Primus Stove

Here I go, getting nostalgic again.

I was surprised to discover that you can still buy these new, albeit made in India, rather than Sweden nowadays.



(Used, they are being offered as collectors' items at about same price as new)

Do you recall using these?

Needed a spanner to remove closing plug, and replace it with burner stem.

Also, in addition to fuel, (paraffin) you needed to carry some meths for priming.

And a wind screen: the meths flame, being non pressurised, would otherwise dance in the breeze, and fail to heat the vaporiser.

Then, you had to pump quite briskly before you could begin to cook.

Although I quite enjoyed this ritual, on grounds of weight alone, if you were backpacking, the advantage of Camping Gaz, once it had become widely available, was undeniable.

I seem to remember also, that primus stoves had started a lot of fires.

So, I guess I ceased to use mine sometime in the 1960's.

However, the brass blowtorch, which worked in the same way, I recall using well into the 1970's.

Butane/propane canister powered blow torches were around, and I did have one from the Sixties onward. But for some jobs, such as paint stripping, I always preferred the old tech. Perhaps, because it was stable: you could put it down bowt it falling over. (Though admittedly gas superior if you had to work at awkward angles.)

Both absolutely lethal contraptions. Once saw mi cousin nearly burn the house down after showing off to his sister the quickest way to fire it up

Seems to be a bit of a paradox.

Been doing some further reading, and it seems that paraffin stoves & torches more likely to cause fires, but fires which have been more easy to extinguish. LPG stoves & torches cause fewer fires, but cause fires resulting in greater damage to property and loss of life.

I am guessing that maybe the reason is that it is easier to smother burning paraffin than it is to smother burning gas.

And they used to stink the place out.