As winter approaches here in the Northeast, I dug out a couple of old camp stoves with the plan of keeping one in my truck for coffee in the field. I fired up my Optimus 8R and Svea 123R (Taiwan) for test runs. The 8R ran perfectly. The 123R didn't seem to run as well as the last time I used it (several years ago; I found myself using my Coleman Peak 1 Feather most times). It primed and ran OK with a strong blue flame but regularly flashed yellow. It also took a long time to go out when shut down, with the little candle flame on the jet burning for quite some time. I didn't run it with a pot on top. I probably let it run for two minutes or so. It was 40˚F outside. Not enough run time for it to straighten out? (The 8R was running perfectly in less time.) Recommended course of action, if any? Thanks, Bob
@desmobob Did you use a minipump to pre-pressurise the tank? What you describe suggests insufficient pre-heat, with only partially successful vapourisation. Too much initial pressure from a mini-pump makes ample pre-heat even more essential. @snwcmpr is right, but that initial shortfall in pre-heat can result in the effect described lasting for longer than seems possible.
You guys are pretty sharp! I usually give three or four strokes with a mini pump to make enough pressure to fill the pre-heat dimple. I remember that the fuel was barely flowing, so I gave it a few more... it quickly over-ran the dimple when I opened the valve, so I must have had a bit of pressure in there. Plus, I had just topped off the tank, so the air space was minimal. I'll try again tomorrow, minus any pumping, and give it a bit more time. Thanks very much for your input. I'll let you know how it works!
Sounds promising. Remember too that the Optimus 8R has a significantly bigger capacity for priming fuel than the ‘dimple’ you refer to on the Svea, which explains the 8R’s better start-up performance - it gets hotter during a longer priming duration.
Putting a pot on top would probably help it smooth out faster due to the heat reflecting downwards, especially when it’s colder out.
I couldn't wait until tomorrow... I brought it inside, put it in the kitchen sink and tried it again, without pumping. I got it primed with the 'hand warming" method and it warmed up and ran with no yellow flashes. Thanks for the help! I do appreciate it. I keep the 123R packed inside a Snow Peak Trek 900 cook set. I got out my old Snow Peak Mini-solo (old version with metal lid handle) and although I thought the 123R was reputed to fit inside, it is just a very tiny bit too large. No big deal... it fits in the Trek 900 set with enough room to put my "world's most expensive coffee mug" (Snow Peak double-wall Ti-double 450) on top of the nested stove/cookset, inside the mesh bag. I like to keep enough stuff in my vehicle to provide for a comfortable, impromptu hike. In the winter especially, it's a real treat to have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate while taking a rest! Some of my "not really that outdoorsy" friends still talk about the time I talked them into snowshoeing up a local mountain. They complained all the way up. They had ignored my advice and dressed as if they were going skiing, so they were sweaty and then chilled when we got to the top. I pulled out the 123R and a small stack of four styrofoam cups from my fanny pack and made hot chocolate for the gang. It changed the trip, added some comfort, and brought out the smiles. On Black Mountain above beautiful Lake George, NY (I'm on the right)... View attachment 311971 Thanks again, folks! Bob
Strange... the photo showed up when I first posted it. I went back and tried to edit (tilted horizon self-timer shot) it but was unable. Now it's not showing. Another try:
I have a sister in the Bremerton area, Ed. I think your part of the country is quite beautiful, too! The photo was taken in the film days with a compact point-n-shoot camera balanced on a tree branch. Off-level photos are a pet peeve of mine so I edited the post and fixed the photo, but was then unable to upload it (probably too large). I look forward to using my 123R for winter hikes and ice fishing on that lake in the photo. Bob
The old sleds are both Polaris brand. The "Desmo" in my user name is a reference to my faithful old bike; a 1995 Ducati 900SS SP...
Isn’t this the same model of bike that inspired Hunter Thompson’s story “Song of the Sausage Creature?”
Yes (sausage creature, not man, BTW). He asked to review Ducati's latest, groundbreaking 916, but the magazine thought it might be safer to let him test the much-less-expensive and much-lower-horsepower 900SS SS. His review became a classic! :-)
I thought so! I had a 900ss Imola tank version conti exhaust single seat.40mm delorto carbs! Wish I still had it
I got into club road racing --WERA Sprint Series-- when I was young and stationed in the Washington DC area in the Navy. I was racing a Yamaha RZ350 and FJ600. On one of my very first weekends at the track (Pocono, PA that weekend; Summit Point, WV was my "home track") someone was running a black 900SS, probably 1980 or so vintage. I was memorized by the looks and the sound! Dr. John's Moto Guzzis were there that weekend as well. My dad's parents were Italian immigrants and I guess my attraction to Italian stuff is in my blood. My first week home from finishing that four years in the Navy, I bought my 900SS SP (one of a limited run of one thousand SP versions made that first year) sight unseen, after finding one at a tiny dealership in Vermont. I'm 62 and have had several motorcycles over the years. That Ducati is the only one that "never got old." I never felt like I needed to trade in and "move up," or that it was getting outdated or obsolete. I can remember coming out of work ten years after buying it and still feeling the love for that bike when I laid eyes on it in the parking lot. It was as beautiful to me then, and still is, as it was when it was brand new. I haven't had it on the road in several years but it still makes my heart speed up a bit when I look at it in the garage. Maybe next Spring... BTW... sitting next to it in the garage is a semi-basket-case 1969 Triumph Daytona that had been converted into a hard-tail springer chopper. It was given to me, and I haven't quite decided what to do with it.
Sounds great get that old trumpet going and ride it! I never tire of hearing a Duke on conti silencers.
