Hi, here are some images of a little-used,1939, Primus No 5 stove. It is fitted with an unusual, bowl- shaped spirit cup, which I believe is original. You can see how such a shape might give a more focused pre-heat flame for the burner, but it must have been quite difficult to fabricate. You might also have noticed that the spirit cup has failed with a large through crack ( probably caused by a stress-corrosion mechanism) running up the wall. Has anyone else seen a spirit cup design like this? Regards, Kerophile.
As thick as the metal is in that cup, I'm led to think it's probably a "field expedient" replacement of the original, which went missing. Strictly conjecture, of course. All the spirit cups on all of my stoves are of the "standard" pattern as are all the ones in pictures I've seen. There's some difference in sizes, but the shapes are all very similar. Gerry
Is it just me or doesn't it look a little like it was made out of an old door knob? Think about it, the hole for the key is dead center, has the same shape, and would make a wonderful spirit cup. Thickness seems about right too. Food for thought. I might head off the local hardware store and see if I can't find a suitor. Evil
Another little hint that it's not original is the wrench flats on the riser tube are huddled, cowering down inside there like they're frightened of something. Gerry
The very first thing that came to my mind ... but since I'm only at page 23 of "An Introduction to Stove Fetling" then I consider myself less than a novice on this topic. Spudz
Einstein once used the quote; "Everyone has to sacrifice at the altar of stupidity from time to time". Thanks to everyone who commented..... On reflection it does look like a piece of a door-knob and of course it almost totally obstructs the wrench-flats of the burner! I have today put a proper spirit cup on the stove, replaced the pump-leather and it should now be good for another 67years! Regards, Kerophile.
