Hello all, I thought it only polite to say a quick hello as I have been reading through various posts for the last few hours. Yesterday I found and bought a Valor Packaway, it's in quite good condition, but I will give it a good cleaning anyway, not sure yet if it will get a full polish, it not. Both options look well from what I see here. Now being completely honest, I'm not sure how much use I will ever give this. But it's a useful item to have in case of emergency. That and, my brother converts vans to campers, I'm a 'technical consultant' for him. I.e. whenever he is unsure what to do, I get a call asking me to drop over for a chat. I was thinking this stove could be a nice prop for his photos. But first and foremost it needs to be able to work!
I loved finding the box of match also in there. the prickers, one looks decent, there is rust on the other, but it should still be fine. The meth can, not in any photo I think, is in ok condition, rust on top and won't currently open. But I'll get that opened. The stove is still half full of fuel, so not really give it much of a look at yet. The top brass ring (still learning terms, not sure on that part) really is the only part I have done anything with. The case itself for a good scrubbing this morning and is left out in the sun to dry properly. Most of the rust is only surface rust, but a few spots will need work. One small hole in it. Overall very happy with. And looking forward to getting it up and working. My only other item like this is a Coleman dual fuel lantern I picked up at a carboot sale a few years back, that took very little work to get running.
... and so the collection began, and grew and grew. Robust stove, the Valor. The green enamelled windshield makes it a bit different John
Thanks for the welcome. I really really can't afford another hobby! Time wise I mean, I already have more than enough to keep me going. But.... I know what I'm like and I seem to find slippery slopes without looking! So who knows.
Actually, the tin is looking quite good, it cleaned up quite nicely last night. But need to take it out into good day light today to confirm.
I suppose it is quite possible to pick up one or two stoves and not get more. It wasn’t in my case and many, many stoves later and ...... I started with a Optimus 45 and I thought that it would be fun to get it running, researched this site, got a case Stove Envy and now I am overrun with them. Really though, there are people who have various appliances from the past and limit there accumulations to pieces they use. It will be a nice piece to display, take out to various outdoor functions and impress people with. You should match it with a kettle and cooking pot of the same era and you have a fine picnic set.
I will probably end up a small collection... But the suitable kettle and pot is great suggestion. I hadn't thought that far ahead
And I decided on a full polish for it all. Not sure if I will regret that decision or not, but it has been made. The wrench cleaned up well, the meth tin also. It will need a new seal, but that shouldn't be difficult to source. And today I found the fettlebox site and ordered a full set of seals, a replacement nipple and the wrench to remove them. Don't know if I will need the nipple, but wanted to get the seals ordered and for the small additional cost I added it.
You won't regret polishing it, try a soak in white vinegar first to remove all the grime and corrosion, it will make it a lot easier to polish. Don't leave it in the vinegar too long or it will start to leach the zinc out of the brass. Another way is to soak paper towels in vinegar and lay them on the surface for a while, it will soften the grime and it will wipe off. Tear the paper into small pieces, makes it easier to cover the surface.
That looks so nice, a lot of effort expended there. After seeing how good that decal is I regret my advice to put the whole thing into vinegar. I assume that you did not. Well done.
I didn't want to risk it no. The decal looks great, however it has lifted a little and there might be issues with it. The plan is though to keep it if possible.
