I have a dozen or so stoves, but none with the cast iron trivet, so I put a bid on ebay and was somewhat surprised when this monster arrived! Pictured with my Primus No 70 to make it seem even bigger! It was only £19 inc. p&p and although scruffy, looks like it's in reasonable condition and will be easy to get going. From another No2 thread on here I've read that this might be the cleanest burning of the paraffin stoves... we'll see. There are other No 2 on ebay for about £200, surely they must be very optimistic vendors? I've started cleaning the trivet using my bicarbonate electrolysis setup, and after a few hours at 10+ Amps and 5 mins with a stainless scourer, it's cleaning up nicely. Does anyone have experience with welding up the cracks. I might try a few spot welds from behind with my MIG, but I understand cast iron doesn't weld well. I'll upload a pic when it's fired up! Phill
@Phill Jackson if you have no any experience in cast iron welding please don't try it. this welding is extremely hard and can have a result more cracks. the best result you can reach without a special methods is silbrazing (not less 40% Ag). also flux with KF can do the works easier. clean it previously with citric acid boiling.
Silver Brazing old Cast Iron with a 2-pint Kerosene blow torch, search it Via Goole Ai Mode for further informational studies and follow ups. I would list the information for you but best if you search it yourself and study the procedures, we do a lot of Vintage tractors cast manifolds and such in the same manor using torches. Some Guys like to use MAPP Gas, but we find the Kerosene torches have a broader softer heat delivery.
Thanks for the advice! I looked into silver soldering and was all set to go, until it turned out the rods cost more than the stove! I've had the stove up and running, it was very easy to start, the fastest of all my stoves and it boiled a kettle quickly To get it working, just needed the jet pricking and some work to the pump. The leather was so brittle, I couldn't get it back to life so borrowed one from another primus stove. The non return valve was gummed shut, so I used a trick that's worked before, and filled the tube with paraffin. The hydraulic pressure was able to free up the mechanism where air pressure wasn't enough. As it was cooling down, I remembered I'd had some "cast iron" welding rods from a kettle project that I'd never used (I drilled out the pin hole and used a stainless nut and bolt) and decided, against your experienced advice, to risk it. On the thick edge it worked quite well, but on the thinner worn out parts it just blasted straight through. It welded enough to pin the 3 cracks together, but on more valuable to thin repairs, I think the silver solder would be better.
It can be done, but on a piece as fragile as a cast trivet it requires stainless steel rod, argon or argon/CO2 mix gas, a very careful uniform and substantial preheating of the trivet, and slow cooling after the weld. Even then not straight forward as on such a small object the welding temperature can easily run over into melt down of more of the trivet (see repair done here). So if you are determined to repair some of the cracks brazing with a high temperature fill is the way to go. But is it realy necessary? Unless there is a completely detached section, a structurally sound trivet with a couple of cracks is not a problem. The cracks can actually help relieve some of the stresses of expansion and contraction, whereas welding or brazing everything up can sometimes result in new cracks forming in new places!
thanks, yes i hadn't considered that the cracks could be a benefit. i'll report back in due course if they open up again or even cause new cracks!
