Since I have been getting into these stoves my collection has gotten quite large. I have needed parts for Optimus/Primus type stoves and even today I placed an order with another English market that seems to have TONS of stuff. Just curious, but I have already hit places like the Fettle Box, Base Camp, Tilleys...just wondering why there are so many of these in the UK? They have all been very helpful and very quick!
Maybe cuz Coleman was the prime supplier of GPAs in the United States. Kerosene was not the prime fuel, it was white gas, Coleman Fuel. Prentice Wabers, AGM, Etc.
Yes, and in Britain the opposite is the case, at a guess probably only one or two percent of all liquid fueled heating, cooking and lighting apparatus was fueled by petrol from the 1890s tothe 1970s.
I'll add, the British army bought huge stockpiles of paraffin stoves, spares and tools in 1955/6, much of which is still being sold on as 'new old stock'. Paraffin had another great revival in the 1970s with the miner's strikes, and as well as new sales, a lot of old stoves, lamps and heaters were given a new lease of life. They were hung onto for years afterwards just in case. The nearest hardware shop to me stocked Aladdin lamp mantles until closure two years ago. Another shop nearby does a good trade in Tilley lamp mantles, more to fishermen who still use them than enthusiasts. They have flat oil lamp wick in various sizes too.
Maybe because you do your searches in English? I also get answers in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands as well when I ask such questions in EUropean... Haven't tried French yet. /Odd
@Blackdog ok that makes sense. Well i am thankful for it, I would have had a few stoves dead in the water without the parts.
@Remus1956 , A&H out your way used to have many parts for out imported stoves, they closed their doors many years ago, sad to say. St Paul Mercantile has some parts, some of the parts for their Butterfly pressure stoves will interchange, not ALL will, though. Caveat emptor. A&H Enterprise Optimus and Primus parts Murph
Don't buy Butterfly parts. I'm not going to call them junk per se, but they're not made with our market in mind. Butterfly stoves seem to be made for the third world, where expectations and standards are lower, cost is a bigger priority, and where even a minimally functional kerosene stove is still a phenomenal upgrade from a dung fire. With the Fettlebox available, there's no reason at all to buy from St. Paul Mercantile.
@Marc Had to google that one, I never heard of a butterfly stove. Interesting...some kind of clone knock off. I just got notification from my items being shipped out from England...totally happy.
