Hi all. I see that people are satisfied with their Svea 123's. Why is that ? I mean, what is so special about this stove? Since it does not have a pump, it could be difficult to pressurize I imagine, especially in cold and/or windy weather? The pressure surely must drop as the fuel level drops, no? It must be topped up all the time? And it works only with white gas fuels and not kerosene? But I like the smallish and light design. Are there different types? Should I have one ? Michael
Small, light weight, reliable, it is self presurising, and if it is all that cold, and/or you just want a pump, Brunton makes a dandy lil gem for about $25 US
A great stove; petrol only. Self-pressurizes and does not need to be "topped up" until refueling time. It can be started nicely in the cold, but in extreme cold the minipump helps. Petrol, being so much more volatile than kero, gives the self-pressure with the hot stove. You should definitely have one, especially with the Sigg cook kit:
last proper stove for automobile petrol mechanical cleaning needle inside is its real advantage magnetic, shaking and vibration needle cleaning in morden stoves are just for fun Must have!
Thanks all. But surely automotive petrol should not be used in stoves due to it's high content of benzene, which is highly cancerogenic? Michael
Hey, Michael, I must agree with the others, except on one point: I NEVER use auto fuel in any of my stoves!! Some of our European Stove Brothers have had good luck with EU gas, but our US gasoline will kill your stove in no time, flat!!! It has way too many additives, and none of them are good for either your stove, or your head!! Stick with Coleman fuel, or the panel wipe that our UK Mates use, and you will find the SVEA 123 a fantastic little stove! I prefer the older SVEA 123's without the internal cleaning needle. But, the new ones, the 123R version, are very good, too, and well worth having! Hope that answers your questions. Now, go out and find yourself a wonderful SVEA 123, AND a 123R, and while you're at it, be sure to follow Brother Ed's suggestion, and get a Sigg Tourist cookset, too! Though sometimes hard to find, the SVEA 123 and that cookset, are a match made in heaven!!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Doc is right, of course. But since Michael is located in Norway, I would suggest regular alkylate petrol. Statoil has a nice one that I use myself in everything for lightning and heating purpose. Just don't get the one meant for two-strokes by mistake! For obvious reasons... But just as Grigoriy said: "in some plaсies there is no other fuel at all"! /Christer
Hey, Christer, Many thanks for weighing in on this one! Great input, and from someone who knows the ropes over there in Sweden and Norway! That's the wonderful thing about CCS: We take care of each other, and try to help each other have safe and satifying experience with our stoves!! Thanks, again, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Thanks Doc, you're very kind! If really clean fuel is wanted, there's this thing called Heptan here (not sure about Norway). It's much more expensive than the alkylate petrol, but since it's very clean, it's also supposed to be even kinder to the burner (and the closest environment). Is to be found in paint stores. /Christer
The only thing simpler than a 123 is a trangia burner. For a long distance hike the lack of a pump or a need for a pump can be considered an advantage in reliability. Also the lower output of the stove is miserly on fuel. The size of the tank is adequate for normal cooking. I nver noticed a problem with fuel tank size until i got my 8r. Now THAT is a small tank! It's not such a hard thing to get into the habit of topping it up before you use it each time. I could probably get through 2 meals on a fill up but i like the peace of mind that i won't burn up the wick.
Spudz was the first (I think) to put up a post about Aspen 4T, its the same stuff as you mention, Alkylate petrol, and it burns very clean. I managed to get some, and am very happy with the results. The company that sells it in the UK is trying to get some outdoor stores to stock it as stove fuel (according to the nice guy from the company I spoke to). This will replace panel wipe as my Coleman alternative in the future without doubt.
Yes, Aspen is the same, but it's a tad bit more expensive. Atleast every time I have compared. From what I've read, there are some Statoil stations that actually sell their alkylate petrol on pumps at a price not much over the regular petrol for cars. Or perhaps if it was at stations in the marinas? I must check this up! /Christer
I have investigated about Aspen 4T alkylate gasoline. I have an e-mail from the manufacturer saying that it contains, among other nasty substances, 0.01% benzene. Ordinary pump fuel in Norway contains 1% benzene. That surely means alkylate fuel is still hazardous to use for cooking, even if it's much less so than ordinary gas? The manufacturer said their fuel was suited to use for stoves, however I am not entirely convinced... For the time beeing I buy camping fuel that seems to be pure heptan, however at $20 per liter it's quite expensive! Michael
If you're determined to go for Heptan, go for the one sold in the paint shops. That's atleast much more inexpensive than the Heptan sold as camping fuel...
Wood fires are very nice at camp sites, but if you're that concerned about even tiny, tiny amounts of benzene, you should probably keep away! Burning wood is a big source of benzene to the air. Just as tobacco smoke...
