The clue's in the name, since 'kamin' in German apparently means 'fireplace' and at the heart of this stove is a fire-brick In the sense that the stove has not been used, it's 'un-fired' and some cellophane acted as packing between brick and the clamps riveted to the base However, a brick that was once clay and is now a brick surely can't be said to be un-fired? Trangia burner for size comparison The base/lid 'Ges.Gesch.' is an abbreviation of 'gesetzlich geschützt' meaning literally 'protected in law' - which I assume refers to the name having been protected by copyright. 'Schnellkocher' - quick cooker - and 'Mit heizelement' - 'with heating element'. The box lid ... ... and the instructions on one side I'm not sure what they mean by an 'etna' in those instructions. Makes me think of Etna the volcano, but this stove's surely not a scorcher. I then thought "made of pumice?" but it's not a pumice type I recognise ... Were I to fire it I'd probably set up something like this arrangement (a folding windshield) It'd be a pity to burn off the decal and scorch the metalwork, but I might just try out the fire brick separately, suitably soaked in bio-ethanol first, which wouldn't leave a stain residue unlike our purple-dyed meths here in the UK. Half-a-pint to boil in four minutes eh? Twenty minutes on a full charge of alcohol. Not so much a 'Pocket Rocket' but a 'Pocket Rock' perhaps? We'll see ... TO BE CONTINUED John
kamin - in polish - kamień - mean stone, komin - mean chimney in slavic - ko mene - (come) to me - dual meaning et.c.
very interesting item, John. There really is a brand called ETNA but unfortunately I haven`t got more infos Peter
'Pocket Rock' made me smile, thanks John. Why not? Reminds me a little of the pumice on a rod thing that, soaked in kerosene, was used to start fires in the fireplace. Or, actually, not that different from the "Benghazi" burner used in N. Africa by the British. Pretty much any flamable liquid mixed with a porous heat sink.
Hi John @presscall, I've seen this leaflet on ebay today, and immediatly recognised your Kamin stove. This is dated 1962, on a british catalogue. Hope this would help Bastien.
@blabast88 Hey, thanks Bastien! Quite a survivor among such celebrated contemporaries. I’ve found the ebay listing. Purchased. I’ll post a better definition reproduction than the seller’s when I take delivery. Thanks again Bastien, very observant of you. John
@presscall @Bastiaan That advertisement also has a reference to a long and occasionally explosive discussion here. The Optimus 111 is advertised as running on 'paraffin or petrol'. I wouldn't suggest petrol for the brick though!
I guess it could be at that, well fiery at any rate. Before I knew any better, I used kero in an Optimus 111B throughout a two-week touring holiday in Northern Spain. Priming had to be thorough (!) but the burner intended for shellite maintained vapourisation, no problem. Versatile things.
My pleasure, John Happy to help, even the stoves from the 1980's could suffer from a lack of surviving documentation. In my opinion, those documents are at least as important as the stoves themselves. Bastien
@blabast88 I took delivery of the catalogue. Reverse comprises ‘useful accessories’ Part of the centrefold - all tents. John
@G1gop I know Alan. Congrats to you and Anne on your anniversary by the way. The copywriter/printer got the designation for an Optimus 8R wrong - 45L, which by my reckoning is a No.45 brassie in just a cardboard box, without the tin.
@presscall John, thank you for publishing this documentation! (It must be one of the first appearance of the camping-gaz bleuet S200, as it was released in 1962) Bastien
If I remember well, mid sixties a solid fuel, like esbit, was sold by etna. In the back of my mind esbit and etna fuel differed in shape, etna being small round ‘pills’ that fitted play kitchens and steam engines. Correct me if I am wrong.
Presscall already named it ‘brick’, and ‘baked clay’, and that should be something to go on. Also the instructions require ‘soaking’. So the stone absorbs alle the fuel and is not only wick. Perlite could do that, but that is white. The large, irregular holes in the stone seem to exclude pumice (and man-made Itong), as this has quite regular ‘bubbles’. Most likely is clay, mixed with organic matter, f.e. straw and/or cow-hair. After baking all that rests of the organic matter is the impression, resulting in irregular holes and canals, connecting through the whole body of the stone. If I am on the right track, Presscall’s pocket brick should be very lightweight for its size, and probably brittle. I suppose it burns quite hot, because of all the air holes. Might be fun to DIY a brick. Mix clay with say 20% plant matter, let it dry thoroughly. Bake 12 hour or so deep in the ashes of a dying campfire or BBQ. Next morning your stone should be ready. Make several, in case of breakage. I made small clay objects like that, but never thought about using them in a burner. Clever invention.
