My collection of 111s, some of which need attention. Left; mid 1950s 111 (kero) in light green, embossed tin with white control knob. Slotted safety valve. Flame ring and burner head marked Optimus, Sweden. Second left; 1974 111 (kero), plain tin with sticker, pump has leather. Flame ring marked Sweden, Sweden. Burner head marked Made in Sweden. Second right; early 1980s multi-fuel 111T. Plain tin with label. Surprisingly with O ring on pump. Neck of pump tube is shorter than others. Right; late version 111T with embossed tin. Pump has O ring. Multi-tool control spindle.
Now that's a collection. My stove sin is mixing up parts. I have the 111T but at some point the gasket on the fuel cap went dry and I took one off an older stove with the slot on the cap and used it. Parts got mixed on more a few stoves and I have a box of wrenches that I have no idea of what stove they are for...
Hi RC, nice family! Which are your favorites, the roarers or silents? I have 3 roarers and 1 silent, my favorite is the old N°11 roarer. Throws out the most heat! Best regards, Wim
Thanks Wim. The only one I have used so far is the late 111T. I like silent burners as they are kinder to the neighbours when brewing up in the garden or campsite. I am keeping the blue 111 in unfired (by me at least) condition. The other two have just arrived with me and need some work on them. The green 111 needs lots of work but I think may become my favourite. I will probably sell one of the 111Ts once I have decided which is best.
lol Chef, there is something that feels 'showgirly' about the images, especially if you scroll fast downward - very nice. lol Dave. That can easily happen so I can sympathize. It's a lot of time/effort to keep things organized and together. But who knows if those parts were original with the stove or not, the previous owner(s) could have mix-matched them up as well, so you'll never be 100% sure in most cases. I agree with Wim, in terms of roarers I've found the 11 also put out the most heat comparing her boil time with the 111 roarers. Not sure if that's just random chance or by design, I'll need to do more testing... My favorite in this group is the 111T's though. I'd keep both, use the more modern version (furthest right) and keep the other as backup. Her tank is already dinged and inside case scraped up, perfect for a user. It looks like her safety valve is screwed in fairly deep though, odd that. A Friskies can of cat food (empty/cleaned) makes a perfect burner pre-heater/windshield for the T missing hers. Just need to cut it to size from the bottom, like this:- one
Thanks for the heads up on the SRV, I had just assumed it was a different sort of cap. I'd better have a look at that.
Thats some nice looking 111s you've got there. Also have some myself, NOS 111 and NOS 111T which I will probably never use. Also have a 111 and a 111T which I often use, well, mostly use the 111T at winter though. Use the silent burner because of the much louder noise from the 111. The 111 have performed miserably on boiling tests with both petrol and kerosene. Guess it is something which is blocking the fuel at the filter or somewhere in the tubes in the burner. Luckily the guy I bought it from also gave me a NOS 111T burner for free so think I will convert it in to a silent burner if I can't fix the 111. Could you perhaps do some boiling tests and see which one is fastest? Edit- Also have posted images of my stoves on the stove reference gallery. Not the NOS 111T though.
Will do Kristian. I need to fettle the green 111 first. Now I have had a good look at it there is quite a list of things to do. The pump leather was stuck and has torn off in the tube (currently soaking in olive oil), the pump spring is missing (did they have them in the 1950s?), the jet is missing, the needle is broken and the graphite packing has worn away. It's keeping me busy at the moment.
