Svea 123 campstove

[yuandrew]

A friend of my Uncle found and gave him this old, brass camp stove recently. Ive taken a close look at it and noticed on top it says Made in Sweden and Svea 123 on it. Dont know how old it may be as I didnt see anything that could be a date on it.

We have not tried to fire it up yet to see if it works but we would like to as soon as we find the right fuel for it. He is wondering what type of fuel it is intended to use (stamped above the cap are benzine, benzolene, petrol, ect) which I believe are all words for gasoline.



Anyone familiar with one of these and what start-up procedures or tips/things we should keep in mind or learn ?

 

[BruiseLee]

I've had one of these for decades. I think they might even still make them. It is an extremely simple mechanism. Use white gas - Coleman fuel is fine. You are missing part of the stove. It's a cylindrical part that rotates onto the base which the pot is supposed to rest on while cooking. There is also supposed to be an aluminum cup that serves as a cap which goes over the stove.

To use the stove, fill it with white gas. Insert the key onto that rotating post in the right of your picture. Rotate it clockwise to the closed position. See that little depressed circular area on top of the fuel tank? Put a few drops of gas there - not too much! Now light that gas on fire. The heat will pressurized the fuel in the tank. Turn the key about 1/4 turn open while there is still a flame on top of the stove. The fuel in the tank will rise up, and the flame will ignite it. Turn the key to adjust the flame.

Be careful. Priming this thing can result in a small fireball if you use too much fuel. Also, the thing is kinda top heavy to cook with, you have to be careful you food doesn't end up toppled over in the dirt.

It's actually a very cool stove - very old school. But, it is a time tested design that works!

Have fun!

 

[notrefined]

these are indeed still in production...and I would be very surprised if the one you have does not, or cannot be made to work like new. It's a very robust design 🙂

 

[Dirty Bob]

The Svea 123 is a classic!

Please heed the warnings in the previous posting. Treat stoves like a campfire: use on a space of ground that's been cleared of burnable stuff (which you return to the spot to leave no trace after cooking). Plan on eventually seeing a flameup on starting, and think about what you'll do. The two big mistakes people make:

1. Never cook in a tent. Bad idea! Not only can you burn up a tent or get trapped in a flaming tent, you can asphyxiate yourself by lighting a stove in an enclosed space. You can also turn your tent into an unholy stinking mess if your stove and meal tip over. Don't do it!

2. Don't kick a stove away when it flares up. This sends the stove into all that burnable stuff that you cleared away from your cooking area. You should move away from the stove, not kick the stove away from you.

I haven't had one of these stoves, so I'll leave it to the pros to suggest what to do with a flaring stove.

You made quite a find. The Svea has a reputation for running forever. They can be a little tricky to use at first, but every Svea owner I've ever met loves their stove.

All my best,
Dirty Bob

 

[Flying Turtle]

Found one of these about thirty years ago in a yard sale. Too cool to pass up. It came with a complete mess kit with the stove packed inside. Best part was the five dollar price.

Geoff