Now, I'm not sure if this belongs more in the stove forum or in here, but here we go. The Primus (left) I picked up for free on my cycle travels as it was in need of repair. I'd like to update the kind woman who gave it to me and tell her it's fixed, but it's clearly a bit of a mess. The Optimus was surplus to my Dad's requirements and was given to me to afterwards as a fully functional stove. The tin however is in a bit of a sorry state, and has a hole in the bottom. What I attempted to do was put the Optimus in the Primus' tin. As you can see, the Primus pump is much lower profile and so I installed that and everything fits, even the fuel bottle! However, regardless of which combination of tank and fuel cap/pressure release, the primus tin is just much too shallow for the lid to close. Am I missing something? The only explanations I can think of are either: a) the tin is not intended for nor original to a 96 b) the tin is original and the Primus used to have a shorter pressure release bolt tap Any thoughts? Cheers, Archie
@junior trangia master I’m not sure I’ve grasped what you’re getting at Archie, but you’re saying the Primus tin (authentic, 96 ‘Compact’ outfit) can’t accommodate the Optimus, which is too tall for it? I should dig out an Optimus and Primus 96 of corresponding eras as yours to compare, but maybe the folded feet of the Optimus are taller than those of the Primus? The fuel cap of the Optimus with its captive air screw is likely to be taller than the corresponding components of the Primus. The relative thickness of their filler cap washers could be relevant too. If you get to Newark this year this could prove to be as entertaining a conundrum as last year’s fettling of Tilley clothes irons. John
The Primus tin won't accommodate the primus tank either. Same issue; it's too tall. The lid fouls the fuel cap in the same manner. It's confusing.. why is the combination of the the tank, fuel cap and pressure release screw not shorter than the tin, or the tin taller? Re. Newark, I'll be coming, but may be on a bike so the iron may not make it. Archie
Here's a picture to try and illustrate it further. The lid is slightly convex or domed to accommodate for the fuel reserve cap, but the pressure release screw protudes further and is always near the edge of the tin regardless of the tank's orientation. This has evidently been an issue before, as the lid is indented from previous attempts to close it.
Some of my Primus and Optimus 96’s don’t close all the way. I suggested to a recent inquiry to remove the air screw if not captive. Duane
There's a diagram with these that you can follow to put the parts on. One of the items is the bell and burner cap are separate. Can you take photos of the burners on both? The burner on the first photo you posted has what looks like a monitor 17b burner (can't take apart) or a type like that. To put the stove into a tin like that they have to be apart... You need to follow the diagram...
@junior trangia master made you a video to see how to pack it in the tin. The Radius 20 and other stoves in similar tins use the same pattern.
@Remus1956 the Primus burner seems to be original. It two piece with a cast iron flame spreader, so can be separated to fit in the tin as usual. The burner shown with the Optimus in the photos above I believe to be from my 17b (someone managed to melt the solder on that one). The third one (bottom left) I assume to be the original Optimus. Thanks for the video. For some reason there's only one orientation of the tank in which the lid will shut, and it still needs forcing, taking advantage of the existing indent. This is when the filler cap is at 11 o'clock. However, the tank does not hold pressure. I can't get enough in the tank to identify why the leaks are. It could just be seals, or NRV, but I don't feel like purchasing these to then find out it's the potentially unsuccessful repair casing the issue. Hence me trying to fit any combination of the Optimus tank and Primus parts in its superior tin, but it seems a lost cause. I'll use the Optimus and maybe endeavour to repair my lovely 17b. Archie.
Correction: the lid only closed with the tank in said position when the Optimus filler cap was installed - you can see in my first photo that they are swapped round, and I had forgotten. What a conundrum. The original Primus filler cap has been chewed up by mole grips or something before, maybe trying to force it lower or get a good seal after the repair was carried out.
