Hi I have been inspired by Rune's Enders fettling. Here is photo of an operating stove for a change. This is a French Military Stove, Serie 7052. It is a petrol ( gasoline) powered silent burner. This stove comes fitted in a two piece Aluminium box. There is a neat filler funnel and small brass container of spares. The operating instructions, in French, are inside the lid. It got rather exciting when I first lit the stove, as the packing on the regulator had dried-out and a horizontal flame shot out the back, directly onto the control knob! I re-packed the stuffing box and it now operates well. Regards, Kerophile.
Please, where can I get one of those? I am collecting stoves, military ones. My Goal is: Complete Nato collection.
Hi Rune, It will come as no surprise that the best place to get one is France. They seem to be released periodically at Military surplus sales and occasionally they appear on French Ebay. Regards, Kerophile.
How do you get on with the priming setup on that thing, George? On the one I had it was a recipe for disaster and, if I remember correctly, Jur had one which fireballed to destruction on him. They're a handsome stove but I'm glad I didn't have to use one on a regular basis.
Hi Ian, On my first date with this stove, I chickened out and primed the burner with meths. Alcohol burns clean and I am familiar with it. I use a laboratory "squeeze" bottle to hold my priming meths and get it into spirit cups with no spillage. You will see a hole in the Aluminium shroud for lighting the priming fluid and I used this to introduce the meths. The instructions explain that you should ensure the main regulator ( the black knob on top of the tank) is in the closed position. Then, after a few strokes of the pump, to pressurise the tank, you open the dedicated primer tap ( the small brass one you can see in the photo) and flood the spirit cup. Then the priming valve is closed, the priming fluid lit, and just when it is almost finished burning, you give the tank a few more pumps and open the main burner valve. The stove will light with a satisfying hiss! Seriously though, I have never seen any statistics but I am willing to bet that Military stoves account for at least as many casualties as does Enemy Action. Lets face it, a lot of soldiers were not at the front of the queue when the brains were handed out! These 1952 stoves would have been used in Indo China, and other French Colonial Wars. Regards, Kerophile.
I found that following exactly the instructions for lighting it was living dangerously. Even after a top to bottom fettle it was still arisky business.
Hi Rune, If you want to collect all NATO stoves, you will have a problem with France. I am not sure if it was an "Active" member for the full period. See attached from Wikipedia: "Though France showed solidarity with the rest of NATO during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, de Gaulle continued his pursuit of an independent defence by also removing the Atlantic and Channel fleets of France from NATO command. Finally in 1966 all French armed forces were removed from NATO?s integrated military command and all non-French NATO troops were asked to leave France. This precipitated the relocation of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) from Paris to Brussels in Belgium by 16 October 1967. In Belgium, NATO is also based in Casteau in South of Brussels. France rejoined NATO's military command in 1993". My memory isn't so bad after all. Regards, Kerophile.
Ian is right, these French army stoves are a menace to (stove-)society. I rebuilt mine after its initial fire-balling, checked my life-insurance and lighted it a few times with fingers crossed, then with relief put it on the shelf where it has remained since, gathering dust.
Hello Kerophile. I also have the same stove as you. When burning, the function with an interesting this stove preheats the generator with a sub-burner. Regards, Motoshi
Hello, The French stove has a serious flaw in the way the fuel is delivered to the pre-heat cup and the size of the cup. I have one that I received from Ian and it had indeed been in an accidental fireball. I took my time lighting it the first time as I had been advised of the consequences of too much fuel. The pre-heater cup is filled with a small knob that is rotated off and on. The secret is to just turn it on for about half a second. This will fill the priming cup with enough fuel to heat sufficiently. Anymore than that and it spills inside the case and fills the bottom. What you then have is a raging fire all around the stove and inside the case. To light one. Pump up about 25 times. Then open the pre-heat wheel off / on quickly. Then light the fuel in the cup. The stove will flare abit as the fuel in the line from the wheel to the pre-heat cup evaporates and rushes out in a gas. All in all once you get the pre-heat figured out and you don't melt anything or singe your eybrows you have a reliable stove. Chuck
