Optimus 111 Hiker Stove Swedish military review, 111B 111T Ranger 10 Vintage camping gear

[beenerboy]

Nice stove and nice demo. If I can make one small comment, in that you are using Coleman fuel. you can do away with the eye dropper. Unlike the 8R etc,, you can just add a little pressure and release a little fuel from the jet for priming if you don't have alcohol.

[WeirdWorldAquariums]

@beenerboy Your right. I do both but since I collect these stoves I'm always worried about the paint getting blistered by fuel splashing. The alcohol priming gives me better control so I don't splash any on the finish. The new Hiker plus with the Nova burner I pre-heat just like you mentioned. That video will be up soon.

[supervivet911]

If you take a closeup pic of the text I'll provide a full translation for you. I did'nt know the army used the Hiker stove, I do know they now use the Optimus Nova. Then again, this was way before my time in the military :D

[WeirdWorldAquariums]

@supervivet911 Thanks for the offer. My wife's speaks some Norwegian and she was able to translate. I guess Swedish and Norwegian are pretty close to the same language?

Yes these Optimus Kero models where issued back in the 60's-80's to the Swedish military. I guess they surplus them all and went to the Nova. There where tons of them available for a long while.

[supervivet911]

@WeirdWorldAquariums

The languages are very similar, yes.

Wish I'd been able to pick one up - that's a really good stove. Congrats!

[BigRooster747]

@WeirdWorldAquariums dutch special forces used them too, now available in the army dumpstore.

[flipnotize211]

Amazing shape for 40yo stove.

[WeirdWorldAquariums]

@flipnotize211 These where brand new Swedish military surplus, stored in a warehouse. They released 1000's of them awhile back and you could get them for a pretty good price. They show up on ebay from time to time and I have seen them in surplus stores in the US, but not lately.

[fenalaar]

And a last tip - emty the box of axessories before you move the fuel tank in or out. If you leave any accessories inside the box, it's easy to get breakages im the fuel line. Once you've closed the fuel tank lid, you can put in the accessories.

[WeirdWorldAquariums]

@fenalaar All great tips for these old vintage Optimus/Primus stoves, thanks for posting them. Yes people never burn oil lamp, especially candle lamp oil in these stoves. It isn't the same as Kerosene and it will trash your stove or lantern. Depending on the model 111 you can burn unleaded gas but just be careful. Because auto petrol is so volatile it can be dangerous.

[joeredd11]

@WeirdWorldAquariums Hey maybe you can help.My 8R just started to leak when its in the off position which is all the way to the right with the knob.Maybe it needs to be repacked with graphite I've read .Do you know where I can by parts for my 8R? thanks JoeRedd

[joeredd11]

@WeirdWorldAquariums Hey maybe you can help.My 8R just started to leak when its in the off position which is all the way to the right with the knob.Maybe it needs to be repacked with graphite I've read .Do you know where I can by parts for my 8R? thanks JoeRedd

[fenalaar]

If you leave the burner running with the regulator turned past the max position, the cleaning needle will turn red hot and the tip will break off, clogging the nozzle.

Try to avoid lamp oil, and use regular kerosene insted. Lamp oil is fatter and will eventually gum it up, neccessitating cleaning.

I got a surplus one from the norwegian army for my birthday from my brother.

[fenalaar]

Oh by the way - a couple of tips on these...

Take off the regulator knob before pumping. If you leave the knob on, the wiggling from the pumping will eventually ruin the seal around the fuel control valve.

Also, the maximum position on the regulator is straight up. There's a cleaning needle for the nozzle that will come up when you turn the regulator more. Do not leave the needle in the "up" position, and turn the regulator back to max position (or less).

[shizaminely]

im almost certain that stove is recommended to burn unleaded gasoline

[WeirdWorldAquariums]

Takket være MrZorn88, Jeg hadde til å ha min hustru Inga oversette. Det kan være en delikat processen men praksis gjør perfekt. Elsker disse gamle skandinaviske vedpannor

Thanks Kiranklink1. I had to have my wife Inga translate. It can be a delicate process but practice makes perfect. Love these old scandinavian stoves.

[MrZorn88]

Veldig fin sak dette her!!!:-)))Har en lignende hjemme. (Norway)

[MrItchyElbow]

the burner looks and sounds like the MSR Dragonfly.

[WeirdWorldAquariums]

@MrItchyElbow Actually the MSR Dragonfly burner looks like the Optimus burner. This burner has been used by Optimus/Primus in one form or another for 60+ years as was the basis for just about every modern stove design since. MSR's are great stoves, I've had a couple and they are good performers.

[MrItchyElbow]

@WeirdWorldAquariums You say potato I say potato. They look the same was all I was saying.

[Ramaniac007]

Naughty little toff playing with matches?

[WeirdWorldAquariums]

@Ramaniac007 your right. We stove-lantern collectors are all fire-bugs. I was going to seek treatment but spent the money on more stoves & lanterns instead!

[phrayzar]

Well thanks for all the tips. I found my stove(turns out that it might be an 8R hunter) about 13 years ago in the street. It has been in my shed ever since. I spent about 2 hours cleaning it(it was real dirty)., and drained the old and brown gas out of it. Filled it with some coleman fuel and it fired up a treat. I think I fell in love with this stove. What a character !

[phrayzar]

Thanks for the instructional. I have one of these stoves but was always a little scared to get it going. Any hazards that I should watch out for. Thanks for any advise.

[WeirdWorldAquariums]

@phrayzar Glad the video was helpful. Do not overfill the tank, about 2/3rds, then 10 pumps. Wipe up any priming fluid that spills outside the priming cup on the bottom of the burner. Burning fluid will blister the paint. You will hear the tank gurgle & maybe a slight hiss as the burner gets up to temp. That's normal & signals its time to light the burner. Sometimes gas leaks around the fuel control valve & there will be a flame there. That is common & will go away once the burner gets going.

[phrayzar]

@WeirdWorldAquariums Thanks very much, I will try to get it going and post the results.