I just received my 96 Pocket stove. I went to test fire it and found the pump to be not working. I opened it up and withdrew the plunger to find there was no leather cup on the end of the plunger. Is anything else missing that you can see? Where can I get a new leather cup for this? Ian....
The leather cup is there, though worn down and could certainly be replaced. Send a PM to our fellow stove addict Sefa (Sefaudi), as he makes excellent replacement cups. Your existing leather cup is undoubtedly hard as a rock, but could probably be made to work. Soak it in olive oil for a day or so, then gently flare it out with your finger. It will probably be difficult to re-insert in the pump tube, and should work fine. (I think you should also order a replacement. That one is, as we say, nearing the end of its useful life.) ....Arch
You know, when I first pulled it out of the stove I thought that the brown section of cup was actually an underlying form made of metal that helped to keep the cup's shape. Hmmm, yep - hard as a rock as I thought it was metal. Got is soaking in olive oil as I write. I will give it a test feel tomorrow morning and that will give it about 20 hours or so to soak. The nuts fore and aft of the cup.......how tight should they be on the cup afterwards? They are wiggle loose right now. Thanks Ian....
Regarding the nuts. Erm, tight enough to hold the leather bucket in place, but not rock solid immovable, I'm certain there's a bit of a wiggly in my nuts. ! If you have a problem to fit the re-flared pump leather back into the pump cylinder, try using a piece of empty beer can. Cut a section, say 3" X 4" of the can, form a tube around the pump leather, with one end closing cone like. Feed this end into the pump cylinder, keep a good tight grip on the other end and push the pump rod cleanly into the pump cylinder. Works a treat. Enjoy the Flame
The leather cup assembly, nut-leather-nut, should be rather tight. No wiggle there. But, this assembly should be allowed to move freely for at least 1-2mm up and down the pump shaft. The nut at the end of the shaft, the small one shown on your picture, is present to keep the cup assembly from falling off the shaft. This nut must not be forced too far onto the shaft. The leather cup with it's nuts must be allowed to move. Phuuhe! Maybe I should try in Norwegian
Hey, Gents, You Guys crack me up!!!! Very nice 96, Ian, and I'm sure you will love it, once it's back in fine fettle. Please allow me to join the club in suggesting that you contact our Stove Brother in Turkey, Sefa. His pump leathers are better than ANY others I've yet seen, and that includes all the factory-made versions I've used over the years!! His prices are outstanding, too, and he's quick on the shipping! I'd contact him ASAP, and place your order. Tell him what stove you have, and he'll send the perfect leathers for your 96. I can't recommend him highly enough! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
No need for Norwegian AK, perfectly understandable as it is... =D> The little 'wiggle' is necessary because that's how air gets into the pump tube as the plunger is withdrawn. It's a common misconception that it goes in around the lip of the pump leather...
The leather on the pump rod should, with care, be ok to use as it does not look as if has disintegrated. Arch's instructions are, as usual, spot on!
Thank you one and all. I have a new pump cup on order from our turkish freind. Nice fella and very good prices for CCS members too!
Hello everybody About the tightness, it has to be fairly loose because when you pull the handel for a new stroke you "recharge" the pump with new air and that air slips betwen the rod and the cupholder and since the rod is conical to fit against the cupholders cone you got a airtight solution when you push the rod forward. So my adwise is to not tight too much just enough to make sure everythig is in place. By the way I just bought myself a brand new Optimus 535 military modell worked perfectly right out of the box.
Think I have to make a statement The 535 stove is a surplus from the swedish military, it has been transported around and fired up acouple of times but by the look of all the gear around and the condition, I'll say that is not many times that it got into action. The stove came in a box with two big pots, a aluminum pan (oven style), chefs knife, spareparts for the burner, two new burners, cans for kerosene and alcohol and a number of kitchen stuff, since the box was intended cooking for 20 persons in field. :o
