Brassnipplekey (Nick) was the inspiration to track down a Primus 2252 and in due course Chickenthief (Henrik) happened along with a complete example that worked , unlike Nick's, which was missing the fuel cell. I'll second what Nick and Henrik had to say about the stove - it's impracticable, immensely heavy, requires recharging far too quickly and must have cost Primus dearly in terms of manufacturing costs far outweighing income from sales. I've partially dismantled it here to expose the 'plumbing', which includes the smallest gas regulator I've ever seen The rechargeable fuel cell, made of thick steel, takes a charge of around 90 grammes of butane/propane mixture. In theory, that should be good for about an hour's use on maximum heat. In practice, Henrik got about 35 minutes of use out of his. I've yet to test mine on that score. Fits easily in the hand and has around the same capacity as the gas cartridges for a Campingaz Rando stove Here's the refilling adaptor for the stove It screws onto a donor gas cartridge ... ... and upturning the donor on the Primus fuel cell, then pressing down on the donor (cigarette lighter refuelling fashion) results in liquefied gas transferring from the donor to receiving cart - especially quick if the latter's been cooled in the freezer for ten minutes and the donor's at hand heat The brass burner rose is pretty massive, in size and weight terms and the jet nipple has a much larger diameter exit hole than is usual for a gas camp stove in which a fine jet size regulates the fuelling. With this Primus, the built-in regulator takes care of that, so there's no flaring or over-rich running Control valve has a push-detent from 'off' to 'on' to prevent accidental switching on. There's a max and a min (simmering setting) with their own positive stops, which makes regulating the flame size very easy and sure, with no risk of inadvertently shutting off when switching to simmer Perfect, steady, max and min settings The regulator is the key component to achieve that measure of flame control The fuel cell is tested way above the stove operating pressure - a factor of a thousand-fold in terms of the safety margin evidently O-ring seals, screw fitting to the stove inlet coupling The stainless steel and aluminium casing houses a piezo sparker, which has ignited the gas first time every time so far Reassembly underway TO BE CONTINUED John
Heavy-gauge aluminium and stainless steel pot supports in the windshield The lower extensions on the pot supports click-lock onto the stove base Like so. Two 1 1/2 litre pans, a frying pan. Pot gripper and a stuff sack (out of shot) make up the set The pot gripper provides a handy docking place for the refuelling adaptor. Of course, that could have resulted in 'lose one, lose the other with it' Stowage arrangements Pot and kettle options (a Primus Litech kettle fits perfectly) Final flame shots, simmer and max John
As usual, a great post John. That must be one of the most over complicated/engineered stoves around. I wonder what the intended market was? Hikers would have been put off by the weight and having to lug around the means to recharge the fuel cell and it is far too complex for picnickers and casual campers. Very neat stowage arrangement though . Terry
Good question, Dave, regarding the 'swing out foot'. It's the device that holds the pot gripper in place when stowed, but when the fuel cell is in use (screwed into the gas fitting) the 'foot' is obliged to swing outboard from the base and won't clear the raised base of the fuel cell to swing inboard and out of the way. Something of an afterthought and a design quirk. Yes indeed, Terry, although with a date of April 1982 on the fuel cell ... ... it has contemporary competition in that respect from this British Townson and Coxon ... ... and this Optimus Rider Nick weighed his example of the Primus 'Pro' and pronounced it as being heavy but he didn't have the fuel cell or the pots. Here's a graphic example of just how heavy the darned thing is. On the left-hand pan of the scales: Primus 2252 and Litech kettle, weighing together just two ounces less - note the 2oz weight with the Primus to get the scales just teetering on the balance point. On the right-hand pan of the scales: Trangia 25 and 27 sets together, including their kettles Your points were well made, no appeal for hikers and of dubious attraction to anyone else ... until it landed with me. It'll get used, but not very far from the car! John
My mistake, I was forgetting that the Townson and Coxon military stove is thirty years older than the Primus, so not a contemporary. John
Hi, John, This is an outstanding post, of a stove I've never seen, nor heard of, before!! As has been said, "over-engineered and over-built" seems to have been the watch word on this one. Almost as if the "bean counters" in the accounting department all took a holiday, and left the engineers in charge!! It turned out to be one of those, "Hey, what would happen if we took one of these, and added it to one of those, and then....." types of propositions, from appearances!! Made just to see if they could do it, maybe? Whatever the reasons, it's really neat to see such a thing, and from your later post, see it in action on a lovely day hike in the UK!!! Thanks, as always, for the always interesting and informative posts, John!! Well done, and much appreciated!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Mark
Thanks, Doc. You've hit the nail on the head concerning the accountants losing control somehow! Dave Gibson asked, I couldn't offer a reason why in first attempting an answer to that question, but having used the stove on the hike (jog actually) that Doc referred to I see that it acts as a visual reminder not to leave behind the pot gripper and refilling adaptor. Like I said earlier, the flipper won't swing inboard with the fuel cell in use, something that would be awkward (and obvious) when attempting to pack the stove, hopefully prompting the user to remove the fuel cell and reunite the pot gripper (refuelling adaptor screwed in place) in the stove housing, swinging the flipper back inboard to hold the pot gripper in place. Ingenious. John
Hi John Really great post 8) Most impressive & interesting line up of stoves 8) Great work as usual 8) , very impressed 8) Best regards Stu
I just got this premus from my parents, they bought it in 1983 and it has only been used a few times. After bringing it with me to all the shops I thought could help me I understand that it is a pretty rare primus and nobody had gas containers og the large refill cartaridge to sell. Does anyone know if it is possible to get this to run on normal gas containers with some adjustments?
You’ll see from my feature on the stove that you need this refilling adaptor, which was included with the stove ... ... stowed by screwing onto a threaded stub on the pot lifter. That screws onto a regular gas cart ... ... which is used to refill the stove’s gas cart. To “... get this to run on normal gas containers with some adjustments” is to bypass that process.
Hi There! I'm new on the forum (if there is any "presentation topic" to do, please tell me and I'll do so!), and also pretty new in the stove collection (started a couple of months ago). I had the chance to find and buy a 2252 that arrived yesterday, and so far I'm happy to have it. It came uncomplete (missing the pot gripper, the refill adapter and the gas canister, so I can't use it for now), and the two pots have big dents on it. So here are my questions: 1. Did anyone managed to replace the pot system by another one, for example with pots from an alcohol storm stove, which is very similar in terms of pot design? 2. Is it hard to find canisters? It seems to be, so if anyone here has a spare one to sell, I'll be glad to buy it! Thanks a lot, Bastien.
Hi John, I tried to refill a 2252 canister, and couldn't get more than 30 gr of fuel in it. I didn't do the frozen receiver / warm donor trick, do you think this could help to get about three times the amount of gas I managed to put in it?
@blabast88 There needs to be a temperature differential, which creates an internal pressure differential between the receiving canister (low) and donor (high). I don’t feeze the receiving canister (it could cause the lindal valve to stick) but stand the donor canister in about a 30mm depth of hot water for a minute or two.
@presscall thanks for the tip. When you say "hot water", what does this mean? Something like 50 degrees hot, or more / less?
@blabast88 About that, yes. Ideally, get the receiving canister cold, just not freezing. Refrigerator and not freezer would do it.
@presscall thanks for your answer. Well, I did my homework and checked the box of the 2252. The canister is supposed to hold approximately 40 gr of gas (see attached picture below). I was pretty surprised that I could only get 30 gr on the total amount of 90 gr, but finally, 30 out of 40 is not bad... That is a game changer: finally this stove has a normal / an average fuel consumption, and is not a thirsty thing burning 90 grams in barely more than 30 minutes...
I was wondering about something: as this stove seems to have been released in 1982, was it some kind of technical improvement / anniversary stove for the 100 years of primus? I mean, a product supposed to bring something new and to hit the market in that special year? Another thing: is it possible that Primus have made, like for the Super Trekker 2246, some partnership with Trangia for the pots, or maybe with another brand? Or is it too special and they made everything in the Primus factory?
