good morning, i have a svea 123 that appears to leak through the jet orfice(opening not the threads). it is new/ used and appears in good condition. rinsed and filled the tank 1/2 way. allowed it to sit over night in order for the wick to draw fuel. i was warming the tank with my hands before priming to see if i could get a small amount of fuel through the jet. before i could open the valve to do so, i noticed that there was already fuel leaking through the jet. double checked to make sure the spindle was in off position. it was. fuel continued to leak, so i emptied the stove. i'm a novice at this but, after looking through the forum, my guess would be that the cleaning needle isn't seated properly. am i on the right track? before i start taking the stove apart i'd like to ask the advice of the experts here at CCS. thanks for your help, Lou
Someone who knows these stoves better than I do may have some suggestions on how to fix it. But, if it is just a small amount of fuel, I'd probably not worry about it. It at least suggests the gas cap is good. I often see something similar with my 8R and it still works fine. Occationally, when I have run it a while and turn it off, there is a small yellow flame that I blow out. For me, the only irritation was the gasoline smell that I sometimes noticed when I was backpacking. If that happens you may want to wrap it in a plastice bag. But, If you just want an excuse to take it a part, by all means do it.
Could be just some carbon in the valve, try putting a capful of carb cleaner in the tank, (along with fuel) and run for awhile. Can't hurt, May help. Now, if it's a 123R,(with cleaning needle), then there is another possibility. The needle may be indexed wrong. there's a thread on overhauling the 8R, but it also applies to a 123R... Can't seem to find it , maybe someone else can ???
good morning, over the last week or so i've removed the cleaning needle on my 123r & reset it at different intervals (3,4 &5 clicks). upon filling the stove with a small amount of fuel, i'd warm the tank with my hands to get some pressure to build. before opening the valve to allow the gas to flow, i noticed that there was gas already coming up through the jet. thinking that the needle might need to be set lower, i tried 4 clicks. same thing. 5 clicks, the same. i removed the stuffing box and spindle. upon closer inspection of the spindle(part #2189) noticed that the teeth on the spindle have small wavey cuts similar to a key. should it be that way? common sense tells me, that if fuel is coming through the jet before opening the valve to do so, priming and lighting will result in a flaming grenade. dangerous!!! should the spindle look like a cut key? (small nicks in the teeth) do i need to call A&H for a rebuild kit before i proceed? this is such a cool stove, i'd like to get it working properly. i'd be happy to try any suggestions that forum offers. thanks and have a great day, Lou
Hi Lou, Assemble the stove without the cleaning needle/rack & use it as you would a 123 (Non R ), cleaning the jet with a normal pricker when needed or use the rack & needle to clean the jet having screwed off the burner bell ..... dont try this when its hot Nick
Worst case possibility is the cone shaped end of the valve spindle is misshapen from having been closed too tightly. If so, a new spindle is the cure. On the other hand, it could be a bit of manufacturing swarf or other debris requiring only a good cleaning. Compressed air is the cleaning agent of choice here. Remove the stuffing box nut, unscrew and remove the spindle. Try not to disturb the graphite packing sleeve inside. A puff or two of air should dislodge and remove the offending bits, if there. Remove the burner bell and jet, then blow air through the jet hole. While the spindle's out it can be inspected and cleaned with a bit of steel wool. Reassemble in reverse order. If you like, while the stove's apart, give the loose parts a 15 or 20 minute soak in a quite warm 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Best of luck, Gerry
good morning nick & gerry, yesterday i tried to prime the stove without the cleaning needle, no luck. before the stove becomes hot enough to light, a small amount of gas comes up through the jet and starts to burn. feels a bit dangerous but, it was worth a try. next i'll see if gerry's idea works. i'll try to disassemble the stove for cleaning this weekend. will post my results when it's complete. wish me luck happy thanksgiving to all our stateside members, Lou
hi evryone, after removing the spindle of the stove, i realized that i have a new 8R spindle. they appear to have the same part number on the exploded views here @ CCS. upon closer inspection, they are two different sizes. i've taken pictures to show the differences. the one on top is the new 8R and has shorter fins, extra theads & a longer tip at the front end. the one on the bottom is the leaky 123. notice the small nicks on the fins. i guess that's why it wants to self ignite. are they the same part? should i use this one or order one specificly for the 123R from A&H? this is the first time i'm trying to post photos, might take me a few tries to get it right. here goes nothinghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/21111392@N03/2054002410/]Link[/url] sorry about the url, will try something else next time. have a great day and thanks for your suggestions, Lou
just use [ img ] image URL here [ /img ] (remove the spaces inbetween the brakkets0 and it'll show the images for you. as for the problem with your 123R, you'll have to wait for the blokes in the know
I recently did a rebuild on my Svea 123R and came across the same problems. Here's what I did. With an empty tank disassemble the jet and cleaning needle, soak in carb cleaner. Use the straw that comes with the carb cleaner along with a shop rag and spray in the control valve. Let it soak for a few minutes and turn the key back and forth a few times. Turn the stove up side down to get rid of excess carb cleaner. Now this step is important! Turn the key clock wise until it stops. Install cleaning needle rack with teeth facing control valve spindle. Apply light pressure to cleaning needle rack with finger tip. Slowly turn the key counter clock wise until you feel 4 clicks. Now turn the key clock wise until it stops. I tried 3 and 5 clicks but 4 worked the best. This procedure cured the leak on my stove. As to wear marks on the cleaning needle rack and control valve pinion gear. I believe this is normal as my stove has similar wear patterns. As long as the rack and pinion operate smoothly it should be OK. If there is a nic or scratch at the cone end of the control valve spindle this could cause a leak. I believe the cone end of the spindle is what controls the fuel flow. The rest of the stuff mentioned just operates the cleaning needle. I hope this helps. Ron
hi all, thanks for all your great suggestions. i finally got the leak to stop after using some carb cleaner and compressed air. then re-installed the needle at 4 clicks. i put 1 oz of fuel and warmed the tank,no leak. i unscrewed the cap to a hissing sound. pressure was in the tank. primed it, no leak. it fired up just fine. i allowed it to burn for a few minutes and noticed a few yellow sparks dancing off the tips of blue flame. tomorrow i'll burn a tank of fuel through as it probably wasn't used in some time, maybe that will cure the sparks. other than that the stove now works perfect as far as i'm concerned. many thanks for your helpful tips. i hope to get one more weekend trek in before christmas, and can't wait to see how this little svea preforms. Lou
Lou, I forgot, Welcome to our little bit of insanity. I hope you stick around and enjoy it. The sparks are only bits of debris burning off, I wouldn't give 'em much thought. The 123 is pretty much bullet proof if you are careful to: (A) NEVER let it burn dry. (B) Not force the valve or turn it shut any harder than necessary to shut the stove down. To achieve "A" I ALWAYS, without fail, fill the fount to 3/4 full each and every time I light mine. I bought my 123 new in the mid 1960's, have used it regularly all this time and have never yet had it apart. Like I've said in the past, about the only other man made item I've ever seen that's as reliable as a 123 is an anvil. I have several 123's now. Some wouldn't work when I got 'em. Most came around to my way of thinking with only the replacement of wicks scorched from being allowed to burn out of fuel. Once that happens the only cure is a new wick. Oh, yeah one had the valve spindle twisted off by a neanderthal too stupid to stop twisting when the valve bottomed. He was a teenager who could and did break clawhammers. As stupid as a sack of hammers, he was. He's a drug counselor, now, and still dumber'n a hemlock stump. Some folks never change. He's a good kid, God Bless 'im, but has the common sense of a tent peg. Gerry
