Good morning folks! First post here. I've recently gotten interested in classic stoves again as a result of finally bringing some Svea 123R's back to life that I "inherited" from my father several years ago. Seeing those stoves back in (mostly) working order apparently supercharged my longstanding interest in vintage stoves/lanterns...and I ended up deciding to venture into kerosene territory with the purchase of a 1956 Monitor C11 stove (looks like NOS) and a 1959 Primus 210. If anyone is interested I'd be happy to post pictures if I can figure out how to. Anyway, before I try to fire them up, I'd really appreciate some collective wisdom about what you guys do with old stoves before your first lighting. Both stoves seem to be in pretty good shape and I'd hate to do anything that I'd later regret (like using Brasso on the font, ask me how I know). Long story short, I'd really be interested to hear what kind of steps you guys typically do before first light. I'm thinking that it should be something like: 1) Inspect the stove for damage, missing parts, stress cracks, etc...I've done that and the only problems my newbie eyes see is that the gaskets may be hardened and the pump cups are stiff. I dropped some 3-in-1 oil to the pump cups to loosen them up and am waiting for some new gaskets to arrive for the 210. I'm not sure what gaskets the Monitor C11 needs but will be checking on Fettlebox when the store is back up 2) Close the fuel cap/vent and the font upstand cap and test the NRV by seeing if I can pressurize the font...once I oiled the pump cups it seems to hold at least a little pressure. I could hear a hiss when I opened the fuel cap after pumping it up, and the pump handle seemed to both pressurize on the downstroke and didn't creep back out when I let go. 3) Empty out the font of any loose rattley bits and clean out the inside of the font by putting in some acetone and letting it soak for several hours to dissolve any potential old fuel residue. I haven't done that yet but just got back from the store with 1 quart of kerosene and 1 quart of acetone so I may do that this weekend 4) Assemble the stove, then prime and light, keeping an eye on both the stove and the fire extinguisher that you keep nearby ... So, I submit to you the following...what am I missing? Would you guys wait to replace all gaskets automatically or would you be willing to at least test the stove with the old gaskets? If the NRV seems to operate properly, would you leave it alone or remove and rebuild it? I have time this weekend and some itchy fingers that are dying to see some flame coming out of these but if I need to do more work or wait for more tools/gaskets/parts/etc I'm finally old enough to be patient... There is a huge amount of experience here - I've been reading posts on CCS almost every night for the last month - and although I've searched, and I'm still working my way through the excellent post here: Fettling Tutorials: The Wisdom of the Ancients., I didn't see any posts with this particular question. Any thoughts or insights - or pointers to posts that already answer this - would be welcome and greatly appreciated!
Hi @Peregrinans Welcome to CCS! I do not have a documented procedure for my approach to resurrecting “new to me” or long neglected classic stoves. However I guess I do follow a well defined set of activities when working on a newly acquired stove. Let me present an old post of one of my introductions to such a stove, and my thoughts at the time of what I could/should have done differently: Optimus 45 Tank burst - Todays excitement. Best Regards, Kerophile.
Hi and welcome I don’t claim to be an expert or what I suggest is correct but what I do is I like to see if the stove will run before I get into fettling it so I oil the pump leather and get that working. If the NRV seems to work I then prick the jet. If that isn’t blocked I remove any debris from the tank and give it a rinse with clean kerosine. I borrow any parts I need off other stoves so for example I fired up a2 pint Buflam by borrowing a fuel cap with a good gasket and a flame ring from another stove. Preferably do this outside! I usually have a wet towel ready but I haven’t needed it yet . Then prime it and light it and see what happens If the brand of stove has a known weakness ie stress cracks I may do a dunk test first to check for leaks
Not a good idea if Coleman fuel or equivalent is the fuel however. A leak of kerosene from a weeping burner riser washer in a fired up stove isn’t likely to have fiery consequences, but could do. The more volatile fuel wouldn’t be so forgiving. My approach is to do some detail stripping to inspect components for possible issues and compile a list of repair or replacement of parts. John
Yes I would be more careful with a petrol stove(in fact I only own one and I’ve never lit it) but kerosene is not so volatile and weeping gaskets etc can happen with all new parts or collapsible stoves on reassembly. However you are probably right. I’m just too impatient to play with my new toy.
Thanks to all! Good to know I'm not missing anything obvious. Upon closer inspection the Primus looks to have pliable gaskets and seems to hold pressure, so it's now sitting with a fill of 200 ml of new clean kerosene to soak anything that may be dried out. It looks like the 210 only has two gaskets (one on the filler cap and one on the font cap) and both seem to be in good shape. I don't see any gasket for the burner itself, which looks to have tapered threads like a Svea. I'll check it for any leaks tomorrow morning then try, fingers crossed, to fire it up. A picture for them that like pics: Hopefully that comes through... The Monitor seems to have some weird deposits/corrosion on the inside and harder gaskets so I'll concentrate on the Primus first. Get it fired up, look for any weeping from undetected SCCs, and take it from there... And yes, I'm really careful with gas-fueled stoves like the Svea 123. All new firings happen outdoors with a fire extinguisher handy. Having flames come out from places other than the jet can be nerve-wracking. Watching growing flames coming out of the fuel air tube/fount connection on an old Coleman lantern with the valve fully closed, and realizing that the only way to put it out was to release the pressure by opening the fuel cap, kind of put me off old lanterns a few years ago...but I've apparently regained my nerve. Fingers crossed, hopefully I'll hear some roaring tomorrow before noon. Thanks folks!
If I can get pressure after oiling the pump leather, and there are no obvious leaks, I've never hesitated to light up an older kerosene stove when received. Almost always works pretty well; then upgrade the seals, address the leaks if any, etc.
All good advice here. The only thing I can add is about the pump cups. Rather than just dribbling a few drops into the pump, I like to unscrew the shaft and submerge the pump cup in oil for several hours if the leather is dry. Then massage the leather between thumb and forefingers. This will force the oil into the pores and help to remove any old dried lubricant that may me present. ….Arch
Lots of good advice here, i added a step to my before adding fuel and firing routine, was because when I thought all was good to go, I fueled and fired a 1925 Coleman Quick lite only to find a super small pinhole in the fount. It was so small it was not discovered upon the initial look over. Now i use 2 different methods for finding fuel leaks before adding any fuel whatsoever, with a lantern fount all together with cap on and fuel valve wheel assembly all installed and in closed off position. Pump up, a good 20 pumps, I will either submerge in water in 5 gallon pail or even in sink or tub if need be and look for bubbles, if generator is off hold good finger pressure over this location and open valve wheel to see if packing nut is snugged down enough so no bubbles come out here either, snug down more until bubbles are no longer, also if cap area is bubbling might need a new cap gasket, if fuel pick up tube where its screwed into the fount is bubbling might need thread lock or thread tape here, i like to use thread tape made for gas here, since location is important when screwing these in, if it leaks here without sealer here you have to crank it in another 360 degrees for proper location, this can be harmful to the threads both on the fount and the fuel pick up tube, using sealer here is better for this main reason. If their is a small pin hole in tank side wall or anywhere bottom, top, pickup tube, or cap you will see air bubbles coming out once submerged in water. Another thing you can use if not wanting to submerge your fount or gas tanks is a spray bottle with a couple drops of dish detergent and spray entire areas down want to watch for any bubbles, bubbles means you have air escaping and when fueled with gas will be a fuel leak which leads to a you having a bad day. I was very lucky that day i was using coleman fuel and not gas, i did not find the leaking pin hole for about 15 minutes or so after lantern was lit, i was wondering why my lantern was sitting in a puddle of fuel. Needless to say i was out side so moved the lantern away from where it was lit and put it out immediately until investigating to finding the leak. Now i always check over stoves and lanterns real good with one of these methods.
