Hi here are some photos of a two-pint Parasene paraffin pressure stove in its characteristic box. Parasene might not have made the best classic stoves, but their cases were first class, being made of heavier gauge steel than most manufacturers "boxes": This stove has a number of interesting features: 1. It uses the roarer burner, originally patented by Townson and Coxson, which allows top access to the jet. 2. The feet have been made of copper tube rather than brass. 3. It has a neat little door in the windshield. 4. It doesn't have a reserve cap at the moment, so carrying paraffin in the tank once the stove has been collapsed will be problematical. Best Regards, Kerophile.
I presume the copper feet are home made, the other 2-pint collapsables in the gallery have brass legs? Unless Parasene had some stock of copper tubing to use up. It still looks a well proportioned and smart stove... But: It seems to me that all British stoves lack the elegance of their Swedish counterparts, rarely having elaborate engraving and some components can be poorly formed or assembled. Indeed the knurling on a couple of mine have been done with a poorly centered tool or part, and coarse maching marks point to lower production quality. Many British designs have components such as filler caps or pump knobs which look ungainly and are far heavier or bigger than necessary, adding to the weight for no benefit. Still make a good fry up though! And British stoves have their charm in their own way.
Hello Kerophile. I do like the stove and the red tin. The top access to the jet makes it a lot easier to remove the jet if needed. Did you have any trouble removing it, or did you even have to? And I relly like the small door for the windscreen as well.
Hi Blackdog, The copper feet are a factory fit, check out this other, later, Parasene stove: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/4755 Copper pipe would be cheaper than brass and maybe they picked up a job-lot at a good price? As to the quality of British stoves, it is difficult to generalise. Some were undoubtedly "made to a price" in an attempt perhaps to undercut Swedish imports. On the other hand they are generally robust, made of good quality brass and 'do the job'. We Brits are perhaps too hard on ourselves: "...a prophet hath no honour in his own country." John 4:44. Ed likes his Parasene, and its nice red suitcase Best Regards, Kerophile.
George, an impeccable post and a joy to read, with some fascinating points you and Blackdog have raised about stove quality. I recall I've a Primus (I can't remember the model number right now) built down to a price and that's admitted in the contemporary brochure, where the gauge of brass in the tank is thinner to make the stove more affordable. Sadly it resulted in stress cracks in my example. Now, I'd rather have a bit of dodgy knurling and the plastic knob of the Parasene than a tank of metal so thin that after a mere seventy years (!!!) it develops stress cracks. Again, my compliments George, on a grand contribution to CCS. John
Oops someone diddn't look hard enough! You are propably right, and I doubt running copper pipe through the machines rather than brass would give any difficulties, the yield strength of copper is a smidgeon below that of alpha-brasses. And I believe they absorb heat at almost exactly the same rate (thinking in terms of soldering them on). Regarding quality, I was in no way targeting your stove. Prehaps the word "finish" would have been better. The Swedish companies did make budget versions of some of their stoves which obviously had their advantages if money was tight, but the majority of Swedes not only work well but look elegant. There is seldom any excessive mass of brass which is not required, there is a wealth of fine detail and smooth curved bevels on components are commonplace. A large number of British stoves are very well made, perform well and are very sturdily built. It just seems that no effort went in at the design stage to make them elegant or particularly attractive, and this may indeed be to keep cost down vs. foreign imports. Then again it might be because they're British, and although something of a stereotype, British engineering in many cases was heavy, inefficient, with few refinements but did the job, and well too. It is difficult to explain, I'll take some photos and spout rubbish in another thread another time!
Nice outfit George,love the fettle friendly burner head. At one time 'BRITISH MADE' was a sign of a quality products. The few Brit stoves I own are built like tanks. The Monitor C11 is one of my favorites,lacks the fancy engraving but makes up with 'BRITISH MADE' pressed into the tank. Think I might go and fire the C11 up and cook my breakfast on it. Thanks. Cheers Tim
Love that box and the burner head removal option. Do those legs have a reverse bend to them where they enter the copper?
Hi Doug, here is a post dedicated to this type of burner: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/17814 Yes, as you spotted, these legs do indeed have a reverse bend where they finally locate into the copper feet. Until a few weeks ago sets of very similar legs were being offered as NOS by some sellers. Alas I fear stocks are now exhausted. Best Regards, Kerophile.
“ … Did any other manufacturers use this design of wind sheild with a door”? Short answer, yes. Radius, RM… there may be more. Tony
@Tony Press when I picked up the haul last week i remember seeing a touring stove with a wind sheild with a door on it but i didn't get it. Just wondering who else made wind sheilds with doors or did the seller swap them around. I have 2 parasene but both have a1 piece wind sheild
