I didn't set out to start collecting stoves... However, a month or so back on eBay I bought a pressure stove from India. It was £30 and some change (about $40USD) - so cheap it seemed rude not to buy it. Here (now slightly more expensive): KEROSENE STOVE PRESSURE STOVE 2 LITER IRON MADE IN INDIA | eBay It arrived in the UK after about 10 days, the (inadequate) packaging looking very much the worse for its travels. The stove itself missing some paint and the heat shied detached, but otherwise okay. The construction, is rough-and-ready to say the least, but strong. One has to watch out for the odd sharp edges. Also, the bare areas of mild steel already showing traces of rust which I addressed with a wipe over of light oil. It did come with a couple of prickers, spare washers and pump leathers, which was good. As I don't have any welding/brazing equipment, I replaced the tank heat shield with some metal sheet of the side of an aluminium beer tin. I rinsed out the tank with paraffin, filled it, and it lit first time! It really works amazingly well and the angle-iron construction means it will take a very heavy pot without issue. To anyone looking for a cheap pressure stove, I can strongly recommend one of these. Indian stove experience (2 of 2) will follow presently ...
I ordered one of those just before COVID got bad. I never got it (it never shipped) and the seller gave me a refund. I'll be very interested in your further thoughts on it. CE
@Crater Eddie I had a similar experience when I tried to get a crazy/magnificent 4-burner stove from India. It all went silent and I got a refund from eBay. Sadly I fear the seller might have been a Covid victim. See this thread: Crazy 4-roarer burner pressure stove!
Indian stove experience (2 of 2), a look at a second stove from the same source, is here: Indian stove experience (2 of 2)
@Crater Eddie Just to follow that up, I now use this stove more often than any of the brass Primus-type stoves I have, I could say it's my go-to stov. From a practical point of view, it the design means the pot or pan is much more stable. I've had no notable problems with it.
@Volesworth I have one of these that came in a job lot.... 'Sonal' brand, from the 1990s probably, in fetching metallic green. They put me in mind of a cheap version of the Svea 52/56 (a design also used in Australia)- low, stable, and robust. It's perfectly adequate for daily cooking- I wouldn't hesitate to use it even comercially for decades. But it hasn't the history and charm and certain something the old Swedish and British stoves have, which give me more enjoyment, so it gathers dust!
@Blackdog Agreed. I have found the Indian stove so useful I bought a second one too - the price with postage from India was now £37 - but still amazing value!
There's inflation for you! I wonder how many of these are in use- I know in recent decades paraffin has given way to disposable gas cartridges in the East, but there must be a great number doing daily service.
I bought one for use on a sailboat and was both impressed and disappointed with it. Mine was $40.00 US and arrived damaged with a minor dent in the tank and a broken fuel cap/valve. After receiving no help from the seller regarding the cap, I devised a crudely improvised replacement. I later found replacement caps on ebay. Modifications have been made to address some inadequacies of the design. 1- Pot supports are flush with the top of the stove frame permitting a large pot to close the top and direct a large amount of heat around the sides of the stove. A burner grate from a discarded natural gas household range has been bolted to the top of the stove so that heat cannot be blocked from rising upward. 2- Three sides of the frame were enclosed with stainless steel to further ensure that heat is directed upwards, not sideways. The stove is to be placed in a stove compartment on the boat with relatively tight clearance. It works fine in the compartment as modified. Despite the things I felt need changing, I find it a very good stove, it is strong, stable, simple and powerful. It is inexpensive enough that one can purchase a second stove to serve as spare parts. I only wish that they were built to a slightly higher standard.
In response the OP's opening line, "I didn't set out to start collecting stoves". NOBODY DOES. But here we are !!! Inmates of the Stovepox ward.
Thanks for the update. The quality issues you report are pretty much what I expected based on other things I have ordered from there. Still interesting for sure.