Hi everyone, I've been hoping to get a Campus 3 for a while, but prices on that type of stove get very high and those birds are not the most common to find. Finally, I had the occasion to pick this stove up, which has some singularities. First, let's say that this stove seems to have had a pretty eventful life. It did not come complete (the set lacks the handle, the cloth and had no jet pricker), and a few elements had been modified: - the pot supports have been replaced. Unfortunately, the current ones doesn't have the specific shape to keep the original pot in place, they're simple 45°-folded metal rods... Which do the job, but I'll not try to use the original cup on these pot supports - the windshield has been cut to enlarge the window where the control knob takes place. The reason seems to be the replacement of the whole burner unit (burner, bell, vaporizer...) - the vaporizer isn't the original one. I don't have a strong knowledge on brass stoves, but I'm sure someone here might recognize this particular part. It seems to be higher than the original: the burner arises until the very edge of the windshield, minimalizing the clearance - the bell is one true singularity of that stove: not only the vaporizer has been replaced, but the burner / the bell as well. It has an interesting feature: the opening of the side holes of the bell is adjustable. There's a piece of metal inside the bell that can be put in two positions: fully opened, and half-opened. No marks on these parts, be it the vaporizer, the bell... anything anywhere - the control knob is definitely not the original one. I bet this could be something made from scratch, or modified by putting an unusual metal wheel on it... - the stove came with a small copper funnel. I doubt it to be original, but that's an interesting feature as well. Here are the pictures: 1. The stove, cleaned and deployed 2. The stove before being cleaned 3. The stove before being cleaned (detail). It needed some attention... 4. The stove, folded up for transport 5. Cup removed 6. Detail of the legs folded under the tank 7. Legs and pot supports deployed 8. Stove fully deployed, pot on 9. Pot on, detail. Note the importance of the original pot supports with their specific shape: here the pot is not securely maintained on the top of the stove, risking being knocked down at every moment 10. The pot resting on the pot supports (detail) 11. The original window, enlarged by an additional cut in the windshield 12. Detail of the enlarged window and the replacement vaporizer 13. The control knob / the key (detail) 14. The rear part of the controb knob / the key (detail) 15. Burner bell unscrewed 16. Detail of the burner bell, fully-opened position 17. The burner bell back on the stove, half-opened position I hope that you can appreciate all the single details with those pictures. Of course it isn't the cleanest Campus 3 ever, as it does show some signs of hard use, and of an eventful life, but I like it that way: it has some "personality" Some more information: the stove was bought in France. These models were sold in many camping shops during the 1930's here in France. See below some extracts from 1930's camping gear catalogues and magazines: 18. Extract from a french catalogue dated february 1938. You can see the first appearance of the "Pigeon Ignus" as well, which is wrongly thought to be dating from 1948... 19. A mention of the campus 3 in the magazine "camping", dated march 1939 20. Advertisement for the campus 3 in the magazine "camping", 1938 This model seems to be around in 1938-1939 in France. I have a few earlier camping catalogues, but this stove is not mentionned. I'd like to learn more about the features of my Campus 3. If anyone knows the burner unit / the vaporizer, as well as the burner bell, I'd be glad to have any further information on it. I haven't tried to light the stove yet. Maybe I will: I controlled and cleaned the SRV cap, everything seems to be okay. Bastien
Thanks Bastien. Such a "bitsa" stove appeals to me. You are getting not only the designer's thoughts but a past owner's input. To me, the pot/cover is usable for heating. That it remains with the stove suggests this. The original design had 2 functional positions for its pot stands (in and out) and I submit the redesign does too. The folded position would securely support the smaller cup. Slightly shorter pot supports and they could have been stowed much like the originals, so to me this desire to maximise the length suggests a quite large item being placed in top. Would something like a skillet make sense locally? An intriguing point (for me anyway) is that if the burner is a Primus 71 (and that seems likely) then it allows a fairly early swap. The Gallery shows Primus 71 stoves to the late 1940s with these burners but from the early 50s they simplify. But again, that brings back to what goes on top. The Campus 3 has legs that the Primus 71 lacks. A possible reason for most of the changes is actually having a Primus 71 that was a little narrow, and then being able to get a Campus 3 at a good price. This moves the modifications later. And thinking a little more, perhaps the large openings on the windshield are to allow (or attempt to allow) better tank cooling/ less heat buildup with a larger pan on top. All these thoughts guaranteed to have 1 grain of salt value. :-)
Hi, some Primus No.71 models were fitted with a rotating shield: 1939 Primus No.71 Best Regards, Kerophile.
Thanks everyone! @kerophile and @hikerduane good eye on that one! It is a Primus 71 burner. I own a Primus 71 dated 1949 or somewhere in the 1950's, but it doesn't have that "option". @Scrambler your expertise is quite helpful as well. Yes, pans were used as camping gear quite early in France, but maybe not the most common utensil over there. But with large pots, whatever kind it could have been, it makes sense anyway. Definitely, that Campus seems to have had a plentyful life, and hard use. @tretrop that "campingo - baby" name for the Optimus 8 is very common in France in the 1930's. It is named like this in every camping gear catalogue (the Optimus 11 is named "Campingo 11" as well). That Optimus 8 seems to appear on the french market between 1932 and 1936. I explain: in 1932 one of my catalogues features the Campingo models only (the original ones, with both single and double-burner), and in 1936 I noted the first mention of the "Baby-Campingo" which is obviously the Optimus 8. Then, in 1937, the aluminium-case model appears. I'll do a special post about the different stoves of the french market during the 1930's, when I'll have some time to do it properly. I'm starting to have a couple of catalogues from this era, with some interesting information! Bastien
