to have a hot breakfast. My buddy had left his boots outside his sleeping bag and they froze stiff. We were so tired and cold from two days slogging through snow and being cold that we packed up that morning and hiked out a day early. After that experience I purchased a pump but never tried it out in cold weather camping. I decided that I liked 3 season camping better and didn't need to torture myself to have a good time. But I still have the story and have told it to my children and others numerous times. I bought my son a coleman 442 dual fuel some years back thinking that it would perform better than the SVEA. I was wrong there as well. The SVEA was every bit as good as the coleman and weighed a lot less. I do love the look of the 8R and enjoy playing with it. It may see use as a stove for use when we are out on a drive in the mountains and need some hot lunch or a hot drink. Don't think I will be packing it. But I guess most of us don't use all the stoves we have we just enjoy fiddling with them.
@compman2 , As has been said already, the Btu rating between the two stoves is very different: 4,700 Btu's for the SVEA 123; and 3,300 Btu's for the 8R. But, even with less overall power, the little 8R is still a sweet, and usable stove. Doc
@compman2 , thank you for posting. My thought is this topic has been covered I apologize for not finding/including a link to other enlightening CCS discussion(s). re your: "It seems to take significantly longer to boil water than my svea 123. Is this normal?" IMO... there definitely should not be a significant difference between the 2 boil times. If both stoves are functioning normally, from full roar side by side, placing pot with 1 liter of water atop (or 1/2 liter) the boil times should be very close. My impression is the time difference (if there is one) would be insignificant. Staffan being a fountain of reliable information it may depend which old catalog we check and which model we check? Assume we can find catalogs with differing specs (which is common) the differences should be small. <---> update/correction, see edit. My experience: Low profile 8R (at full roar) has same output or very close to same output as 123R. Although 123R may have better heat transfer for priming, the 8R, once hot, has more than adequate heat transfer to function optimally. I too referenced catalogs (FYI: catalogs require subscription). Per the '72 Optimus catalog: the 8R boils 1 liter in 6-7 mins. Per a 1970s Optimus brochure: the Svea 123 boils 1 liter of water in 6 mins. ------------------------------------ EDIT: well well well credit @Tony Press recently posted c'93 Optimus catalog approximates the 8R at 1200W and approximates the 123R at 1600W Specs vary, that ^^^^ recently posted detail is contrary to my impression but it is what it is, there we have it. If this holds, of the many 123s & 123Rs I have, apparently "I've got issues" because I've done side by side 8R, 123R boil times and results were close. Prior to this, side by side at full roar, I wouldn't have suggested either model is hotter than the other.
Hi @OMC , yes I'm sure we can find differing figures in catalogues through the years. There are several parameters that will affect boil times, things like material and geometry of cooking pot used, ambient temperature and conditions etc. Here are two examples where both stoves are featured in the same catalogue. In the first case, the rating is lower than in the second (where mini pump is used to achieve the rating) but in both cases, the 123R is attributed higher output or shorter boil time. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/optimus-stove-catalogue-mid-1980s.42490/ https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/1989-optimus-catalogue.8725/ Would be fun if someone has the possibility to do a live test using identical setting/testing configuration.
Thank you. Ah hah, there it is in "the fine print" of mid- 1980s catalogue specs. I had missed that (many times over! ). My something new learned today.
CCS is a true treasure chest, there is so much info stored here and we cannot remember it all, even if we have seen it before!
I use a mini pump for more than 40 years on my Optimus 99 just to get it started easier - after priming with alcohol to prevent dramatic sooting. It might elevate performance a tad by pressurize the tank once it reaches operating temperatures, but I never felt the need for that.
Both my 123 and 123R stoves are hotter, by observation, than my two 8Rs. However, I find the 8R to be much easier to use in the field. Open the case, prime it, and go. The 123 windshield I find to be a pita. The stove is also much tippier than the 8R. Neither is a great cold weather stove, but I take no special care when temps are above 15 F. The only way I will carry a 123 in the woods now is with the Sigg cookset. That makes it a different animal, although the small priming dimple forces double priming in the cold as before.
In my own case, I've never used a 123 without the Sigg set, and I've never fired up the couple of 8Rs I own. Haven't got around to it....
Seems to me that it isn’t always simply BTU’s,,, wind in any amount complicates a stove’s abilities. Cook sets like the Sigg Tourist or Trangia protect the flame and then even lower BTU stoves perform admirably. The Trangia spirit burner is advertised at 1000w/3500 BTU’s and I’ve used Trangia cook sets along the quite windy shores of Lake Superior with no complaints about its ability to function. Then too, I’ve use other stoves with a simple pot on them, and watched while the flames of the stove were at right angles to the pot. I do understand that some stoves crank out more or less heat, but how long I must wait for my tea water to boil depends on far more than simple BTU’s,,, I believe a cook set that surrounds the stove is a serious game changer... I had rather use my 8r than a Svea 123(r) for stability, but the Svea inside a Sigg Tourist is about as good as it gets... If there is a similar setup for the 8r or the 99, I’ve never yet seen it...
Tis super simple to do a dunk test on your 8r, most of those old cap gaskets leak, and ANY little bubbles will really weaken hte stove. I like using 8r over 123 with that cute little windscreen, which is, as was mentioned, a PITA, and is unstable.
IMHO the 123 has more style and cool factor. If I’m hiking , it’s the 123 over the 8r for me. Paddling short trips, the 8r is ideal.
