Hi, after few (5-6) uses of my primus omnifuel stove I noticed what brassy bell under a flame sreader is deformed. Is it normal for this stove? Will it have some influence on stove performance?
Hi, Burner bells, whether on an Omnifuel, SVEA 123, Optimus 96 etc are soft brass...they can deform easily. Your photo shows only minor deformation and will have no influence on performance whatsoever. Cheers, Rob
looking at it it looks to be intended to stop the spreader moveing. The Dragonfly has slots in the same place to locate the spreader. Other possibility is that the clips on the spreader were too tight. Shouldnt affect things
This deformation seems to be associated with a heat induced expansion of metals and not even thermal conductivity of brassy bell and steel flame spreader. After this deformation flame spreader became loose. Does everybody has such a deformations on their stove ? (after google picture search it seems that other omnifuel stoves is perfectly round)
It's just a camping stove and as stated previously the very minor deformation is nothing to worry about. Just bend it back to shape and the flame spreader will sit on it O.K...then forget about it. Cheers, Rob
Ummmmmm. Maybe it's just me. But, aren't the legs of the flame spreader supposed to be lined up with the legs of the stove? (They are on mine and on every other Omnifuel I've ever seen.) Lining up the legs of the spreader with the legs of the stove will keep the legs of the stove from lighting up to incandescence when the stove is in use. Did the "incorrect" positioning of the flame spreader cause the deformation? I don't know, but it could be worthy of speculation. Perhaps a review of the manual for the stove is in order? As to whether the deformation is an "issue", Rob is a wise fellow and is correct, imo. Cheers, Gary
OI bet the little flame spreader was on so tight at the factory that it put tension on the brass. When softened in the heat, the bell deformed. If this was truly of no fault of your own, then it looks like a defective product and you will have to decide if you are content with this given the fact that this is a high end multifuel stove. Contact Brunton, send them the photos you've taken here, and inquire with them as to whether this is supposed to be happening. I have this stove and have run it non stop at full blast for over an hour before to the point where the top 2/3 of the brass bell was glowing red hot and looked shiny. It is exactly the same shape as when I bought it. So it's not going to just do this on its own. The flame spreader gets loose for me all the time. I just bend it back with pliers. No big deal. One thing mine does not have, which I never considered, is the little key ring in the flame spreader. There's a hole drilled in the cup for the ring, but nothing on the spreader. I will have to put one on. Mine falls off in the bag sometimes. It does seem as though the alignment of the spreader is a bit curious. Did it come in that configuration?
Interesting. It seems Primus (Brunton) as taking lessons from Optimus. My on going problems with Husqvarna chain saws leads me to believe their the teacher. But that's another matter. Is it an issue? No. Will it affect the stoves performance? No. Is it worth email Primus? Yes. Check the pump and check valve too. Not related to the bell but another member has had problems. Jeff
That's exactly what I thought when I saw it. My Omnifuel burner is still round after a lot of use. I doubt it will affect the stove at all but I think you've got a right to be annoyed at it given what the Omnifuel costs! The flame spreader on mine loosens over time too and just needs a little tweak every now and then.
Hi, Did anyone speak to Primus about this? I found this post after mine deformed on its maiden run! Regarding the comments about spreader alignment, Omnifuels now come with that little split ring as pictured above. So the alignment pictured is the factory default and the only one possible with the split ring attached. Mine deformed only on one side only, at least the one above is nice and even! Didn’t really expect this after using MSR stoves for years... not really phased but would like and explanation given the cost of the stove? If this is normal then there should be a note in the manual about it. Has anyone contacted primus? If not I will. Cheers, Stonie.
Hadn't given it a whit of thought, but I'd wager you're more right than any one of us might have realized on this point. OT - I'd like to think I speak for us all, to say we're glad to see you're still with us all here on CCS. Murph
Don’t need to wager… Being a nerd I read the manual fully before lighting it… seems logical to save the legs from direct flame I agree! But the manual clearly shows the spreader offset from the legs (figure 4 and others) Plus as I mentioned, it was in this position out of the box and the split ring prevents any other orientation (but I guess prevents you loosing the spreader too). Cheers, Stonie.
On top of that I just noticed that the picture on the front of the box shows the spreader offset and so does the Primus promo: http://www.primus.eu/Archive/Flash/Primus/Products/OmniFuel_328984.swf
And for completeness, the reply from Primus: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Andrew When you use the stove, the burner gets so hot that the metal softens. In this state it’s easy to get a dent in the burner. This will not affect the performance of the stove, but if the flame spreader doesn’t fit as snug as before you can just bend one of its arms in. Best regards Erik Wirén Primus AB info@primus.se www.primus.se
Bruton distributes this stove in the US. I emailed them. As mentioned above, I too noticed some deformation to the brass and contacted them to inquire about it for the sake of trivia. Their response was that it is normal, common, and has no effect on the performance. I don't see see any way to prevent the situation even if you wanted. If the metal expands when its hot, and also softens, then in order to have the flame spreader remain snug, you will incur some changes.
Agreed, but Primus could easily prevent it, this doesn't seem to happen on older omnifuels so they must have changed something. Considering the price tag, it is pretty poor. Dan
I wonder what brass formulation they changed to as my newish omnifuel had similar deformations. Though I did remove some of the pressure from the flame spreader by loosening it when I purchased the stove. I just have a minor deformation on one section of the burner and I'm going to try to fixe it with my torch and some tools this weekend. I did notice my newer novas have a similar deformation problem....
I was going to say that maybe a batch of too tight spreaders went out, but M Scout's post puts that theory to bed. No deformation with my quite new Omni (came in the current style packaging, so not too long from the factory).
You might be right. I only loosened the spreader so I could rotate it somewhat and that may still have been a bit tight...especially if brass expands more than steel when heated. My deformation isn't noticeable when the spreader is on and I haven't noted any changed to the flame. Perhaps if I loosened it a bit more the bell wouldn't have changed shape...
Just noticed this threed - my Omnifuel has also deformed due to too tight spreader. Doesn't affect the use of the stove but as someone has said for what these things cost, shouldn't happen.
