My first 111 and a model T to boot. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8826781654&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT Arrived yesterday afternoon. Paint flaking off on outer case, inner case very nice. No dents anywhere. Wanted to try it right away so got to cleaning the burner caps. Inner was loaded with lots of scaly stuff (from underburn?). Opened valve and shot carb cleaner in jet and worked the needle several times. A little kero into the pumpshaft and pumped into tank. Splashed some meths in tank and whooshed it around a bit then emptied it. Filled 1/4 full of coleman fuel, 3 pumps, primed and took right off. Nice flame then the pump handle started pushing itself upwards. Darn must be NRV valve. Found a 3/8" x 8" bolt and started sawing, grinding, and filing on it. An hour later I had the pump valve in hand. The little rubber check valve was a bit hard and had what looked like som mineral deposit on the contacting area. did a quick cleanup of this piece and put the lot together again. This time I used kero thinking if it shot out the pumpshaft my chances of survival were better than with coleman's. Did a double-prime for the kero and it fired right up with a beautiful flame. Quick test boil of 1 liter in a covered 1.5 qt GSI Extreme hard anodized pot. 3:48 till the lid was dancing madly and a rapid boil. very nice! But now the pump moving again afterwards. Spent the night outdoors under a tarp due to high heat. Slept quite comfortably thank you. Made a morning teapot with it in good time and the shaft started moving up again. darn. Decided to try to clean the check valve better and had it looking pretty then disaster when trying to put it back in the pump valve assembly, I dropped it in the grass. Looked several times throughout the day for it, but no luck. Note to self: Never work on stoves over grass without a tarp to catch the loose bits! Now I have a great stove with no checkvalve. Is there a source for these? Maybe I can fashion a plug cutter/punch of some sort like a hollow leather punch and rob some rubber from my big pickup tires? Was looking at packstoves.com but these are not listed individually. Would they be a part in either the Parts Kit ot Stove Repair Kit? They should really state what is included in these kits. Anyways, hope your day was better'n mine. Thanks Hal
Call the lady that owns the store. Her name is Shirlene and ask her for it. She has them and they are only about 5 bucks. Don't damage your wonderful stove with some half concocted junk. She is very nice and would happily receive your call as many of us would testify. Good luck and let us know what she says. Rob
Thanks Rik for at least telling him what shop owner I was referring too. That was critical. I guess it comes from that fact that most of us know what side of the pond is our best choice of local procurement. Evil Shirlene is the proprietor of A&H
Just a little distracted by the thought of the Optimill on eBay I guess Best of luck with the bid Rob, and best of luck with your n. r. v. fettle Hal. Spudz
Thanks for the assistance fellas. I will call Shirlene in the morn. OMG I have had that Optimill on my watchlist for a few days now too! A true thing of beauty isn't it. I could drive to Alberta before auction ends and make em an offer he can't refuse!!! Just kidding. I am sure it will go for more than I can afford at this time, but sure would love to see it all up close. Take care, and bid wisely! Hal
Hey, Hal, Yes, Shirlene and Bob can send you a new valve assembly. But, I think you should go back out and low-crawl through that grass a few more times!! I'll wager your missing valve will turn up! Good luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
Thanks all for the assists. I called and chatted with Shirlene today. Very nice lady. I ordered the whole parts kit and an inner burner cap for the 111. Also ordered various jets, needles, o-rings, keys, and packings for my other Optimus and Primus stoves. Oh, and a cap to go with my extra mini pump. Should be set for hell or high water keeping my 'ol tools o'flame running nicely for some time now. Doc Mark wrote I have tried several times belly crawling in the general vacinity to no avail. However one of my cats is having a great time crawling and searching with me. He must think I am looking for shrews (one of his favorite pastimes) and just has to help and get in my way. Should have this stove up and running again next week. Will try to get my camera working. Hal
