Dear Community, Found this amazing piece in a tiny antique store in Italy. The seller couldn´t tell me anything (year/usage/if it works etc), I would like to know which year is it from, couldn´t find out much from internet research, but would guess from 1932? One tank is already (minimum optical not well) fixed, I would like to test the oven but have no idea about the function. Do I have to use Kerosene or are there better/newer options? I know it´s a lot, but any hint/link to a page where I can find out more would be helpful. Thank you a lot! Isabell
Welcome Isabell, wow, what a find! As you will have seen there are not many surviving examples of these cast iron ranges. The key to a date is the letter stamped within a circle on the end of the tanks, visible above the word 'PRI-#-MUS' in image 1711. I can't quite make it out, is it an R? This would mean 1927, see dating chart here. Do both tanks have the same date code? If so, that would suggest they are original. The burners are replacements, manufactured by business rival Radius. The stove is preheated with alcohol in the spirit cups below the burners, and runs on kerosene, in the UK premium paraffin would be the choice, I'm sure a continental member will advise about fuel terminology in your country. The stove would benefit from a service before attempting to light it- New seals for the filler caps, non-return valve seals, and most likely new leather pump cups. Sizes will be the same as for other common paraffin stoves so they will be easy to obtain.
Oh thank you a lot! Yes, I saw it and was straight up in love and felt that could be a rarity, so I bought it right-away, even if I cannot make it work it´s gonna be decorative anyway. Checked it up, there´s a P5 stamped on both of them, so I assume 1926 regarding to the dating chart, if I understand correctly? Or does the 5 stand for 50´s ? Just found a youtube video for the function/usage for a single one, but the mechanism seems to be the same. But first I am gonna clean/polish/replace gums/seals and then I´ll see If I got the courage to test.
There is plenty of knowledge and friendly advice here, so there is every chance it can be brought back to life. The only concern is the tank with the soldered repairs, it seems to have suffered stress cracks in the past, hopefully the repair was successful and the other tank is sound. You're right about 1926 being the year of manufacture. The '5' is some sort of production marking used internally within Primus, the exact meaning is not yet known. The process of lighting and operating will be exactly the same as for a single burner stove. As you say, first replace the filler cap seals, and fit new pump leathers if needed (very likely).There is a chance the non-return valve (NRV) seals are the original cork items, and they may revive with some oil dripped down the pump tubes. It's your stove to do whatever you like with, but do consider conserving the finish of the brasswork rather than polishing. It is a rare stove and only original once, it has taken nearly a century to gain such a beautiful weathered look. There is a growing movement in leaving such objects cosmetically unrestored, I'll readily admit I'm keen to promote it! Anyway, keep the questions coming, it would be great to see this range in action again! I've just noticed I called it a cast iron range in my previous post, which it obviously isn't... I'm getting mixed up with another thread.
You can not imagine how excited and happy I am about your responses! And yes, I am a real fan of the original patina, so i will reduce the cleaning/polishing to a necessary minimum. For sure there will come up more questions while I´m doing it. I´ll keep you posted and show my progress, gonna take a while regarding my full-packed time-schedule, but I can´t wait to start this challenging project. Thank you guys for the very helpful,detailed and kind responses!
Although I'm personally quite partial to shiny brass, I think Blackdog has the right idea about polishing, at least initially. Most brass polishes contain ammonia, which I've learned can cause stress cracks. Since you don't know the history of this gem, it's best be cautious about seriously damaging it in the quest to make it look all shiny & new. There was a long discussion somewhere about the appropriate materials to use if that's what you ultimately decide to do.
Yes, given that by the appearance of the repairs, one of the tanks has already experienced stress cracks. It would be a good precaution to keep ammonia-containing proucts away from the stove- not just polishing but cleaning products too. @Izzy41087 Just some thoughts on the No.514- it's a bit unusual being a stove designed for domestic cooking but fitted with roarer burners. When you get yours running you'll discover how loud they are in use, a disadvantage in a household kitchen. The first paraffin pressure stoves had roarer burners, which were ideal outdoor use as they were noisy but are less affected by wind. When effective silent burners were developed they soon became the popular choice for indoor cooking and soon the majority of stoves sold for domestic cooking had silent burners, and many earlier stoves with roarer burners had silent burners fitted later in life. We do a lot of our cooking on paraffin stoves in our household- the females much prefer to use silent burners as they don't interfere with conversation, they will be the first to admit! In the 1920s the range offered by Primus was enormous- they were attempting to cover every possible market, and no doubt many models were unprofitable, as the products offered were rationalised in time. There would have been some limited situations where the simplicity and wind resistance of the roarer burners of the No.514 would have been useful, and the noise not a problem. Outdoor catering perhaps... The No.518 was fitted with silent burners from new- no doubt they sold in larger numbers as more seem to have survived.
