Tune Up for SVEA 123

[XCskiNYC]

Got a problem with my 1977-era SVEA 123. It's leaking fuel and burning an inordinate amount (it's not getting anywhere near the rated burn time for a full tank). A fair amount seeps out if the stove is in any position other than straight upright .

It seems like it might be a problem with the needle valve. I've never really disassembled the stove, or at least no more so than you do in normal operation. Perhaps it's something fixable by the user, that being myself, but it looks like professional intervention may be needed.

Any place in NYC that will give the stove the repair/tune-up it seems to need?

Any place that will take one by mail for an overhaul?

TIA,

Iver

[Peaks]

A long time ago I was having problems with my Svea. At that time, I stopped by Campmor, and they took good care of me there.

[max patch]

I've heard good things about this company, they sell parts and do repairs:

http://packstoves.net/cart/index.php?main_page=index

Campmor at one time sold a svea 123 tune up kit. I bought one after my thru (when my svea was 20 years old) and swapped out the parts. Still going strong after 35 years.

[MintakaCat]

I've heard good things about this company, they sell parts and do repairs:

http://packstoves.net/cart/index.php?main_page=index

Campmor at one time sold a svea 123 tune up kit. I bought one after my thru (when my svea was 20 years old) and swapped out the parts. Still going strong after 35 years.

There's a fiber washer that sometimes goes out in those stoves due to age. The rebulid kit has all those parts and should fix the problem. Many, many years ago a friend of mine had the same problem and using the rebuild kit fixed it.

[Snowleopard]

Optimus now makes Svea 123 stoves, so parts are available.
max patch's link is a good place to check for repairs/parts. I think Optimus uses them for repairs in the USA.
More info on old stoves is at Classic Camp Stoves:
http://www.spiritburner.com/fusion/f...37-svea123.jpg
You could probably ask questions at the forums there.

[Feral Bill]

Where are you leaking? Gas coming out of anywhere but the nozzle is mighty scary. If its the filler cap gasket it's a trivial repair. Get the part from Packstoves. If repairs are not possible, good deals on older SVEAs are on Ebay all the time.

[XCskiNYC]

Where are you leaking? Gas coming out of anywhere but the nozzle is mighty scary. If its the filler cap gasket it's a trivial repair. Get the part from Packstoves. If repairs are not possible, good deals on older SVEAs are on Ebay all the time.

As mentioned above the stove has a needle valve and this is where I thought the leak was. You use the key to turn a screw that's perpendicular to the stem of the stove and this causes a needle to either extend into or retract out of the very narrow nozzle from which fuel to be burned flows after the stove is pressurized.

The stove was stored in a plastic bag in the pack and it was leaving a very, very strong smell of white gas after being in the pack on the trail or with the pack lying on its side.

Also, the stove this past long weekend was burning a huge amount of fuel. I believe the cannister I have is a 0.4 liter or maybe 0.5 liter. It was about a third to half full before leaving. The stove tank had a small amount of fuel in it as well. After about four or five episodes of cooking/heating (maybe 30 to 35 minutes of burn time) the fuel bottle was close to empty (though there was still close to a full tank on the stove).

The stove currently is rated as getting 75 minutes burn at full output on a full tank of fuel. Since I'm pretty sure I had at least three full tank-fulls of fuel, it looks like the stove is burning way above the rating.

So the high burn combined with the smell in the bag led me to think fuel must be leaking out of the needle valve.

However, I did check it by putting the stove upside down, sitting on the burner, with a full tank of fuel. After a couple of hours, no leak anywhere. So, it doesn't look to be a leak. Perhaps there's some other problem that's causing the super-high fuel consumption.

The e-bay is a good idea. It looks like stoves are selling for not much more than the repair kit.

Frankly, it might just make more sense for me to go to a Pocket Rocket or Super Fly (simmering and pretty light weight) or an alcohol stove (super light weight) or maybe an Esbit.

It's just that the Svea is so reliable. True, it's burning a ton of fuel, but it's still working dependably. I might just keep it for a winter stove. Plus there's the whole sentimental value thing. You know, had the stove for decades, etc.

[generoll]

if you like the stove (and many do) then go ahead and get the tune up kit. once every generation or so isn't really too often to replace a couple of gaskets.

[SunnyWalker]

Is this a pretty heavy stove for a thru hike?

[XCskiNYC]

Is this a pretty heavy stove for a thru hike?

It's heavier than many other options. 18 ozs. just for the stove itself. Then there's the fuel bottle and the fuel.