optimus #00
 

anyone know anything about these? my old man just dug it out of his garage and gave it to me. its never been used but needs a clean up and a new leather washer for the pump. all the rubber seals are ok.
instructions are in swedish and arabic with quaint pictures of what looks like a steriotype egyptian tea boy who smiles and frowns when you do right or wrong.
burns petrol, parrafin and kerosene if my computer translated properly, otherwise im going up in flames!

can you still get the leather pump washers?

Primus bottles use them... so yes, but no idea about dimensions...

Have you tried contacting Optimus?

Dave,

Instructions here Paraffin stove history

Nice little stove

They are not for use with petrol. The only likely problem due to it not being used for a while, is a non return valve at the bottom of the pump tube, which can be awkward to remove/replace. But they are great stoves.

its built like a panzer so i can see where they get the reliability reputation from.
now i know it doesnt take petrol (computers translation of "petrole" wrong, told you i would go up in flames!) i wont bother taking it on bike trips, its a bit bulky if i have to take a bottle of fuel too. where do you even buy kerosene or parafin from in uk these days? im certainly not buying coleman fuel for it at their prices! will it burn alcohol?
would be a novelty for camping with the car and kids though

Dave,

Parafin can be bought in a lot of petrol stations and hardware shops; usually in a plastic gallon container. Our local garage still has a pump round the back "bom-bom-bom-bom-ESSO BLUE"

Coleman fuel is cleaner petrol so you won't want that anyway.

Roald Amundsen took one like that with him when he went to the southpole in 1912.

They were very common in Scandinavia and were used for both expeditions and ordinary camping.

When people in the sixties became wealthier, many people built summerhouses at the danish beaches or in the swedish woods and then used the Primus for cooking in those houses.

It has been used untill this day, by the danish Sirius Patrol, that patrols northern Greenland on dogsledge. They also use it for heating the tent as it can deliver a lot of heat.

The leather washer can be made of an old leather belt, -shoe or equal, just remember the brass(?) washer below it. I've made quite a few of those in my childhood, when you could find a dusty Primus on every second loft or cellar.

there is still a paste available for priming, if you don't want to carry spirits for this, AND the special jet cleaner tool is also available.

PS I have a fully functional Primus Blowtorch (working with the same principle as the stove) that was used by the Danish State Railways (DSB) for melting snow out of railswitches.

You'll find more info about your stove at spiritburner.com.

cheers dodger i have emailed them about some spares

Try here base-camp.co.uk

often all you need do is oil the washer if it is undamaged.

cheers oldbmw, i will try that first. the washer isnt damaged it just looks like its been squashed in the pump tube too long and its lost its flexibility, a good soak might puff it out a bit.

3in1 good enough?

I would use engine oil or grease, but anything will do, it is just to soften the leather.

Very Nice Example ofStove
 

Hi.
Have read through other replies and you have some excellent advice. The stove in the picture is a beauty, you really have hit on a gem, they are very rarely found in that condition these days. Spiritburner is a site that will give you all the background hjistory and general information on your stove, supplied by people who are real enthusiasts with an enormous knowledge on these pieces of fine engineering but do not sell the bits you need for servicing or repair. For parts, there are a few sites, but Basecamp is undoubtedly the best. They carry most of the bits for these, now obsolete, pieces of kit and even have the parts diagrams with general instructions available to see and download. I am in the process of restoring an Optimus oo and have found both sites invaluable. Have a look on Ebay as well. The leather pump washers need to be soaked in light engine oil after which, even old ones will work, although watch out for splits and cracking that would mean replacement. These stoves run on paraffin (also known as kerosene in other parts of the world). Petrole (note the letter E on the end of the word) is French for paraffin. In France, petrol or gasolene is called essence, as you probably already know. To light this stove you will also need some methalated spirits, meths for short, (or similar spirit) to burn in the priming cup below the burner. I hope this is of some help and good luck. When you get this baby to run it will serve you well in all sorts of conditions and, if looked after, will probably still be a working unit long after you and I have finally finished, which is almost certainly why they no longer make them.
AndyM

I have an Optimus 00 in very good condition, still in its transport sheet metal case. It also has arabic letters on it. The letters says "Optimus", just in case you wondered. Apparently Optimus sold the 00 to armed forces in a number of countries, including some arab. The 00 is fairly common in our parts of the world, and you still get repair and maintenance kits for them through any well asorted sports and leisure shop. It can only burn paraffin/kerosene, including lamp oil and that liquid you use for lighting charcoal barbeques with - not shure what it's called in English - which both burns cleaner than paraffin/kerosene. They say you can even burn diesel on it, albeit with a lot of smoke, but I've never tried it.

Do a google search for Optimus 00 if you want to know more.

thanks for advice and info guys