- – the best way I’ve found to remove NRVs is to put the wrench upright in a vise, put the stove over the wrench, then use strong downward force on the tank to keep the wrench head on the NRV head so it doesn’t skip off the end of the wrench. I demonstrate the technique in this section of one of my YouTube videos: https://youtu.be/2LKsxIYCTko?t=226
- – tighten the NRV just slightly/gently before trying to untighten. This may help to break the brass-to-brass bond if there is no NRV head washer present
- – if you chose to use penetrants… it will do no good at all to put the penetrating oils down the pump tube. The NRV is air and liquid tight sealed inside that pump tube. Instead, use a small brush and reach inside the tank through the fuel filler to apply penetrant to the outsides of the pump tube where it will run down the tube and get into the exposed threads of the NRV that are hanging out at the end of the threaded pump tube end block. That is where you want penetrating oils to assist.
Category Archives: Ask BernieDawg
Heat & Air Clean Regulated Burners?
Hi BD
Is it possible to “heat and air clean” the carbon and other crud from a regulated burner using compressed air and a torch?
Thanks!
Burner Guy
Hi Burner Guy
Thanks for your question! Yes! Absolutely, you can clean regulated burners using the manufacturer approved heat and air cleaning method. Like all burners, you’ll want to disassemble the burner, removing the jet, the spindle and the spindle nut.
But, you’ll need to close off the spindle opening.
So how to block the opening at the spindle? What I did was take a spare spindle nut and silver braze a cap on the open end. I just used a slip of brass sheet over the open end and machined it round after the brazing. But, you could leave it rough and all and it would still do the job.
Once threaded into the spindle housing, the modified spindle nut will direct the air through all parts of the burner and out the jet.
(PS – Before anyone asks… yes, this is a very odd burner and is somewhat rare. It was close to hand from a long-term stove project I’m working on. So, yeah, it looks a little different from your everyday standard regulated but the idea is still the same.)
BD
Stove Part Supplier Links
Here’s a list of stove part suppliers that I’ve used or know about. As I think on it, I may add more, so check back frequently. Pretty sure this list is current as of February 2021. These suppliers tend to come and go in many cases. If I’m wrong about a supplier drop me an email and I’l investigate/fix it. If I’ve listed your outfit and you don’t want to be listed just let me know in an email. If you find a dead link or if you know of a link I should add, please let me know by emailing: bd@berniedawg.com and I’ll try to add, update or remove it as required as soon as possible. Thanks!
- Widget Supply carries tons of Dremel products and Dremel-compatible products, plus dental tools, needle files, cutters, blades, jigs, clamps, abrasives, etc that any stove hobbyist is likely to need. And, at lower than expected prices, too! Highly recommended! Go to their eBay store here: https://www.ebay.com/str/Widget-Supply or their webstore here: https://widgetsupply.com
- Pittman Marine and Stove (Coleman and Amish stove and lantern parts): https://www.ebay.com/str/pitmanmarineandlantern
- 40varga (articulated nipple wrenches) – https://www.ebay.com/usr/40varga
- hammondam (small amount of gaskets Optimus fuel cap gaskets): https://www.ebay.com/usr/hammondam/
- intsource (mostly Britelyt lantern and stove parts) – https://www.ebay.com/usr/intsource/
- Old Coleman Parts (Coleman parts for stoves, lanterns and other gear) – https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/home.php
- A&H – former Optimus USA parts outlet for many years – run by Shirlene – may not be there any more??? – https://www.packstoves.net/default.html
- spinnakerspar Made-In-The-USA parts from eBay seller (Optimus and Svea pips, gaskets, wicks, graphite packing ribbon, and other consumables for small stove repair) – https://www.ebay.com/usr/spinnakerspar/
- Sweden – Fogas – (some stock of old Optimus/Primus parts) – http://www.fogas.se
- Tradera– Sweden – (the Swedish eBay where all the stoves and lanterns live) – https://www.tradera.com/
- Netherlands – Qvist Outdoor Cooking – (lots of great stuff listed at their website, but only ships to EU countries. Find a stove friend in the EU who’ll reship to you?) – https://www.qvist.nl/qvist/branders-lantaarns/brander-onderdelen.html
- Juliands – https://www.ebay.com/str/tilleylampsandprimusstoves Very slow shipping caused by poor shipper choices (Royal Mail – ugh!). Expect to wait 2-3 months to get your goods.
- Kibworth DIY – https://www.ebay.com/str/hootflipflopandflyatkibworthdiy
- Base-Camp – (biggest Optimus/Primus parts house in the world with lots and lots of parts) – http://www.base-camp.co.uk
- The FettleBox – (stove gasket supplier with very comprehensive stock of seals. Much improved customer service and with very fast shipping in these days of Covid-19.) – https://fettlebox.co.uk/index.php
- eBay seller terrry123 in the uk – (thin graphite sheet for making spindle packings) – https://www.ebay.com/sch/terrry123/m.html
- hytec (green-colored burner gaskets and sheets of gasket material) – https://www.ebay.com/str/hytec1
- kkn4602 (Korea silent caps and stove parts) – https://www.ebay.com/str/papepopotogether
- lovelantern2014 (lantern and stove parts) –https://www.ebay.com/str/allthatlampparts
- gksk2146-3 (tons of great tools and stove and lantern parts) –https://www.ebay.com/sch/gksk2146-3/m.html?item
- philbeagle (Various stove/lantern parts) – https://www.ebay.com/usr/philbeagle/ I can no longer recommend the British Military #12 silent cap from Philbeagle as it has undergone revisions that make it a poor performer without significant modifications involving re-machining some of the parts.
- simonchantwus_gmail (PentaWrenches, stove and lantern parts) – https://www.ebay.com/str/supercorselantern
- chi5972 (stove and lantern fabricated parts) –
- https://www.ebay.com/usr/chi5972/
- kitelamp (sells remakes of various hard-to-find stove and lantern accessories) Has moved away from eBay and sells directly through this website – https://www.kitelamp.com Has lots of really good and awesome products!
- ama3736 https://www.ebay.com/str/BOTEXX-TOOLS/ eBay seller sells a small number of parts and graphite packing for many stoves – sadly has now decided (1/2021) that “shipping costs too much” for them to ship products to Canada, Hawaii and much of the rest of the world. ???? Still ships to the mainland USA and the UK at this time, but I’d suggest going to KiteLamp for standard sized graphite packings for a better deal instead: https://www.kitelamp.com/en/product/graphite-ring_en/?v=7516fd43adaa
Which Cap for a “Multifuel”?
I have a short question about the bernie dawg silencer caps. Does the Omnifuel Cap fit to the Multifuel Burner?Best regards,Stove Guy
Both stoves, the Varifuel 3278 and the Multifuel 3288 work well with the Minicap, either with or without legs. I recommend the Minicap with Legs if you are only planning on using the Minicap with one of these Primus stoves. If you would like the flexibility to use your Minicap on other small self-pressurizing stoves like the Optumus 80, Radius 42, or Svea 123/123R, then I recommend the Minicap without Legs.
Stuck NRVs??
Hi BernieDawg
I have this great old Primus 100 stove that I’m trying to fettle. I’ve got the NRV loosened up, but it seems to be stuck in the bottom of the pump tube and won’t drop out of the tube. It’s hung up somehow. It wiggles around and is loose down there at the bottom of the pump tube. I wonder if there’s some gunk in the tank that’s hanging it up?
What can I do to get it free?
Sincerely,
Stuck and perplexed
____________________________
Hi Stuck
a. there can be a little burr of brass where the vent hole in the side of the NRV barrel was punched in the barrel. You can use your alligator forceps gripping the NRV head with an unscrewing motion (like you are unthreading the NRV) to “unscrew” the burr past the opening in the pump tube end plate. Do it with the pump tube opening facing toward the floor to allow gravity to assist you. Use a little 400 grit wet dry sandpaper or a small file to remove the burr once you’ve got it out so it doesn’t give you problems again.
b. the other problem comes about from using lead NRV head washers. The lead will expand outward when the NRV head is tightened down, sometimes into the opening for the NRV head threads. This can hang up the NRV. Alligator forceps should help you to get it out, again with that unscrewing motion. Consider to switching to HDPE (#2 plastic) NRV head washers. You can punch them from the lids of food containers, so they are cheap to make and they almost never cause these hang-up problems. They last forever, too.
Primus 100 Silent Cap?
Silent Cap for 111B?
Hello BernieDawg,
I’m sure you’ve received this question before, but I’ll go ahead and ask. Do you have a silent damper for the Optimus 111 stove (hiker) with the “roarer” burner?
Thanks,
“Bugged by Noise”
Hi, “Bugged”
Thanks for your question and your interest in my silent cap products. I *have* received this question quite a few times.
Coleman 345 (and 348!) paperwork
Hi BernieDawg
I’ve heard you have lots of documents in your collection. I have a Coleman 345 marine stove and I would really like to get the instructions for the operation of the stove. Do you have such a thing?
Sincerely,
Coleman Searcher
Hi Coleman Searcher
You bet! I have the instructions for both the 345 (kerosene) and the 348 (denatured alcohol) versions of these awesome old marine stoves. Here is the paperwork for your stove:
(just click on the thumbnail images for the larger versions)
I don’t believe that these sorts of documents on old stoves should be kept behind membership requirements or pay-to-view mechanisms on the internet just to promote the sites that hold them hostage. I believe that the free exchange of information without strings attached is what best promotes the collection and preservation of old stoves. Isn’t that what the internet is supposed to be about?
I hope this helps you with your stove. It’s a nice one!
Happy camping!
BernieDawg
UPDATE! Here are the instructions for the Coleman 348 alcohol burning version of this marine stove set.
large 300dpi PDF, about 3MB
Coleman 348 Marine Alcohol Stove Instructions large 300dpi PDF, about 3MB
BernieDawg Cap Instructions
Hi Berniedawg
Where can I find instructions on how to fit/mount your silent caps on various burners, say like the Svea 123R? Youtube maybe?
Best,
“Hans”
Thanks for your BernieDawg cap question.
The instructions for the caps can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/lvv3syn
That same link to the instructions can also be found at the main page of each of my product manufacturing pages. (it’s down at the bottom of the text.)
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/BernieDawgShop
https://i.materialise.com/shop/designer/gary-adams
The link can also be found at the end of the description of each cap product at my manufacturers, Shapeways and i.materialise. When you decide to order a silent damper cap product, you can just cut and paste the link into your browser to get to the instructions webpage.
Happy camping!
BernieDawg
Hank Roberts & Gerry Stove Adapters
Hi BernieDawg
I have a Gerry and a Hank Roberts mini-stove and I want to adapt them to use todays fuel canisters. Do you have and sell a conversion kit or can you refer me to someone who does? Should you have one, how can I order it and how much does it cost? Thanks for your help.
Signed,
Gerry Guy
Hi Gerry Guy
Thanks for your question. I’m going to tell you the honest truth. It may not be what you want to hear. I hope you won’t be mad.
As you know, the cartridge style used for Hank Roberts, Gerry and similar stoves has been out of production for many years now. The Hank Roberts and Gerry branded stoves have gone the way of 8-track tape players, Sony Betamax VCRs, and crystal radio sets – they are outmoded and obsolete, having been replaced by much better modern alternatives. On the other hand, I do understand that some people enjoy collecting these old dinosaurs. Heck, I have a few of them myself!
I did a small run of custom-machined adapters for Hank Roberts conversions back in 2010 for some fans of this budget-priced stove of yore. I no longer have any in stock. The machined brass adapter connects the Hank Roberts/Gerry 7/16 x 20 stove thread to the Chinese M6 x 0.75 threaded hose/valve set.
If you’d like me to custom-machine a brass adapter on my precision mini-lathe it’d cost you $45 plus shipping (about $3 in the USA). You can buy the Chinese-made valve/hose set shown in the photo for about $12 on eBay. If you think I’m out of line on the cost of that custom machining, you can give the thread data and show the photos above to your local machinist and see what he’d quote you.
There is no one anywhere else in the world that I know of that does any sort of conversions for these. So, there is no need to knock yourself out searching the web further.
All this said… most people (including me!) don’t think converting a Hank Roberts/Gerry is worth it. You can get most modern brand name isobutane stoves new at under $50-60. That’s what I would encourage you to do. Why? Well…
Modern lightweight backpacking stoves are designed to specifically burn the gas mixtures in present day isobutane cartridges. Hank Roberts and Gerrys, on the other hand, were designed to burn straight butane. Isobutane works much better in cold conditions and comes in canisters you can find all over. The Hank Roberts/Gerrys simply aren’t designed or jetted to work as well as a modern stove with isobutane canisters. They are cute “collector item” stoves, but they are not serious outdoor stoves compared to modern alternatives. (Sorry if this isn’t what you wanted to hear.)
Here are a few name brand modern stove candidates you can Google that would make good replacements for your Hank Roberts/Gerrys:
Snow Peak Gig, manual – $39.95 msrp
MSR Pocket Rocket – $39.95 msrp
MSR Micro Rocket – $59.95 msrp
Kovea Tornado – about $41 with shipping via eBay
Optimus Crux – $59.95 msrp
Optimus Crux Lite – $39.95 msrp
Primus Classic Trail – $25 msrp
And… if you are looking for even cheaper, but still usable stove alternatives, there are many, many imported isobutane stoves coming out of China and Korea that are really quite good. You can find them on sale on eBay for under $20 with the shipping included in that price. Here are three I’ve purchased that I found work just fine and all for under $20 shipped:
You can curb recycle your old Hank Roberts/Gerry stoves as aluminum in many communities in the USA. Or, you can try to sell it on eBay, though most people have figured out they are pretty much useless now that cartridges for them have been gone for 10+ years. Or, you can make a nice display of vintage backpacking gear in your home to remember those great old times on the trail. (I still have my old 1977 Kelty frame pack hanging on my wall!)
Happy Camping!
BernieDawg