My latest ‘new’ stove, swapped for an Optimus 111. It seems to be a Superbus stove, given that the trivet is original to the stove. Because, the stove itself has no mark to make an identification possible. Not a single letter on the stove, pump or tank lid. The burner only says «Made in Sweden». The trivet says «Made in Sweden» and «SUPERBUS». The pump rod/knob may be replaced, as it has the type of end «piece» that can be used to close the tank, when the burner is removed. That should not be required on a stove with fixed pan supports. The bottom of the tank may be spun - it has a pit/mark in the center, and show weak circular lines around the center. The tank has several stress cracks, some are already soldered long time ago. I’ve not been able to find any reference to this brand - and would be happy to hear of others have similar stoves. Regards, Håvard
Very unusual and interesting stove Håvard. Will be intriguing to follow this thread and see if anyone has more information on this rare stove. Thanks for sharing this
I’d like to update on fettling status for the Superbus. It has a lot of stress cracks. Some were fixed long time ago, not with solder, as I took it for, but some kind og glue/rubber cement! Anyway - I am testing a «cure» with some hope ;-) After cleaning the tank thoroughly inside, I applied «gas tank sealer», which is often used in veteran car gas tanks. It works with gas and diesel, so it should also cope with kerosene? I have fired up the stove, and no leaks so far. I wonder if long time exposure to kerosene will create new leaks? Photos below show stress cracks under pressure. Nice and dry, so far.
The sealer will be fine with kerosene. I'm sure some people would be very wary of using a stress cracked stove even with sealer due to the possibility of a large and sudden fuel leak, but it is nice to bring a stove back to life, even if it is only used occasionally under constant supervision, in an area where it is less likely to cause a fire. Sorry, this probably won't translate well to Norwegian but I must admit I initially read the title as 'Super-bus' which gave a mental picture of a load of 1960s hippies hitting the road in a brightly painted clapped out bus. I had to look again to realise it was an entirely rational name for a stove.
I don't mind at all to create that picture and association :-) Great visualisation of a time long gone ! Regarding use of this stove. You are absolutely right - this will only be used as you say, rarely and under supervision. It is more a matter of reaching the state I want for my collection's stoves: Complete, and operational. I should mention, that this 'trick' requires the NRV to be removed first. I did not take the NRV out when I tried this to a blow torch with rusty tank. And that NRV has become NMV - non moving valve, both in terms of letting air through, and in terms of unscrewing it. It is totally stuck in the torch.
An excellent philosophy, expecially when it is such an unusal stove. I really hope more information arises about the manufacturer- all I can add is that the trivet/top ring is of a style which Primus introduced for their steel tanked models in the teens, and was commonly used by themselves and other manufacturers in the 1920s. So could it possibly be a new company hoping to compete with the established manufacturers Post-WW1? The lack of feet on the legs is somewhat crude and basic for the time, the knurling on the pump knob and cap is very simple too. The air release incorporated into the filler cap is also a feature which cuts production cost.
