Is the SVEA 123 still a viable stove option for winter?

[Pete Staehling]

I don't use mine any more because of the weight. The fact that there are other stoves that are as heavy or heavier is moot to me since I consider them too heavy as well.

I may use it again sometime, but more for sentimental reasons.

[Zorg Zumo]

The Trangia burner is brass. I have one that is pretty badly corroded and I don't understand why exactly. Seems like I must've stowed up against something moist. Some pretty heavy, deep, green crud formed that pitted the metal pretty bad.

I was wondering if there was some special way folks kept their 123's pretty for 40+ years.

[Zorg Zumo]

When I first started pondering a 123 it was more of a curiosity. I remember folks having them back in the 70's, but I'd never played with one myself. I'm starting to get interested in winter camping again and started thinking about picking up a white gas stove.

I'm really hooked on simplicity. I've had my fill of iced-over burner rings, frozen collapsed pump cups, fuel caps that cant be removed without a visegrips, broken plastic thingys, parts lost in the snow, etc. The 123 is appealing to me precisely because of the simplicity of the design.

If a guy doesn't mind carrying a truck-load of yellow HEET bottles, a suitably sized alcohol burner would work fine as a snow melter.

I dunno, maybe I'm over-thinking this. Maybe I should just buy one and start posting YouTube videos :)

[Hikin’ Jim]

Well, if simplicity is what you're after, the Svea's your stove. It has very few moving parts.

It doesn't have the best wind resistance, and as I say it works by thermal feedback and can therefore struggle in cold weather, but it's a great design and a fun little stove.

Here's a video I shot of me priming/operating mine:
Svea 123 Demo

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Matt Dirksen]

I have an old 123 and an 8R hunter (got the 8R real cheap at an attic sale.) I typically used the 123 with the pump for most of my multi-night backpacking trips back in the 80's/90's, but would use a kerosene flavored XGK for my winter trips. I also remember always using the little pump for the Svea and "Fire Ribbon" for the XGK. Pump was great because it not only pressurized the stove a bit, but nicely fed the white gas up into the lip for an easy prime.

Nowadays, I use Jetboil and/or Coleman Powermax (sigh) more often than not, but I a get a nostalgic feeling with these old stoves. There are clearly many other snazzier stoves out there, but I only get the "classic car association" from the Svea stoves. And they still work quite well. The one that I'd always wanted to try out was the Optimus 00. I remember the "00" always had incredible specs listed on the REI stove cutsheets when I worked there, but it had not been sold there for years. If you are looking for something simple for winter, that one might be of interest.

I think it's awesome performance specs were due in-part to the kerosene it liked to consume, if I recall.

Good luck!

[James Marco]

Bras is not corrosion proof, like stainless, for example. The green is usually caused by oxidation of the copper. The tin goes, too. Brass is highly corrosion resistant, though. Aluminum is far worse with salt & water. Even stainless will corrode with the right chemicals. Hard to tell what it was exposed to. Generally fresh water has little effect on it. I usually leave it tarnished a bit and wipe it off with a little olive oil (usually spilled) once or twice a year.

As I said, the bottom makes a fair reflector, so, this is usually polished clean.

[Bob Gross]

Get a big can of Brasso (brass polish) and an old polishing cloth.

The more you polish the brass, the more resistant to corrosion it becomes.

–B.G.–

[USA Duane Hall]

I have a few of the 00 in my arsenal of stoves. Another nice stove. I think there has been an upsurge in collecting the old stoves, I have to pay quite a bit now to get a few more to fill in small gaps in my collection. Some I'm still missing they are so expensive. Just picked up a different embossed 8R today that I did not have, makes about 6 of the 8/8R's I have now, from the Hunter down to two 8's from the 30's.
Duane

[Zorg Zumo]

Just one last question for 123 users – it is sensitive to the fuel used? Regular unleaded fuel will clog Coleman stoves – simply because of the generator (fuel vaporization method) design. It is just something you learn to fix when you get home. Coleman fuel runs about $13/gallon nowadays, so there is great temptation to use automotive fuel.

But the SVEA 123 vaporizes fuel differently (basically squirting it against a super-hot plate), so I'd think it would be fairly immune to all the funky additives in today's gasoline.

How about it 123 experts? Does the 123 digest unleaded gasoline?

[Roger Caffin]

Modern UNleaded fuel is not as bad as the old leaded fuel, but there are other quite toxic additives in IC engine fuel. You would want to use the stuff outdoors, and stay upwind.

Cheers

[Hikin’ Jim]

But the SVEA 123 vaporizes fuel differently (basically squirting it against a super-hot plate), so I'd think it would be fairly immune to all the funky additives in today's gasoline.

Well, not really. The vaporization is occurring before it hits the jet, in the burner column. The unleaded gasoline will leave behind deposits in the burner column/generator and jet. With the "R" model of the 123 (with the built in pricker in the jet), you should be able to get away with it fairly well, but it's always cleaner to burn white gasoline, and the life of the components will be extended.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[USA Duane Hall]

Another big concern is Coleman fuel will last for years if stored in a metal, sealed container due to the preservatives added to it. Stories are always being told about old gas appliances being fired up on old fuel after they had been put away for years. Auto gas will not last that long. Plus, as was mentioned, the noxious fumes auto gas would leave when burned.
HJ, I'm catching up to you on the # of stoves I have.
Duane

[Zorg Zumo]

Um, that doesn't make sense. The SVEA vaporization has to take place after the jet – that's the reason you hear the pulsing. That is also the reason that people report being able to use auto fuel without problem – the fuel isn't being "cooked" in a generator tube (Coleman design flaw).

But I might be wrong..

[Hikin’ Jim]

Well, try turning one down really low some time after it's fully warmed up. You might have to have the original version of the Svea 123 (without a cleaning needle — the original version had much better flame control). You'll see the flame diminish to nearly nothing and that the fuel isn't even striking the flame spreader plate anymore. The vaporization is accomplished in the generator/burner column, before it ever reaches the jet.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[USA Duane Hall]

My understanding for the pulsing is because the wick may be stuffed up in the end of the vaporizer too tightly, causing a lack of sufficient fuel being fed.
Duane

[Zorg Zumo]

Well I've got one on order. It is going to seem strange with a little pulsing blow torch after so many years of nothing but Alcohol stoves.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Zorg

Sorry, but no.

Liquid fuel may come out of the jet when it is starting up (priming), but then the stove gets hot and it's all vapor coming out.
The pulsing is oscillation in the pipe leading to the jet. The wick should reduce that a bit.
And the fuel does not get 'cooked' at all – just vaporised.
Seems there may be some myths running around out there. Happens.

Cheers

[Dan S]

Used a SVEA 123 for years, in all conditions. Never failed. Its biggest plus is that it doesn't require any pumping, like other white gas stoves. Everyone's already stated the specifications and there are trade offs for the convenience (BTU and weight). I've switched to a Jetboil for winter outings, but I still have fond memories of being in the mountains with the sweet sound this blast furnace makes.

[Zorg Zumo]

Thanks for the explanation :)

[James Marco]

Yes. There are additives (octane boosters, oxygenaters, detergents) in Auto Gas that will eventually plug things up with "varnish." WG doesn't have any of that stuff in it. Using WG after autogas will clean it out, but it may take a full tank run through it to work at 100% again.

If you are using Auto Gas for long term, add a bit (~10%) methanol, ethanol, or isopropynol to help clean out stuff. Even the 123R version can get badly gummed up after a few tankfulls of regular auto-fuel. Using the alcohol in the autogas will insure that deposits are washed out as quick as they are created. 10% toluene, or acetone will also clean it out In the US, most autogas has 10% alky, anyway, so it tends to keep stuff a bit cleaner. In other countries, you may still find leaded, with no alcohol added, auto-gas. So, this is mostly for those that travel world wide, anyway.

I believe everywhere has auto fuel, with a few exceptions like antarctica.

[Zorg Zumo]

So there are a few stories on net of SVEA 123's overheating and blowing the pressure relief.

Is the stove really that sensitive or did these folks screw up?

[Greg Mihalik]

If you put a wide pot on it and a closed wind screen around it you can create a mini-oven that will heat the tank. The pressure then overwhelms the valve, and the growing flames deter any further efforts to shut things down.

You can accomplish the exactly same result with a canister stove.

Common sense goes a long way towards prolonging one's lifespan.

[Jerry Adams]

Not disagreeing that common sense should avoid problem, but

with SVEA, the way it works is you heat up the tank to get pressure for it to work so may be more likely to overheat

with canister you normally do not heat it up

[Greg Mihalik]

I'll bet there a more than a few folks who have inadvertently had a runaway canister from to "to tight" wind screen…

It's the correlation between "normally" and "common sense" that is sometimes missing.

"I didn't do Anything different, but it just wouldn't shut off…."

[Zorg Zumo]

Thanks – I assumed that if there was a real problem with the SVEA 123 it wouldn't be so darned popular after all these years.

I was just wondering if it was sensitive to pot width as I intend to use a wide tea kettle most of the time.

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