Hey, long time lurker and first time poster here. I'm an avid camper in the US, got interested in vintage stoves, and bought a Manaslu 121 new. Then I bought a lightly-used, later-model Optimus 00 and replaced the seals and it appears to be working correctly (I was warned this was addictive...). These are not common stoves in the US and Canada so all of my knowledge comes from what I have seen on the internet (I haven't even found any books that address the technical aspects of such stoves). My question lies with wind resistance for these types of roarer, pressurized-kerosene stoves. It appears that any wind stronger than a breeze extinguishes my stoves. They seem considerably more sensitive to wind than other stoves I've used. To keep the stove running anywhere unsheltered on a windy day I have to use two wind screens, but this has the side-effect of making the tank very hot. This concerns me for safety reasons, mostly because the air-bleeding screw gets very hot and it needs to remain touchable to control flame size and to turn off the stove. I thought I'd read on this forum that kerosene can handle alot of heat and can even boil inside of a stove without significant risk, so I am less concerned about this. I know that these stoves can handle very difficult environments (i.e. Hillary and Norgay used a similar model on their ascent of Mount Everest). Have I misinterpreted something? Am I doing something wrong? What am I missing? Any practical information on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
These stoves are wind-sensitive from the cooking standpoint, though I haven't had the experience of any of them actually blowing out (silent burners excepted). Any breeze will affect cooking time. Thus 'self-contained' kits like the Sigg Tourist or the Trangias are especially good because of their wind-proof qualities. I use an Optimus 00 regularly in the backcountry, and always use aluminum foil as a windshield. Foil of course is very flexible, and can be nicely folded and put into the tin, as well. Here's an example: Another: You just scrunch the foil around the pot legs, and can move it around as needed. Not elegant, but does the job nicely.
I use a setup like @bbsteinle. Keep the area away from the wind open, like in the photos above. A roarer burner should be able to handle the wind if it’s set up like above. Cheers Tony
Thanks for all of the replies. I also use a wind screen similar to @bbsteinle and was still having trouble during windy periods. I plan to use my Optimus 00 on a camping trip in two weeks and will try varying my technique to see if its something I'm doing. I'll also replace the fuel jet/nipple (per @CW) with a new one to see if that may effect wind resistance. I'll post an update when I return from the camping trip. If anyone has anything else to add, I'm still interested in hearing it.
A setup such as @bbsteinle 's is best for a camp where a table or large flat surface is available. This is seldom the case in the backcountry, and one certainly can't count on it. My avatar pic shows a more usual situation; in that case on a fallen log, where such a windshield is difficult to deploy. In such cases, foil works well. Moreover, one can get it close to the burner, which provides maximal protection.
I used a windscreen like @bbsteinle's image above, but the flame would frequently extinguish when the wind was blowing. So I used that wind screen along with another one made of a thicker aluminum foil that was stiffer, along with the round windshields that came with the Optimus. It was not the kitchen type of aluminum foil like Ed describes above. At that point I was able to keep the flame going. My camping trip is starting soon and I'm going to try alot of stuff to determine the issue. I've already swapped out the fuel jet and I'm going to try another brand of kerosene and I have some other ideas of what may be the problem. I'll update this thread and post photos from the trip when I return.
Over the years here when I've posted photos of stoves in action in the backcountry I've removed the foil to get a 'pristine' stove shot. Then back goes the foil, as shown in a few pix. The heavy foil is good stuff. But the kitchen foil you can crimp around the pot legs, close to the burner, and it works. The breeze can't get around or over it. It's quick to reposition with the varying wind. You can surround the stove if necessary (seldom). The stuff costs nothing, and you can fold it, along with your rag, in the tin and eliminate all rattling of the apparatus on the hike. Give it a try. It works well. Here's another example. Very versatile. I probably pulled it back a bit for the pic.
I think I've resolved this issue. I tried alot of things over the last half year and I believe that I was over-pumping the tank and that was affecting its sensitivity to wind. When I limited it to about six pumps when starting it seemed to be much more wind resistant. I also did a dunk test and saw no errant bubbles. And I've added some foil into my kit going forward. Thanks everybody for the help!
Thanks for the update. I might add, is much less wind on the ground than on top of picnic table, Glad you got it sorted!
I’ve found that over pumping an insufficiently preheated kero stove will produce flareups similar to wind flares.
