Svea 123

[goonstroke]

I know they're simple and reliable and all, but I managed to break mine (a 2nd gen, 123R, 1990's). The cleaning pin somehow got tweaked and turned into an ingrown hair under the jet. I haven't gotten around to finding the part so I can fix it. In the meantime I've been using stoves with pumps, and pumps sure are nice. With the 123 it's like you have to do two physics lab assignments at the same time to get a strong flame.

 

[PeteStaehling]

Reading about and remembering the 123 makes me nostalgic for mine. Maybe I'll dig it out of storage and fire it up. It was always super reliable and inexpensive to operate if not the lightest of my stoves. Maybe I'll even take it on my next trip.

BTW, I never understood why folks complained about the sound it makes. It lets you know it is working and I find it pleasant enough, charming even.

 

[PeteStaehling]

Okay, so I dug out the old SVEA 123 and it fired right up. Not sure how long it had been sitting unused, but I don't remember using it in the last 30 years.

Does white gas (naptha?) go bad? The fuel in the tank was probably really old already when it went into storage. I'd bet on the fuel being at least 40 years old.

I bought the 123 (not 123R) at a flea market in the early 70's for $8 if I remember correctly. It was in very good shape, but looked well used then and is in similar condition now.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Okay, so I dug out the old SVEA 123 and it fired right up. Not sure how long it had been sitting unused, but I don't remember using it in the last 30 years.

I’m very envious!

 

[PaddlingPitt]

As Mason suggested, I pre-heated the stove, and then unscrewed the fuel cap. No gas escaped, indicating that there was likely a leak in the fuel cap. I removed the old gasket, which was very dry and brittle. Put in a new gasket, and repeated the trial. Same result. I accessed the pressure release valve. The spring seemed fine - quite flexible. The pip, as I understand it, is supposed to be attached to the spring, but it wasn’t. I applied some oil and WD 40 for lubrication, and repeated the trial with the same disappointing results. No pressure, even after a very lengthy pre-heating. Looks like I’m going to have to order new parts.

 

[PeteStaehling]

As Mason suggested, I pre-heated the stove, and then unscrewed the fuel cap. No gas escaped, indicating that there was likely a leak in the fuel cap. I removed the old gasket, which was very dry and brittle. Put in a new gasket, and repeated the trial. Same result. I accessed the pressure release valve. The spring seemed fine - quite flexible. The pip, as I understand it, is supposed to be attached to the spring, but it wasn’t. I applied some oil and WD 40 for lubrication, and repeated the trial with the same disappointing results. No pressure, even after a very lengthy pre-heating. Looks like I’m going to have to order new parts.

If you search you can find just the cap gasket and pips for a few bucks. That is most likely all you need.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

If you search you can find just the cap gasket and pips for a few bucks. That is most likely all you need.

I ordered them about 30 minutes ago from a company called the Fettlebox in the United Kingdom: 0.8 pounds for the parts; 4 pounds for shipping.

 

[dramey]

I rebuilt my Svea 123. Works like brand new. I bought the parts from a vender on Classic Camp Stoves. Easy to rebuild and the Svea is still one of the best stoves ever made.

 

[PeteStaehling]

I rebuilt my Svea 123. Works like brand new. I bought the parts from a vender on Classic Camp Stoves. Easy to rebuild and the Svea is still one of the best stoves ever made.

It may not be the lightest or have the highest output, but it is simple and super reliable. You won't find a more reliable white gas stove. The fact that is a design that has survived since 1955 mostly unchanged says a lot. On the other hand you can find stoves that do some things better. Depending on the needs of the user and the trip there may be better choices.

I do trips where I am definitely be more likely to choose something else. Granted they tend to be backpacking trips or bike tours. To be fair the 123 would be okay for any of them, just not my first choice on some trips.

 

[ppine]

I started backpacking in the 1960s and got an Optimus 80 brass stove made in Sweden, which is very similar to a Svea. They cost $8 in 1970. Now you can find em for about $100. The design of these stoves is still very good and simple. Make sure to use the right kind of fuel. Some have blown up with regular unleaded gas. Backpacking trips are less frequent now, but I am reluctant to give up. A Svea is handy on a canoe trip. For a group bring at least 2 of them.

 

[PeteStaehling]

Back in college I made the dedicated pouring cap for my Sigg aluminum fuel bottle. A piece of copper tubing epoxied into a hole drilled in one side with a vent hole on the other. Just hold your index finger over the vent hole until the spout is lined up with the stove's fuel cap, and then lift the finger- controlled pour! I even used it to pre-heat the vaporizing tube by pouring a small amount into the recessed ring at the base of the vaporizing tube. Once lit, it heats the tube and vaporizes the gas for burning. By the time the priming flame dies down, you can light the burner with a match or Bic lighter.

I had a cap like that, but I think mine was factory made. I lost it somewhere along the way a few decades ago. It just might still be somewhere in my gear, but I have not seen it in many years so I doubt it. I should probably make a new one. I like it much better than carrying a funnel and as you say it also is nice for filling the priming cup. I kept it tied to the regular cap with a piece fairly stout nylon of cord so I don't know how I lost it. I think maybe I loaned a bottle out with it on it and they never came back.

 

[Mason]

 

[Mason]

Pitt--I fired up my Svea, and after running it a bit the cap didn't "phht" upon opening, suggesting it wasn't really pressurized, Most of the time I always used my mini pump, which would result in the "phht". Without it, the tank doesn't get pressurized, and only relies on the wick inside the tank. The prewarming just vaporizes the gas being wicked up, allowing it to work up through the valving. So, there's a possibility that something else is wrong with yours, perhaps in the regulator/valve. Of course replacing all the o-rings is never a bad idea. If you want to spend the money (available on eBay), the mini-pump considerably increases the output of the Svea. I used my Svea a lot in the winter on snow (putting a small piece of ensolite under it). My pump died years ago, and I was too cheap to replace it. There are a lot of Svea parts on eBay.

 

[PeteStaehling]

Hey that looks like my bottle!

 

[TrailBlaser]

These posts bring back memories. I had a Svea that was a dependable performer during my backpacking trips in the Sierras, Cascades and Alaska in addition to the my destinations in the East. I don't know how, but omewhere along the way we parted company. I still have the cook kit, the fuel bottle and a fuel cap with a plastic pouring spout. In cold weather canoe camping with short carries, I use a Coleman Duel Fuel 533 stove.

 

[Mason]

Hey that looks like my bottle!

Sorry, it's been mine for 40 years!

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Pitt--I fired up my Svea, and after running it a bit the cap didn't "phht" upon opening, suggesting it wasn't really pressurized, Most of the time I always used my mini pump, which would result in the "phht". Without it, the tank doesn't get pressurized, and only relies on the wick inside the tank. The prewarming just vaporizes the gas being wicked up, allowing it to work up through the valving. So, there's a possibility that something else is wrong with yours, perhaps in the regulator/valve. Of course replacing all the o-rings is never a bad idea. If you want to spend the money (available on eBay), the mini-pump considerably increases the output of the Svea. I used my Svea a lot in the winter on snow (putting a small piece of ensolite under it). My pump died years ago, and I was too cheap to replace it. There are a lot of Svea parts on eBay.

Mason,

I never had to use a pump to pressurize my Svea. But reading on the internet, it seems that using a pump is quite common. On the other hand, I have seen a few videos where people can warm the stove sufficiently to get gas to fill the depression just by cradling the stove in their hands.

 

[PeteStaehling]

On the other hand, I have seen a few videos where people can warm the stove sufficiently to get gas to fill the depression just by cradling the stove in their hands.

That can be pretty iffy depending on ambient temperature and on how full the tank is. I easily have done it in cool weather with a not too full tank. On a warm Tallahassee day with a very full tank I didn't manage to get a drop to come out (it works better with some air space in the tank). Carrying a pour spout, drinking straw, or eye dropper is, while not a necessity, a good idea in my opinion. A pump seems like overkill to me.

 

[Guest]

If you didn’t have one of these how did you cook on backpacking or canoe trips in the ‘70’s?

PA190025 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

1970 – 2020. Fifty years old, still works like new. I like my Jetboil (except sleeping with the fuel canister on cold nights), but what’s the chance it’ll still be working in 2070?

 

[Boreal Birch]

I was a disciple of Colin Fletcher back in the day, still have a Trailwise pack, Sierra Designs Glacier Tent, Sigg pots and a couple of Svea 123 stoves. I always primed the stove with the Lipton tea paper wrapper bag the way Colin did. He would set the paper wrapper scrunched up on the ground, light it, hold the Svea over the flame, set the stove down on the wrapper snuffing out the paper, then with the valve open fuel runs down into the priming cup, close valve, ignite prime cup, with good timing open valve to ignite stove as the last flames from the priming cup burn out. All that would not work for me today as i no longer care for Lipton Tea, the tea I do drink doesn't come with bag wrappers.
Colin Fletcher wrote some pretty good books, besides THE COMPLETE WALKER and its re-writes II, III, IV.