A Primus 70 L, brass, circa 1926-1931. Date is based on the presence of heat shield inside the little tin case but she has no safety pin brazed topside on fount for pressure release. No pricker, no traveling cap and was missing her chain and chain hooks/loops. Inside case with some superficial rust that was removed with 0000 steel wool + WD 40. Little colorful tin case is well used but otherwise intact. Graphics on the upper 1/3 were destroyed due to heat exposure + some surface rust. Parallel 'waffled' pot supports in good condition and solid enough. Front panel with the PRIMUS colorful stove logo and other lettering. Back panel, like her sides, with single row of 6 small rounded ventilation holes, and German lighting instructions. Both side panels with instructions, this one showing the English version. Underside with 4 dimpled cup feet and slightly raised rounded center for stove base. Front panel is pressed inward to help release clasp from top slot in lid to drop the panel and access the stove. Stove with no dings but missing her traveling cap and chain. Top of lid with various graphics shown , worn due to wear and heat (+ some cement?). Lettering includes PATENT AUTO STOVE, PRI-MUS Made in Sweden, A/B B.A. HJORTH STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN Burner plate unmarked (no lettering). Nut at base of vaporizer/fuel tube with small spirit dish. TRADE MARK PRI-MUS stamping with stove logo. Hole in looped handle for chain hook (missing). PRIMUS No 70 MADE IN SWEDEN stamping on the other side of fount. BENZOLENE and NAPTHA stamping PETROL and BENZINE stamping, PRIMUS flat-topped labelled fuel cap. Fuel cap gasket is cork, original still held pressure and functioned properly so it was retained. Dimpled inward due to pressure. No stamping on underside of fount, normal for this model of stove. Traveling cap (missing) would screw overtop of jet with the burner bell removed to prevent pressure/fuel release during storage/travel. With the gasket functioning and the wick present and in good condition, used a spare Primus pricker # 4122 (Primus 96) to prick/clean the jet. Half-filled her with coleman fuel, primed with alcohol. Took a few minutes before she ran close to her maximum heat output (outdoor temp was 4 C). Camping kettle on to boil for coffee. Nice audio thrumming when on full and good blue flame. These are very cute little stoves and the pre-cursor for the Primus 71 with regulated burner. However, they are really only good for boiling water and other cooking needs where high heat is required. The flame cannot be controlled in terms of heat output, and it can be a challenge to extinguish after the stove has been running for some time (flame has built to capacity). You must blow real hard to kill the flame, lol, then quickly unscrew the fuel cap to release pressure. Otherwise vaporized fuel will continue to escape from the jet (followed by liquid fuel). These are also problematic in that they cannot be packed quickly away after use as the user must wait until the burner bell is safe to touch before replacing the traveling cap over the jet, allowing the user to then tighten the fuel cap. Their tins, like the 71 L's, Radius 42's, Optimus 80's, etc are weak and flimsy, graphics easily burned off and will not support large pots (2+ Liters) safely. So not a practical stove at all compared to the much improved 71 and other similar regulated models, but cute nonetheless. Because she has no traveling cap, all the fuel has been emptied from her tank for storage.
Forgot to add, that when filling, because the fuel neck is so narrow, I used a small funnel from a Montagnino coil stove:
very nice find and what a polish job! with no flame adjustment it really seems like a cheap stove even for it's day. i can't see it being used for any serious work like a trapper or ranger.day hikers maybe? oops--just read the label on the tin..Boy Scouts,picnic--
They are a couple of steps (leap?) up from a coil stove and their similar issues, but at this stage in the development of stoves they were but a stepping stone for their day with very obvious drawbacks and limitations.
Great post and photos Stephen. I'm sooo jealous. I keep bidding if I see one on Ebay but they always go past my max bid. One day I'll find one. Very similar to the little Lamb stove which I've happily used but only for tea making. Tea and a cheese sandwich. What else does a man need? Terry
Thanks Dave and Sam. Hi Terry, lol - a stove dedicated to boiling duties for small volumes of liquids. I've seen these L kits go very high too on ebay, luckily this one, in her rough condition + missing parts, was had for $25. If I come across another I'll let you know. edit: I'm hoping Stu can do the traveling cap for this one, and I'll rig up a chain or some other cap management tool.
Very nice. It is easy to believe it might be hard to blow out a good hot flame. One trick I used with my old Taykit was to cool the fuel tank with snow or cold water first. It made sticking my mug close to the flame a little less intimidating.
That is very nice. I just saw one today, in Black Mountain, NC. We went to visit a Coleman Collector friend, and he showed me one of these and a pair of Campingo single and double burner (Patent Pending) stoves. I was drooling and shaking. Ken in NC
Haha Itchy, good suggestion - you certainly don't want to attempt releaving pressure by unscrewing the fuel cap on these little darlings. A nice little micro mushroom cloud ensues for a few seconds as the little volume of vaporized fuel ignites from the burner flame. Ha Klasse - these are about the quickest/easiest stoves to clean and polish up due to their small size and limited protruding parts. I did wax the case though after removing what dirt/rush I could. She aint perfect but good enough for me (it's a 'limited' user model after all). Good luck on prying those Campingo from your friend's grasp snwcmpr! Maybe trade him for a few more colemans.
A couple of more notes: I've seen the odd 70 L here on CCS with a funnel, and Primus did sell funnels but whether they made one for this size I do not know. Those they did sell were most likely bought separately and not included. For the pot size, I wouldn't use anything larger than 1 liter (not 2 as mentioned earlier), even that may be a little overpowering/unbalanced for these little tins.
Hi Steve, It's nice to see your shots of the 70 up & running, definitely a nice piece of kit, my first one came from Montivideo, Uruguay as just a fount with the remnants of a stuck riser tube, our resident master fettler Stu (Loco7stove) did a brilliant job of removing the remnants of its riser & fitted it with an old Primus 71 valved riser tube which I supplied him with. That stove could use a travel cap for the same reason, despite being shut off at the valve, fuel will slightly weep from its jet when stored, I expect it's entitled to do that as that riser tube is 75 years old. Interesting that your chain hole is at the bottom of the handle, the one Stu fixed for me is at the top & another one which I bought later has it at the bottom, that one fired up straight away without any fettling, I used 3 wire tent pegs stuck in the ground as pot supports when I brewed up, it really could do with a windshield, I don't have stove cases for either of them, perhaps Lady Luck has smiled at you. Best wishes & lots of lovely dishes=John. --------------------- If in doubt, brew up.
Thanks John. lol about deserving to weep. Good idea with the tent pegs if strong enough and solid ground. If I had the tools (and knowledge from Grade 8 shop) to weld, one could rig up a nice customized steel or iron pot stand for her (and other similar sized stoves too). Wouldn't have to be any larger than the tin, but be strong enough to support 2X+ the weight capacity of any pot (and potential surface area). They output a lot of heat, but you wouldn't want them boiling large volumes as their fuel capacity would necessitate frequent fillings. Their target market must have been for solo ventures to support their needs and pot/volume sizes. Interesting about the chain hole. They also had different burner bells, I've seen them with longer necks and more willow-leaf (narrow) slits compared to this one. The Governor (not from Walking Dead, lol) is another of this type with no regulator, from what pictures I've seen of them anyway.
Hi Steve, I've looked through the archives at the 1929 Primus listing & found an accessory listed as # 4076-avec support,this looks like a clip on band with 3 folding legs, possibly made for the French market, I would dearly love one of those, it seems as though several people have made something like that to fit Primus 71's/Optimus 80's &c which have lost their tin cases, definitely a good idea although there's no windshield, one of the accessory windshields ought to do the job, if there's a fettler out there who makes these clip on pot stands, Please PM me, I want one. having such a small tank means having to keep an eye on its burn time to avoid a charred wick, I would think that after 80 years, that riser tube, which is not a substantial item could well be stuck there & would very likely break if removal was attempted, my 70 with valved riser tube obviously shows the scars of a previous attempt in the past, a further repair may possibly require a fettler to make & silbraze a new threaded boss into the fount to enable the riser to be serviced & or replaced, a possible problem for another day. A suggestion for you fettlers out there would be to make a stronger riser tube which would withstand its removal during servicing. As a memory refresher, here's the link to the post showing Stu's repair on my 70. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/24346 Best wishes=John. --------------------- If in doubt, brew up.
