The king of stoves?

[Jon Mawer]

I know, we should all be using fires for our bushcraft. However, there will be occassions when fires aren't practical or legal. Enter the camping stove. Most stoves nowadays run on gas, or liquid fuel such as meths or paraffin. There are evn ones that run on solid hexamine fuel tablets. But they do share one thing in common, most are very ugly, and dont age well. The point of this thread is that I had never really given much thought to the stove I used. But then on my journey across the world wide web I found a stove that is possibly what we have all been looking for. It has been produced since the late 1800's and runs on most anything you put in it. It is made of brass, and looks MAGNIFICENT, it even has its own pot in it, that doubles as a protective case. It works in any conditon and has never been known to fail. So which stove is it? It's the Svea 123 and is incredible! I want one!

 

[Phil562]

There's one here

 

[Jon Mawer]

I know, I just don't have the money!

 

[bogflogger]

I had a Svea 123 for 15 odd years.

Yes, it's a good Petrol stove- it does NOT run on anything else.

Plus it does not like modern Unleaded Petrol (as the lead replacement chemicals clog up the interior of the burner far quicker than 3***).

It runs best on Coleman fuel with a touch of Unleaded.

The small pan is virtually useless, except as a protective cover, as anything you cook in in reeks of Petrol and the pan is tiny.

It got replaced with a Trangia & Gas burner which although it is bulkier and heavier (debatable as the pans are included) has the additional virtues of being Multi-fuel (gas/meths) and Silent.

 

[Phil562]

Not as pretty though

 

[Jon Mawer]

Oh no, you have shattered my illusions !

 

[bogflogger]

True enough, it is a pretty object- until you use it, then everything you own ends up covered in Petrol stinking Soot!

Even prettier is the Primus 96, which is a Fantastic Stove, but it is almost impossible to get Paraffin to run it on in a lot of places anymore.

Jon, if you seriously want/need a Petrol/Multi-fuel stove have a look for a MSR Whisperlite or XGK.
These are pretty much the best there is today and they have been Expedition proven, everywhere in the world.

 

[bogflogger]

Here's a link to the MSR Whisperlight:

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/Cat/110490?Ref=

 

[jason saunders]

True enough, it is a pretty object- until you use it, then everything you own ends up covered in Petrol stinking Soot!

Even prettier is the Primus 96, which is a Fantastic Stove, but it is almost impossible to get Paraffin to run it on in a lot of places anymore.

Jon, if you seriously want/need a Petrol/Multi-fuel stove have a look for a MSR Whisperlite or XGK.
These are pretty much the best there is today and they have been Expedition proven, everywhere in the world.

Jon, i have an optimus nova, which i believe to be the best there is - i have had it a number of years now and it runs on anything (but personally i use Coleman fuel as it keeps clean up to a minimum) and they are virtually 'bombproof', an excellent piece of kit (i am a bit of a gadget freak)

 

[Jon Mawer]

Yes, those were the other options that I was looking at, I just found this and liked the old school looks on it. Still, like you guys say, maybe function defeats function on the Svea....

 

[nobby]

I've had mine since the seventies and I use a Trangia or Nimblewill Nomad wood stove nowadays.
The Svea is incredibly noisy.

 

[bogflogger]

Yeah, it can be good though sometimes!

 

[Mantic]

I tend to use my own version of a cat stove - it'll burn meths, hexy tabs and wood. Never lets me down and weighs almost nowt.

Functional it may be but attractive it is not.

Where as I am both functional AND attractive.

My head is, however, quite large

 

[Nemisis]

On a cold wet night when your dry under a tarp with the stove going and a hot brew on any type would look beautiful lol
Dave.

 

[jamesraykenney]

If you take the time to really learn how to use them, they are great and nearly bulletproof.

They are a lot cheaper in the long run too, as you only need to replace the gasket only every 10-20 YEARS, and that is about it...

Almost all of the newer stoves, like the MSR, etc. have yearly maintenance kits that they suggest you buy for $10.00 to $20.00...

Also the 123 is supposed to be one of the most reliable stoves at extreme altitudes and temperatures...

A lot of mountain climber swear by(an at) them...

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Im trying out some other cooking systems - but untill then............
JETBOIL with new pan suport

 

[baggins]

here's my favorite stove, quick, simple and does throw out some heat. This one is douglas fir. Cudos to RM, it really does work, and swmbo likes it as i no longer leave large burnt pateches on the lawn

 

[addyb]

A funny story about the Svea 123: Back in the dark ages when my father first started climbing (yeah, that was a really long time ago) he had the exact stove that you have pictured, Jon. To make a long story short his partner on one particular climb was doing the cooking at their camp somewhere way up in the alpine here on Vancouver Island. (I think it might've been Mount Colonel Foster) Anyway, my Dad turns to his climbing partner for a second or two to say something about dinner, and BOOM! The Svea blows up, and parts go flying all over the place. My Dad started using an MSR Whisperlite soon after that particular expedition. I'm sure some very strong words were exchanged, and there were probably also some singed eyebrows.

See? That's the problem with self-pressurizing gas stoves.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[bogflogger]

Ah yes, forgot about that!

If it don't blow up when it overheats, chances are that the Pressure Releif Valve will open......and blast a 2ft long stream of burning Petrol at you.

 

[mojofilter]

The Hunter is good too, pretty much the same as a Svea in a different layout.