A Primus No. 96 L, dated 1939 (AD), nickeled. In slightly used but good condition. Seems complete including the lighting instructions/packing image card (in Swedish), no spirit tin or original box. This one with the optional silent damper No. 4200 and her roarer plate. Lighting instructions card placed inside a ziplock for storage/protection. Stove setup in her default roarer configuration. Each of her 3 pot legs with the 'scaling' presumably to help reduce pot movement. Two piece nickeled, cylindrical wire hinged draughshield labelled 'PRIMUS MADE IN SWEDEN'. Spanner stamped 'SWEDEN', Primus pricker 4122 (.23 mm), Vap tube stamped 'AD 1' on one hex face and 'PRIMUS SWEDEN' on another, 'PRIMUS SWEDEN' stamped burner plate, 'PRIMUS' and 'SWEDEN' stamped burner bell with flame logo, 'PRIMUS METAL' silent damper 'No. 4200', unlabeled nickeled spirit dish. Standard duplexed lighting instructions. Packing image on the other. Deployed with steel silent damper No. 4200 (available in brass as well). The un-notched 2 piece silent damper would sit in a grove within the burner bell. Brass burner bell with the extended neck flange to help prevent it sliding down the vap tube during operation. Comparing it to a burner bell from a 1927 Primus 97 without the extended neck flange. With these types there is a strong risk that the burner bell will slide down and get stuck on the vap tube during operation, so the use of a thin metal shim is advisable. Fount stamping includes 'PRIMUS No. 96'. Brass pump rod, knurling on rounded unlabelled flat-faced pump knob and cap. Standard 'TRADE MARK PRIM-MUS' with stove logo. Knurling on unlabeled fuel cap and vent screw. Folding feet, no dents or dings on fount, plating in excellent condition. Underside of fount stamped AD 2 (1939) Colorful but fragile tin in good condition. Front with hand grip loop and clasp that would fit into thin slot in upper lid. Back of tin. Both sides with the PRIM-MUS logo. Inside tin rust-free During the initial air pressure tests the both the NRV and the fuel cap were passing air. The NRV removed (no washer) and the original cork PIP replaced with new one cut from 1/8th" viton. NRV spring was fine, NRV replaced back into stove with lead washer. The pump leather was fine, only needed to be oiled (sewing machine oil). Cut out and replaced the dried original gasket in her fuel cap with newly cut viton equivalent. Lead washer in her burner hole was in good condition, left as-is. 1/2 filled with kerosene, priming with spirit (methyl hydrate) in her default roarer condition. Heating up 600 ml kettle for green tea. After water had boiled turned stove off. Waited a few minutes for her burner parts to cool, removed and replaced with silent damper. Primed, lit and running with silent damper. The Primus No. 96 are attractive stoves with a small footprint, lightweight and perform well. They were one of Primus's longest manufactured models and underwent only a few 'minor' design changes over their production life. The smaller sister to the larger 97, they are best suited for solo trips due to their small size, lowered fuel capacity, and restrictions on the weight and surface area of pot they can safely support. They came in at least 4 designations, 3 of which included a tin (/4, sp and L). The 'sp' (sport) version had the most robust case (hardened thick steel) the others were weak tin. Their tins also went through modifications throughout their production, in both size, layout and design. The 96's have a fair heat range and simmer well (cooked basmatti rice, 25 minute simmer time, without issues), especially when enabled with the silent damper (more uniform consistent heat pattern). Their max heat output is a little underwhelming comparing her to larger stoves, but considering the size of pot and group they were manufactured to support and cater to, its more than adequate. The instructions and all other fragile/degradable paper documents, sleeves, etc that come with such items, are unfolded, placed in size to match ziplock(s) and stored in a dry safe shaded place (bookshelf in my case).
And this is exactly how a presentations should be The only "problem" with these excellent posts is me getting greedy and want more stoves Thanks for sharing and educating us Best regards Stoveuser
A 75 year old 96 and looking like new. A Primus 96 was the first stove I ever bought - I still have it. They are a great stove and very reliable as long at the lipstick jet hole is treated with care. They are perfect for a day's walking or weekend camping for one or two people - which is how I used mine. Yours is a wonderful one. Why? It is nickel plated and I love the nickel plated stoves. I wish I had more. Just a quick wipe with a cloth and they look bright and shiny. You also have the silent cap. When I bought my 96 I did not even know there was a silent cap - but that was 42 years ago!
three thing i love about this -- Chrome plate -- silent cap -- windscreen .... oh well , i think i love it all , i want more stove now
Hi SMolson what a beautiful example a real stunner. I love the look of these beautiful nickel plaited stove. But every time I see one posted on here I feel like kicking my self, as I remember turning my nose up, at a nickel plaited 96 in beautiful condition, back in the early 90's because it was not brass at the time was not really a stove collector just blowlamps. And in them days they were not valued as they are today, the one I turned my nose up at I believe the seller only wanted £5.00 at the time LOL
Thank you and the nickel plating certainly is nice and easy clean, much more tolerant and stain resistant compared to brass, but does not age with the same patina of course. The 96's are good stoves and filled a niche market for those traveling light weight and/or groups of 2 or less. Their production longevity is proof enough of their popularity (along with all the competing models). I like the easy clean feature of their vap tubes, and as Trevor says treat the jet hole carefully and you'll get decades (century?) of good service. I don't like the cylindrical draughtshields, they don't go high up enough to protect the flame and tend to slide around on the fount. So I've made one from a can as shown here . edit: I like the look of these draughshields and they do nest perfectly inside their tins, but in winds I find they do not provide any protection of the bell or flame.
Hi SMolson, If you look at the top of the windshield each half has a lip folded inwards. IIRC this allows the assmbled windshield to hang from the top of the burner bell giving much better protection from wind when priming and retaining heat in the bell to improve thermal transfer to the lipstick. Regards John
Hi John You are quite correct in that type of windshield is intended to hang from the burner. But its size lets it hang from the gallery of a roarer burner like a 210. When closed, the 'hole' at the top of the windshield is too small to hang from the burner of a 96. In fact the burner bell has to be removed before the windshield can be placed on the 96 - unless it is a larger sized windshield than that supplied with the 210.
Hi John, As Trevor replied, that type of draughtshield will not fit around or hang from the burner. Even if you open it up and try to perch it on the rim, it won't work. I don't know of a larger version of this type, the 210's came with the same model as shown above. The sectional flat-panelled draughtshields were available of course, but these had their own issues. Primus made larger cylindrical draughtshields for their domestic burners, but these do not collapse. Stove parts individually sleeved and case lined with thin closed cell foam for protection. The Primus 96 beside the 97 for comparison purposes.
Hi Please excuse my ignorance in the size of the windshield here. I have used the 210 version successfully so assumed that 96s would work the same. It does seem daft that something that works so well on a 210 wasn't followed up properly for the lipstick version for the sake of a new part number for a slightly larger version (but on the smaller stove!!) I spent some time looking through the catalogues in the reference section last night and didn't find any examples where this style of windshield is shown fitted to any stove, 210 or 96. Regards John
