How far gone does a stove have to be to say, "I'm not doin' this one. It's way too far gone. It's dead. Ain't goin' there."? I took a chance and bought this off bay-of-evil (probably from another CCS stovie that 'didn't want to go there' ). Of course, the pictures on the auction didn't say enough, but the price was right and I think there was only one other bidder. When I received it, I thought to myself, "I must be out of my mind!" I was. :frown: Just look at it. It's pathetic. It looked like it was sitting in a ditch for the last 20 years... As you can see, there are holes in the heat shield and rust is abounding everywhere on this thing. Everything was completely frozen. The knob would not turn (I didn't try too hard for fear of breaking something inside the burner.) The pump would not come out or turn. The filler cap would not budge either. Like I said, a complete disaster. I should have let the local coroner take the dead body away. I think this was Rustbucket's dead American, illegitimate cousin, twice removed. Look! There's a hole in the case. You can see it in the bottom left corner. The previous owner tried to paint over the rust and old paint - oh yeah, what old paint. It was blue, it just doesn't show here. There are holes and rust everywhere. A hole in the front of the case. Not good. This was definitely a cold case... D'oh! This ain't going to block very much wind. When I saw this, I looked over to the garbage can... I was tempted to toss it and call it a loss.. Looking the tank and burner over, I started thinking that this was going to take a few gallons of citric acid to get this stuff off. I went inside and had a glass of orange juice instead... That was a lot easier than what I was getting myself into. The rust you see on the fuel tank is actually rust from the heat shield. The burner knob was actually in pretty good shape. I was really surprised to see it one piece. This gave me some hope, very little hope, but some anyway... The pot rests were shot, literally from a cannon. They were so weak, I had to be careful not to break them. This is the NRV. I don't know what is caked on this thing, but it was next to impossible to turn and pull it out of the pump tube. This is the pump cup, I think. Your guess is as good as mine... To Be Continued...
Wow !!! Thanks for the pictures. It is a challenge but I believe your up to it. There is a Optimus 111 shield on ebay for sale right now. Jeff
Hi idahostoveguy that is one of the most tarnished and rusty stoves i have seen it looks like it must have been left outside for years. But a real good challenge and satisfaction it would be bringing it back to life.Go for it i am sure your do a great job of it and i will look forward to seeing it up and running
I wasn't about to wait until next week to post. I decided to jump in but it wasn't without a whole lot of trouble. I did the usual things with the parts. 1. I performed an electrolysis on the case even with the holes in it. I thought it would completely dissolve away, but there was some metal left over that looked like a case. I did some soldering and covered it with 4 coats of paint, each layer baked on for a tough finish. 2. I soaked all the parts in vinegar and citric acid. When I threw them in, the solution bubbled like a witch's cauldron. I ended up throwing the plastic bucket away when I was done. 3. I acquired some old pot rests to replace the old ones. 4. I made a new wind shield for the burner. I thought since I was going really far into it, that I should preserve as many parts as I could or make new ones. If I couldn't make new ones, I would buy them. Pot rests were the only parts I replaced by purchase. 5. I made a heat shield and then modified the design just to make it interesting. I wanted a heat shield that was a little more effective than the old and a little bit tougher. I used galvanized steel from an old dish washer and that seemed to do the trick. 6. Replaced filler cap gasket, NRV pip, and pump cup. Made all of them at home. Having never made them before, it was quite a challenge to get them just right. I found some NOS military gas tank gasket that I used for the gaskets. They create a perfect seal and I'm quite confident they are corrosion resistant. Here are the pics... Here it is after 5 months of toil and I have to admit, fun. I learned and struggled a lot. I actually painted the case 3 different times until I could get the look and feel that I wanted, plus the first two attempts were runny and ugly. Lots of sanding and a lot of patience. Another view... The little wrench I ran through my wire brush on the grinder and then I painted with high heat paint. Baked it to make it permanent and looks good as new... The pictures on the bay-of-evil didn't show the big dent in the tank. I almost trashed the idea of the fettle because of it, but now I've grown accustomed to it. It sort of gives the stove it's character and reminds me of what it used to be... Here's a view of both shields. The burner shield I made from an old set of bed posts. There are lines that run diagonally down the side and give the material a twisted look. It was interesting to cut and shape the shield because it was so thick. I wanted something made of brass so it would not rust again and shiny to match the rest of the stove. My goal was not to recreate the old but form a whole new look... Here's a view of the front and shows the new heat shield. I had read about heat problems with large pots and thought I could improve the design and hopefully remedy the problem. I don't know if this would actually work but I had a lot of fun looking for the right piece of steel and doing the work of cutting, shaping and form fitting. My grinder and dremel tool got a good work out, along with my tin snips. I'm sure a laser cutter would have gotten this done a lot quicker, but see what could be done with even the most primitive tools... The four coats of paint and the solder did the trick on the holy case. I used a high heat paint for the first coat and then olive drab and finally two coats of outdoor texture paint. Each coat was baked in my camp oven... The burner is now nice and pretty. I quenched it and ran pipe cleaners through it to remove caked in carbon. Why would there be so much carbon in a white gas burner? Did someone use kerosene in this stove? I couldn't tell... The knob was in pretty good shape to start with but the lettering was very dingy. I painted each letter, not the hard way, of course. I sprayed some high heat paint into a puddle and then used a paper towel to wipe the paint into the lettering. I wiped off as much as I could without removing the paint from the letters and then let dry. I used paint thinner to remove the excess and here you go. Perfectly lettered knob. Love it... And of course, it works. It was a scary moment because I had a difficult time getting the NRV to seal both in the pip and the lead washer at the bottom. I finally figured out that my pip was perfect, it was some debris at the bottom of the pump tube that was obstructing the threads of the NRV. I used my trusty Gumout Carb cleaner and was able to remove the debris and clean out the tube at the same time without scoring the inside wall... Really nice flame and really loud roarer!!! One last picture of the flame. The pictures don't do it justice, they were much larger than what I was able to capture. I let it run for about a half hour without incident... It's alive... I learned a lot while going through this process, but I have to give credit where credit is due - CCS. I was able to apply many of the techniques learned here at CCS on this hopeless cause and turned it into something I'll keep for ages.... Thanks, sam
Wow ...WOW Sam!!! That is some A+++ work! Hard to believe that is the stove from the first post. Outstanding work and paint color/job! If only this stove could tell some stories. Cheers, Jeff
Hi Sam, you should be proud of your great achievement. The stove now looks good for another 50 years! You have also produced a wonderful photo-essay which should inspire others to have a go at classic stove rescue and restoration....but perhaps with a little less challenging starting point! Well Done, Best Regards, Kerophile.
Hi Sam, That is a fantastic transformation you have done there. You have turned it back to being a fully functioning bit of camping gear, and i am sure it will bring a sense of pride every time you use it, Very well done. How many stoves have been sent to the scrap yards when with effort and dedication can bring a hunk of junk back to life.
Great job, Sam. Glad the Rustbucket resto contributed. Yours was a much worse basket case for sure. You said you baked the paint in your camp oven. Do you mean a Coleman oven on a stove? I'd thought of doing that then quickly discounted it when the penny dropped that it mightn't be such a good idea to bring volatile paint fumes and naked flames together! I wasn't too keen on getting any lingering flavours on my food if I used it again as a cooker either. Best wishes, John
Superb restoration through out sam i am more than impressed with windshield you fabricated .i have a 111 clone purchased as spares from ebay with the wind shield pump rod and screw on spirit cup missing only need spirit cup and shield before i will restore it but you have given me the idea of making my own windshield.once again sam congratulations on such a fantastic restoration on bringing back to life a beautiful stove
excellent stuff i've had a few rough ones but nothing like the state of that i don't think i'd have even bothered with that one myself, but what a result keep your eyes out for a nicer tank after all the time and effort you have lavished on her i think she deserves a new one as others have said give yourself a pat on the back as you have earnt it 8)
Damn nice work!! You're a credit to your signature line. If I ever find a stove that looks like your's did, I'm buying it....And sending it to you to restore!
Sam, wonderful fettle and nice paint job. If I find one that is as old as the pictured rustbucket, I will send it to you for resurrection likewise Ron
Hi John, I appreciate your comments. Your resto inspired me to keep going when the going got tough. About that oven. I made one from an abandoned, all-steel (even the wheels), single-drawer file cabinet. Thanks to all of you that have made comments. I'm patting myself on the back, but really, it is from you that I have gained the most from. thanks, sam
i'll add my 's -- i'm sure we all would like to have the skill to do that...i always think,how could these fine stoves end up like that in the first place ..
Lets put it this way, some simpleton who probably made that heavy ding on the tank or dropped it inadvertently thought that it was too ugly to use hence just kept it out in the rain. Then finally realized after so many years that he could get some money back on his investment and sold it on ebay. Some people really do not take good care of their property and you probably know that character of that person by looking at the state of the stove. Does anyone agree on this? Ron
Wow, wow, WOW. Absolutely stunning. (How about a thread detailing how you built that windscreen? I'm pretty thrilled by that piece!)
