I have had an older MSR Firefly stove that I picked up at a yard sale a few years ago for $5.00 The stove included the original instruction manual, all the receipts from MSR, and a letter from MSR showing that the recall-replacement had been completed on the fuel line, and......a bag of parts from another Firefly(missing the burner), and an original rebuild and maintenance kit. The stove fired right out of the "garage sale box"! The only thing missing was the original, aluminum heat shield "pan". I've kept my eye open for an original heat shield, but they never seem to appear. So, I started looking at many of the other attempts to make a replacement. I wanted one that looked original, and was durable. A lot of the DIY projects that I have seen didn't quite meet my requirements. I started thinking about the old, aluminum bunt cake pans. I had a hunch they would be a perfect match. I was right! I picked up an older, probably 1950's vintage, Aluminum pan made by Mirro, at our local thrift store for $1.50 I made some preliminary measurements and it looked like it was going to be a perfect match. I was right again! The center "cones" on these old Mirro pans are crimped in place. I turned the pan over, and using my trusty Cub Scout knife, I carefully pried up the thin flange. 360 degrees later, the cone popped off, leaving a perfect hole. The hole was about 1/8 inch wider than the width of the stove body! Perfect again. I marked out three slots, 1/4 inch wide, spaced at 120 degrees, on the bottom, and continued 1-1/8 inch up the side. I drilled the side end of each hole with a 1/4 inch drill bit, then used a hacksaw to to cut the slot. A little clean-up with a file and sandpaper and it was done. 30 minute project! I laid out the slots so the old Miro stamped markings are still on the bottom of the shield. It gives it that "official-vintage" look The "new" heat shield is a PERFECT fit on the stove, and matches the originals. I suspect that MSR ordered their original shields from one of the pan manufacturers, minus the "cone (either cutting the slots themselves, or ordering them that way). The fit, size, shape, and dimensions, are too perfect to be an accident. Here are measurements and "specs" on the finished heat shield: 9 ounces 9-3/4 inches wide at top 7-1/4 inches wide at bottom 3-3/8 inches deep Slots: 1/4 inch wide. 1-1/8 inch up the sides. Overall very sturdy. I hope this helps out a few other Firefly owners! LOVE the Firefly's!
The cap on the end of the fuel line is my own design. It is a piece of clear tubing with a rivet pushed into it. This keeps the crud out of the fuel line, and protects the inner cable, when stored. Works great and the price is right! I use them on all of my MSR stoves.
Very nice! Firefly was my first MSR stove - way back in the 80's. After a few years the fuel throttle stripped out. When I took it in to MSR in Seattle, they checked it out and said, "yeah, this stove has been recalled and replaced with the Dragonfly. Would you like a new Dragonfly at no charge?". And that's how I lost my first MSR stove, and got.my second. I have since found a few more fireflies to add to my MSR stove collection. - Keep roaring! -SMiles
Here is a photo from the 1981, MSR catalog. Not a perfect match, but you can see how well the original matches my "bunt pan" shield.
I did a "fire-up and boil test" yesterday. 8 cups of cold tap water in my Zebra Pot. A little over 3 minutes from light-off to rolling boil. Better than it was before without the windscreen. The aluminum also works as a heat reflector. I had a thought on how to reduce the footprint size of the windscreen......... cut it in half, or even into quarters, and pop rivet small hinges with pull-out pins on the cut lines. This way you could take it down into multiple pieces that would stow much easier in a pack or bag. Another project on the list.............
