Might as well get all my current source questions out, I have (I Hope) a Primus 100 on the way, I know it will need at least the burner cap, the one that goes over the central hole and provides the flame holes. (What is that thing called anyway?) I also will need all three pot stands, and maybe someday I'll round up the metal plate that sits on those. I can make the wire stands easily enough, if someone can tell me the long dimension from the bottom to the surface the pot rests on?
Hi Outlaw, Here is a link to some photos of a late Primus 100 stove which has both options, the roarer and silent burner caps: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/7156 You should be able to see what parts you need from these photos and this link: http:// In the UK, Base-Camp holds some spare parts for No. 100 stoves: http://www.base-camp.co.uk/Optimus.html Best Regards, Kerophile.
Thanks for the links, with those pics. With those I know the one I have coming is a silent, as it has no notches for the roarer plate. Does that make it an early or later model? (Or an orphan with a mis-matched replacement burner) Base camp's price list isn't very brand specific on what parts fit what make stove, Am I to assume the Primus and Optimus 100 are basically identical?
Hi Outlaw, 1. It is extremely unlikely that the burner basket on your No.100 stove lacks the cut-outs to accomodate the flame plate ( roarer) option. Wait until it arrives so that you can see, or post a link to the auction so that CCS members can help. 2. As far as I know, Flame plates and silent burner caps for No. 100 stoves are not commercially available. You are after all looking at a design that has not been marketed for over 40 years, Look at this link to see what desperate stovies are driven to: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/8300 3. The Optimus and Primus 100 parts are interchangeable as you thought. Best Regards, Kerophile
Hi Outlaw. I can't open the link. I just get a "Page not responding" message from eBay. Please can you check the link and also provide the item number so I can see if I can help. Regards, Kerophile.
George, the item number comes up very briefly in the search box when you click the link. You've gotta be very quick to read it Anyway it's 310023051711
Hi Jim, many thanks for this, Outlaw, 1. The good news is that you have bought an almost complete Primus 100/4138. The 4138 part of the number refers to the burner fitted to the stove. This burner is a conventional silent burner, such as is used on the majority of 1.75 and 2 pint stoves. See link to earlier post: Primus 100/4138 2. It looks as if all you need is an outer silent burner cap and you can buy one of these in either the UK ( Base Camp) or the USA ( A+H). You also need a brass "reserve cap". this allows you to seal the tank once you have removed the burner and legs for transport. The reserve cap is "parked" on top of the filler cap when not in use. You do not need this part to operate the stove. It is possible that Base Camp has them. 3. You have bought a classic brass stove, from the 1930s or earlier I would guess. You can tell us the date marking once you receive it. Best Regards, Kerophile.
Earlier version With the delightful decorative cast pan ring & missing the burner bell & hard to find cast flame plate & silent cap .......... lovely stove . nick
Hi Nick - thats very similar to the Optimus 100 I'll be bringing to Newark as part of the 'discus' theme. Mine has the same ornate pan ring but only the silent cap.. I do have a roarer plate that fits. I was fortunate to get half of the box with very simple labels compared to the later ones.
Hi Nick, I did see this Optimus 100 stove on Ebay but refrained from bidding because of the difficulty of getting burner parts. It went for a resonable price, when you consider the cost of a replacement cast-iron pan ring. I have seen a fair number of Primus No.100 stoves but I've never before seen one with as much lettering and decoration as the stove that Outlaw has acquired. It is even decorated on the collar around the upstand! OUTLAWs No 100 It is a seriously nice stove and I hope to see more photos once it is fettled. The 100 stove is remarkable when you consider how long it has been around: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/4224 Best Regards, Kerophile.
Thanks everyone for all the help, and especially to Kerophile for the great info and links to other threads! I'm not sure when I'll receive this stove, It is coming from Canada, and is subject to the whims of customs... I'll sort out the silent cap once it is home, and see where it goes. I bought this on because it seemed to be going for a decent price, and seemed a bit under the radar. Can anyone measure the leg length for me? They may not be ?Factory? but until I find a set, I can bend my own if I know the overall length.
Hi Outlaw, I measured the leg length on a Primus No.100/4138 and it is 140mm overall length. The base of the leg is finished with an approx 45 degree angle on its inner face so that the leg "locks in" to the curve of the tube where it meets the tank. I hope you understand what I mean. There are good instructions on the CCS site, written by Bryan Miller, on making legs for stoves: http:// Best Regards, Kerophile
Very impressive bending fixture that Bryan made! Having made some universal bending fixtures for both bar and flat stock, , and designed them in a former career as well, that one is defiantly impressive!
Hi Nick and Ross. Maybe I should have bid for the Optimus 100 offered on US eBay....just to get the lovely cast-iron pan-ring for my early Optimus 100 stove: Early Optimus 100 Best Regards, Kerophile
OK! I got a package from Canada today! The Primus 100 is home. I had SWMBO take ?Before? Pics. And we looked the stove over closely for anything resembling a date. It had a ?AA over 10? stamped in the bottom. 1910 perhaps? The pics in the auction were fairly good representations, nothing was hidden. One dime sized dent just to the back, opposite the pump. Everything else was there and not munged in any way. Other than decades worth of tarnish and other assorted gummy stuff, It appears to be in pretty decent shape! It is missing the travel plug as mentioned, and the silent burner cap is gone, However, just for grins I tried my Optimus 199 cap and it appears to be a perfect match! So I can at least give it a test until I can get it a burner cap of its own. The pump leather will need an oil soak, at least, and of course I?ll have to clean everything else. I haven?t got to the jet yet, but looking straight down at it under magnification it looks clear. Disassembly will prove the issue. The ?Made By? lettering is in 4 different European languages, and there are 5 lines and at least 3 different scripts on the upper collar, I?m assuming Arabic, Chinese, and one other, or possibly it is 5 languages, two being similar? Defiantly a stove marketed worldwide, which is cool, as international marketing back then was tiny fraction of what it is today? I had C take 3 pics from each side, and one comparing the caps, optimus to Pirmus, and one with the Optimus cap in place, a perfect fit by the looks! I?ll post more as I clean it up, and I?ll be very interested in the finished results, and the ?Flame Test?! I just realized there is no valve or control on these; do you adjust it with pressure variations?
According to the handy dandy Primus dating chart near the end of this article, "AA" means 1936. The fine art of controlling a classic kerosene stove is discussed in a great article titled "Stoves & How to Use Them Efficiently". I was going to give you a link to that, but the link appears to be broken. Ross!! ....Arch
Hi Outlaw. Please thank your wife for allowing us to share the photos of your "new" 1936 Primus No.100 stove. They are good pictures. It looks really good and you should have fun fettling it. You are right is saying that the Optumus cap is a perfect fit. It should be fully interchangeable with the Primus part. To regulate the flame on this classic brass stove you simply alter the pressure of the air above the kerosene in the tank. You do this by either more pumping (to increase pressure and flame size) or by using the air-release valve to lower the tank pressure and the flame...... Really simple. See this link for stove operating instructions: Operating a pressure stove Best Regards, Kerophile.
