Ran across this old girl; what is it besides 2 burner Optimus?; is it a kerosene or a gas burner?......suggestions?; thanks in advance; Lou
Hi, Lou, Welcome to CCS. If I'm not mistaken, your stove is actually not an Optimus, but rather a FrankenStove, which began life as a Coleman #523 Military stove, and somewhere along the line, picked up two new silent burners. Have you tried it, yet? I'd be interested in how this combination actually works, as the original burners were twin 5,000 BTU Coleman roarer types. Where did you buy it, and from whom? I look forward to hearing more about this stove, which, as I believe, is a "put-together" FrankenStove. Hope that helps, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Looks like you have it there, Doc, although I think Coleman was only one of a number of manufacturers. I've two - one is Coleman and I think the other may be by Prentiss-Wabers. I don't know why anyone would want to replace the original burners - presumably to have the facility to burn kero at a guess...
Doc, David thanks for the follow up; seems a few hundred years ago was in eastern Europe and on the Bosnian side former Yugoslavia saw a similar one cooking hard boiled eggs but was also burning Kero/diesel; no coleman fuel at that time and in that part of the world; scratching my head on this one as it also came out of eastern Europe; don't know the history but might have been a WW2 that was upgraded to optimus burners?; but is must have happened many years ago 'cause have gone over this one with magnification to help my eyes and it looks original?; or at least frankend many years and many cookings ago........it looks very well done and professional; suggestions; do I just put kero, pump and fire her up or???; thanks again in advance; Lou
Kero Or Naphtha?/Coleman fuel?????? ; I know it originally was used with White Gas/Naptha but now has kero burners but what to fire it with??? thanks again; Lou
Because it is a FRANKENSTOVE with unknown parts and history, I would not light it until much care and information was applied to this stove. But that's just me. But if you do .... (Opinion Alert) Kero would be less dangerous than CF. It just won't burn right. Ken in NC
Ken, yep, agree totally. Well, guess first put in a bit of kero and see if it holds pressure, then do the preburner thing...then light it up in the driveway...by the way, there are NO distinguishing marks on it anywhere, the engraved plate with the US logo + date has been removed. Actually, can't see that it ever had one was planning to use mineral spirits for the pre-burner thing. Any suggestions? Lou
As the gents have all said above - Frankenstove. Definitely and without question. But, an interesting one. Maybe it's just me and my computer, but three out of four of the pictures posted are smaller than a postage stamp. The other is not much larger and not much help to anyone here to understand what may have been done to modify your stove. That means they aren't much use to folks here at the site to: 1. help you with what to do 2. understand how the conversion was made 3. determine if the conversion is done properly or whether the thing is safe to even attempt to light I know for myself, I'd definitely be into helping you get it up and running if you could kindly do us the return favor of posting some larger detailed photos of the stove. Especially of the burners and how they are mounted. Just seems the right (and safe) thing to do in return for help with your stove.
don't understand why 3 pix are size postage stamps and the other decent sized be delighted to share pix when get home from work; know nothing of its history but looking at it very closely under magnification it seems to have been used a LOT since conversion; Lou
I think it's a really fun frankenstove that looks to be pretty well done, and those silent burners are likely a lot more powerful than the originals. If everything is functioning properly, with the Coleman check valve, you should be able to run either white gas or kero safely. If it has a kero jet installed, it may be a bit weaker on white gas though. The knobs are awfully short and may get pretty hot, but if it doesn't affect the bakelite, just roll with it. Easy issue to remedy if it is a problem. Looks like a really fun conversion, and a lot more usable than the original design! Can't wait to see pics of it running once you've fettled it! Now I'll be eyeing my 523 and thinking of a similar conversion!
Those are definitely kero burners so even if it is safe on white gas why bother? Kero is cheaper and a leak won't consume your tent
OK; just HAD to try it this morning; this is the plunger with very worn leather cup that still manages to put pressure into the tank BUT it leaks from the plunger and from the plunger side burner now what to do?..........suggestions valued and appreciated; Lou P.S. the valve was closed snugly ger cup
That is one cool/neat conversion. Been wanting to do that to one of my 523s. Looks very well done. I bet you'll need to replace the gasket between the burner and the riser and that would fix the leak on the burner. The pump and check valve probably need cleaned up really well and then it would start working unless there is no positive lock mechanism. There should be a lock by turning pump handle clock wise until it stops turning. sam
Sam; questions; any hints on cleaning check valve?, was thinking mineral spirits + lots of pumps. if I can pressurize the tank do I need to replace the leather cup? sources for gaskets tween riser and burner?, see them listed online BUT don't know if I should order for large or small burner any pearls on disassembling?; would hate to break it thanks for the help; Lou
Hi Lou, nice stove. You need the larger size of burner washer. See this post for installation instructions: https://classiccampstoves.com/posts/83257 Send me a PT if you want to buy some washers. Your pump leather should be OK for trials, but a fellow CCS member, Sefaudi, makes really excellent replacement leather cup washers at a very reasonable price. http://www.https://classiccampstoves.com/members/member.90// Best Regards, Kerophile.
OK, follow up was able to tighten the burner riser a bit...odd ball size; 20 mm. might help, might not; biggest leak is coming from the pump took out the "needle" hit the ball with carb cleaner and kroil oil.....still leaking + very possibly the threads are partially stripped on the valve needle as get a tooth/cog type of feeling when screwing it in....gets very tight then marginal resistance then tight again; the same sequence over and over will let it sit over night with kroil oil on the valve seat and see in the morning. Lou
still leaking @#***^>"#@$; filled up the the pump cylinder again with paint thinner and will let it sit BUT it leaks into the fuel canister and is dry in a short time. Also wondering if with the difficulty in closing the pump that the threads might be stripped on the check valve; the needle threads look nice and sharp! but can't tell about the valve itself without removing. Can I adjust the depth of the cup? There are 2 hex nuts holding the cup in place; can I adjust the cup so that the needle goes in further? Lou
It looks like a Coleman pump tube. A Coleman check valve can be removed with a screwdriver, although a special tool works much better. Ken in NC
