A brass PRIMUS No5. J:nr. dated E (1915). This one was my grandfather's, who acquired it from one of his properties on the north-east coast of Quebec (Escoumins area, St. Lawrence/Saguenay River) some point in the 1940's. I've had it for the past 15 years and just finished polishing her up a few days ago. She had no inner burner, prickers, pre-heating shield, box or instructions. Spirit cup appears to have been welded to the fount and is in an unusual position (normally between burner/riser tube). I only polish up the stoves if they have blemishes or verdigris, and this one met the criteria. Before polishing, but washed down with degreaser. She came with two pot rings, one the standard (never used) PRIMUS-labelled one and the other already set upon the 3 pot supports. The word PRIMUS is stamped into the outer ring between each riser. On the pan's inner ring: REGISTERED, No. 600229, MONSTERSKYDD, NUMMER 293, GEBR MUSTER, No 11005. Outer silent cap of brass and labeled PRIMUS SWEDEN. I do not like repainting items so I simply dry-scrubbed the ring with 0000 wool. Before cleaning Underside - Underside original - Bottom of fount labelled A/B B.A. HJORTH&Co STOCKHOLM, MADE IN SWEDEN, E and what look looks to be the number 11 offset to the right. Star logo between a few of the words. Unpolished - A ding on the upside tank from the pump cylinder Original - Fuel cap labelled PRIMUS (both sides), as is the vent screw (one side). original Pump cap labelled PRIMUS MADE IN SWEDEN (with a star logo between PRIMUS and MADE) TRADEMARK PRI-MUS and stove logo in 5 languages Another TRADEMARK set in 5 languages (unpolished) Riser on inner burner base labelled PRIMUS SWEDEN Burner appears to be welded to the riser tube. Replaced the dried original fuel cap gasket with one I cut from viton (1/16th"). Pump leather in good condition but dry so retained it and soaked in 3:1 oil. Replaced original cork PIP in NRV with one I cut from Viton (1/8th"), retained original brass spring but added o-ring (no original washer). I gave her one of my spare inner burners so she'd be safe to run. Stove passed the pressure test, filled with kerosene and primed her Initial flame with a fair bit of orange as some polish/cleaning agents are burned off Fried up some popcorn last night, she ran very well and hot - outer burner cap glowing cherry red. Stove functions very well, and cooked up brunch (fried ham, scrambled eggs) on her this morning. Lovely domestic stove. From my understanding, the J:nr versions had a smaller burner for fuel efficiency and a smaller fuel capacity. The Juniors were not manufactured for very long compared to the S:nr (Senior) or standard 5 versions, I believe production ceased for the J:nr's some point in the 1930's. They also came in a nickel-plated version (as did most Primus stoves of this kind).
Thanks, yes it's a special one to me for that reason. He never used it himself, but thought it worthy to protect and preserve. I'm familiar with the house and the family that used it nearly 100 years ago now. The cottage still stands, and we use it as a summer temp-residence (off the grid) - small but beautiful 2 story farmhouse on top of a ridge overlooking the St. Lawrence River. If it wasn't for the great folks and information on this site it would still likely be sitting non-functional collecting dust, or worse.
Hi SMolson. wow i think expecially like butterfly fuel cap. i did first watch your fuel cap worte pimus look like svea style cap. thanks sharing !! Gunsoo
Another thread showing the same stove here , when I initially started working with her last year (2012). Hi Gunsoo - yes, her winged fuel cap is quite different than the other Primus domestics I have or seen, very much Svea like as you said.
The silent burner on the above Primus 5 J:nr is the standard one for the 5 and 5 S:or (Part No. 4139), as identified on image 3 of 4. So the original was either switched/replaced by the previous owner or by the shop that sold it to them 100 years ago. The outer silent cap fitted for the J:nr burner, No. 4125/26, will not fit the 4139's.
Hi - first post so forgive me if it doesn't quite go to plan. I was lucky enough to pick up some derelict Primus No 5 and Valor 55's recently - all missing their silent burner covers and with varying other issues - but one of the 5s (Primus No5 marked K which I believe is 1921) has very similar lettering to the 1915 one posted here - and also has the spirit cup mounted at the bottom of the riser tube. I assumed this was a home made fix - the soldering is not very beautiful (and one of the legs has been re-soldered in a very ugly way), but I am gratified to see that yours still works even with the spirit cup in this position - it gives me some hope that I may yet get a flame from it ! So thanks very much indeed. Regards John
Hi John, Glad you found it useful and hope you post a picture of your 5 S:or (and the others). I've been told that some Primus stoves have had their spirit cup welded in that position at the factory (by design) and not by the user. She primes and runs well, but the standard pilot lights won't work (too short). Another drawback is that you need to depend less on the spirit flame to light the burner once priming is complete (too far down). Keep lighter/matches in hand and anticipate having to light the vaporized fuel at the burner directly.
A couple of updates. The original burner would most likely have been R132 or No. 4126 , depending on the year Primus switched them up. Winged fuel caps of this style were also found on Radius and Svea stoves of the period (< 1920).
