Hi folks! As usual, there are lots of pictures, so to keep the thread coherent, please wait to comment until everything is loaded. Thanks! Here's a rare bird. A lovely Campus No. 2! I was very lucky to find this stove, but it took a lot of work to get it off of the computer screen and into my home. This stove was sourced from Brazil, and has been the most difficult stove purchase I have made so far. I want to send a GIANT thank you to Berniedawg for identifying this stove, filling me in about them, and for his encouragement. He has first refusal if I ever sell it! I would also like to extend a big thank you to Gunsoo for all of his helpful insights about this model, and for letting me borrow his pictures! And thank you Aktopp for letting me use your pictures for reference purposes in this post as well! The seller had terrible feedback, and I clicked the "Buy" button with great trepidation. The sale took three weeks and a lot of frustration to hammer out, and that was before it had even shipped! It required thirty-nine translated emails, a suspended account from the Brazilian classifieds site (mine), four different attempted methods of payment (from credit card to wire transfer), and a lot of trust on both sides of the transaction. There was certainly a lot of risk in the sale, and had I known beforehand what would be involved, I probably wouldn't have pursued it. He wanted to cancel the sale when we hit the first roadblock, but after the 3rd or 4th, he became just as determined as I was, and after the 8th or 9th, we were laughing about it. We even ended up becoming Facebook friends! In the end, persistence from both parties paid off! This was Paulo's father's stove, and I'm not exactly sure what his job was, but Paulo said that "My father used in situations and very professional aviator era." He said he'd fill me in later about it. So... his dad used it while doing something with planes way back when? I'm guessing he was the Brazilian Rockateer. Anyway, here it is next to an Optimus 111T for size reference. As you can see, they share roughly the same dimensions, except the Campus is a few inches longer. The Campus No. 2 was manufactured by Svea during the mid-1930's, perhaps the late 1930's as well. You can read the sales literature here, here, and here. Sales brochures were so romantic back then, no? The parts and spares list is located here. The original finish would have been black paint with a silver heat shield. At some point in its life, it was repainted with brushed-on green lacquer, and though it looks a bit rough, I prefer the livelier green paint. I haven't yet decided whether I'll restore it or preserve it as is. Unfortunately, the spot welds at the corners of the top lid have failed, which would need to be addressed should I restore it. A sliding mechanism aids in opening the case, but the weak metal is broken on mine. It should be attached to that screw on the bottom half of the case. The screw itself is an incorrect piece of hardware though. The tank and pot rests are bolted securely to the case with these proprietary screws. The burner is also secured to the case. These screws serve a dual purpose, also elevating the stove. This elevation was likely designed to aid heat dissipation and to keep the hot stove off the ground a bit, but it also allows the front flap to sit parallel to the stove when open. Without the elevating screw heads, the clasp on the front flap would make it angle upwards when sitting on a flat surface. This is just the sort of attention to detail the Svea folks were doing back then. As you can imagine, having the stove bolted in like this makes cleaning an absolute chore! With the tank at the back of the case, and with a narrow filler neck that won't accept most funnels, it is very easy to spill kerosene when filling this stove. At first I thought the front case flap was a bit superfluous, but after using it, it makes access to the preheating cup SO much easier. Just another example of the lengths Svea went to in manufacturing this stove. The interchangeable potholders are VERY stable when screwed into the case. The heat shield is easily removable, but sits comfortably in the case. It is the same thick gauge metal as the case, and does a good job. Being unfixed, it rattles a bit in transport though. More in next post!
I was surprised to see that the tank and cap have no engravings at all. The only branding on the entire stove is the top of the burner. It doesn't say Campus anywhere! Only the long-gone paper instruction sheet would identify this stove by name. This makes them very difficult to identify by sellers if they end up on a classifieds or auction sites, and hence, even tougher to find. This is the only one I've seen for sale so far though. I was very lucky to stumble upon it, and lucky to have a friend like Gary to identify and encourage me to pursue it! I thought it was just an interesting Brazilian market stove! That aforementioned Svea burner is very well built though! Here it is next to Optimus 11 and Optimus 111 burners for size reference. I'm not sure when production ended for the Campus No. 2, but the earliest Optimus 11's would have been somewhat of a contemporary competitor. It looks like the burner design was also used in some of the early Campus No. 4’s, and their apparent sister the Høvik Verk No. 43. You can see examples of this burner in the Campus 4 here, and the Høvik here, and here. However, the part numbers for the burners are slightly different, which I think may indicate the unfixed regulator knob. In the Campus No. 2, the regulator knob is bolted to the burner. In the Campus No. 4 and Høvik Verk No. 43, the regulator knob is attached with just a chain. You can compare the part numbers here(Campus No. 2), and here (Campus No. 4), and the Høvik Verk No. 43 can be seen here, and here. _______________________________________ There appear to be two generations of the Campus No. 2, identified by the spirit cups, the hinges, and minor case variations. Here is Gunsoo's beautiful Campus No. 2 with the larger spirit cup. Thanks for letting me use your pictures Gunsoo! I initially thought the ones with the large spirit cup would be the earlier model, as it seems more ornate, but then Gunsoo observantly pointed out the subtle differences in the hinges. He thinks the more streamlined hinges seen with the large spirit cup would indicate a redesign, and I am inclined to agree. As you can see, the hinges on the model with the small spirit cup are rather clunky. Compare that with the hinges from Gunsoo's Campus No. 2. Gunsoo thinks that the larger spirit cup was implemented to improve stability, and once more, I agree. As you can see on my model, the weight of the burner is focused on one small area. But the big birdbath spirit cup helps spread the load out, as seen here on one of Aktopp's Campus No. 2's. Thanks for letting me use your pictures Arne! Here is the underside of Gunsoo's sprit cup. You can see that the load would be distributed much better. In the sales literature from the CCS reference library, all of the pictures show the small spirit cup. You can review them here, here, and here. This too may indicate that it is the earlier model, as it seems stove manufacturers took a relaxed approach to updating their sales brochures at the time. There are also a few differences in the cases. On my stove, there is a small opening in the case for the pump handle. The opening is not large enough, and the case interferes with fully depressing the pump. As a result, the pump is rather vulnerable, and you can easily hit the case wall every time you pump it. At first I thought my case was out of alignment somehow, but there really is no other way for it to sit in there. You can see this design flaw on Motoshi's early Campus No. 2 as well. ( Link) They addressed this issue with a larger opening for the pump with the proposed second generation, as seen here on Aktopp's example. Another difference is that the alleged later stoves have vent holes on the walls and the bottom of the case. You can read more about Gunsoo's stove by clicking here. You can read more about Aktopp's two stoves by clicking here. Motoshi has two examples of the small spirit cup Campus No. 2's as well, including one with a nickel-plated tank! You can see them here, here, and here. More in next post!
While finalizing the Campus No. 2 purchase, I saw the proper #866 Spirit Can on eBay UK. It's got a fair amount of pinholes, but the paint is terrific. I may attempt to seal it with POR-15 or a similar product at some point to make it functional, but it will probably need a patch in one spot. If anyone has any advice, I'd LOVE to hear it! ________________________________________________ And now what you've all been waiting for!!! Oooooooooh! Aaaaaaaaaah! It's a powerful and easily controlled burner, and it handily outperforms a 111. The Campus is also much more adjustable across the power band, allowing precise adjustments from simmer to full blast. I'm in love with this burner! The sound of the Campus is my favorite part. It has a very interesting and distinctive noise. In the mid-range, it gets a little flutter to it, and it kind of sounds like you're running a 111 and an 8R right beside each other. Towards the top of the range, it gets a deep bass sound to the flutter, and it sounds almost like there’s an idling radial engine running in the background. I'll try to upload a Youtube video of it soon so you can hear it. It's an exceptionally well-built stove, and I think I have a new favorite! If anyone has any further information regarding these, please chime in! I'm very curious about the Campus branded stoves. Well folks, hope you enjoyed, and happy stoving!
absolutely wonderful! thanks for the pics, especially the flame shot! willie w/a 111 and 111t on the Gulf of Mexico
Hi Pinky. Finally you recieve great stove!! I really congratulation Pinky And thank you for the accurate description about campus stove and good picture. Gunsoo
Wow! Very nice stove, photos, and very well written post. As always a pleasure to read your contribution to this forum. Thank you Pinky, Ken in NC
Thanks everybody! Just trying to reciprocate a bit for all the knowledge I've gained from this community! I'm glad I have y'all to share it with! My dogs are uninterested, and my partner is slowly becoming apathetic. He still likes the brassies though. Maybe I need to start collecting more of those. Duane, have you posted your Campingo anywhere? I'd love to see it if so! I tried to bid on one a few months back, but I had the settings wrong and my snipe didn't go through. That's what I get for trying to be sneaky! Gunsoo, thanks again for all your help! Ken, I hope we get to have a stovie meet soon! I'd LOVE to see some of those vintage MSR stoves! I haven't played with any yet.
Pinky, I had some action photos I believe, plus my avatar. I'll have to dig them up. Berniedawg fixed the fuel cap for me so it is functional and not just soldered over. Duane here is one pic. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/23400
Hey Pinky - you have really excelled yourself this time. Lots and lots of photos to show the details and a great commentary to go with them. Of course, it is yet another stove I do not have. I scanned through it the first time, so now I will read it more slowly.
Nice Campingo Duane! ¡Me Gusta! ¡Me Gusta! The Campingo burners are very similar to the Optimus 11 and Optimus 9 burners, but the part numbers are slightly different. Since the Campingo's fuel feed tube attaches at the bottom of the burner, I wonder if it may vaporize the fuel and run better than the 11 or 9. I have nothing to base that on. Just thinking out loud. Glad you enjoyed it Trevor! And yeah, I have a tendency to run my mouth a bit much...