UKH

After having a bit of a tidy up at the weekend I've relocated an old stove i haven't used in a while

It's an optimus 8R, a liquid fuel stove "in a box" that i bought probably late 80's / early 90's

it's been in a storage crate minus fuel for at least 10 years.

so my questions are...
1) is there anywhere other than ebay from japan i can buy a servicing kit for it (o-rings etc)?
2) how can i test it without blowing myself up? (was thinking, prime it with meths, using a smallish amount of coleman white gas in the tank and lighting it with an extended match
3) is fixing it a waste of time? (was thinking i might just leave it in the boot of the car with an old pot, bottle of water, bottle of fuel and some tea bags / cuppa soups to use in emergencies)

any thing else i should consider before i open my wallet?

thanks

In reply to rallymania:
my dad always goes on about how good his one of these was, always about how reliable it was and how it would be up and running long before everyone else's stoves. You may not even need to replace anything, I'd give it a go outside and see if it leaks. My only issues with our plan for the car are that the water could go a bit mingin if left there a long time and storing fuel could be hazardous.
You could possibly solve the water issues by chucking in a chlorine tab before sealing it to keep anything from growing and if you kept the fuel in a proper fuel container like a sigg bottle or a trangia bottle it may be ok.

In reply to gethin_allen:

good points... water would be swopped out before any long journeys (i don't commute by car just now)
fuel would be in a sig style bottle not in the stove itself.

re the stove my concern is the fuel filler cap on the tank has a rubber o-ring and i'm pretty sure there's another o-ring at the throttle.

yeah might just head to a beach at the weekend and fire it up... and stand well back just in case.

In reply to rallymania:

I still use a brass Primus stove if I'm canoe camping, it must be at least 50 yrs old, I bought it from a second hand shop 25 yrs ago.

In reply to rallymania:
Fixing these stoves is almost always possible, and generally worthwhile.

The folks over at http://www.spiritburner.com are probably good people to ask for advice. There are a couple of guys there who manufacture and sell spares as well.

I got a bunch of spare o-rings, NRV pips etc from one of them a while ago.

On the not blowing yourself up front, just do it at the bottom of the garden at arms length. They have a hight tech emergency overheat valve in the filler cap (in the form of a blob of solder), so the worst that is likely to happen is a jet of flame from the fuel tank.

In reply to butteredfrog:

Spares try base_camp.com.uk

In reply to rallymania:

The stoves have a loyal following for their reliability in the cold and for the exciting flare ups that can occur when provoked. I would definitely get it going. It may well work fine but, if not, the previously mentioned spiritburner website has a page devoted to servicing this model. Some parts you can make yourself so I would not buy any until you know what, if anything, you need. They advise checking the cap washer is still soft and supple. If it is hard and brittle, a serviceable replacement may be cut from an old washing-up liquid bottle.

In reply to all:

right, new video project for me then.

will check the capwasher as per matt's recommendation
ahve registered on spiritburner and just read a full how to on checking the cap washer and wick so will look into that first i think

Like mentioned above, check http://www.spiritburner.com

I bought a revision kit for the 123r and 8r from a local outdoor store a few year ago without any problems.

I had no problem fixing a old 123R (share a lot of parts with the 8r, but with different windscreen and tank confiugration).

In reply to rallymania:

Echo what everyone else has said and you might find it still works without needing to do anything to it. I'm afraid for convenience I've migrated to using a gas stove that I can use inside but for a long time I used an old brass optimus. In terms of usability I prefer the design on the 8r with the fuel tank seperate and to the side of the burner head. I'm sure you'll have fun polishing it up!

Re. the water, just buy a bottle of water from the supermarket.

In reply to rallymania:

Hiya,

Defo give it a test....you'll probably be surprised and find it works. Spares are plentiful...just search the net...there's also plenty of advice from enthusiasts online...
And use it! My small brass 1/2 pint '96, that I bought 2nd hand in 1973 is still going strong and used regularly. I have NEVER found anything better, despite the finikiness and muck.
Enjoy.
ANdy

In reply to butteredfrog:

I owned one of these in the 80s and was actually scared of the thing. The idea that you had to set fire to your stove to get it going seems crazy now.

In reply to fmck:

A chemical engineer friend of mine was horrified when he found out that my svea worked by heating the fuel and had lots of positive feedback

In reply to rallymania:

I would definitely test it. Doesn't it take methylated spirits in a trough around the burner? You can buy O rings at good ironmongers.

When do you think you might use it in the car? When buried in a 6' deep snowdrift? You wouldn't want to be lighting one of those inside a car in case it flared up as they used to do if you allowed liquid fuel to reach the burner. Then there's the CO to consider.

My Dad used to have a flame gun that worked on the same principle of vapourised paraffin; it was a terrifying thing.

In reply to rallymania:

If you do get it going priming paste in a tube may be easier to transport than meths.

In reply to marsbar:

Personally I use a midi pump and use a bit of the petrol for priming on my 123r. Saves carrying an extra bottle/tube around, although it is a bit dirtier.

In reply to Rigid Raider:


My Dad has one of them, too - looks very steam punk now, compared to the modern butane/electric ones.

He also still has his old Primus - always kept it in an old motorbike top-box, along with all the necessary bits for a brew. Happy memories.