Primus 2 Burner
Bartolome Beacham
The Primus stove was the first pressurized-burner kerosene (paraffin) stove, developed in 1892 by Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist, a factory mechanic in Stockholm. The stove was based on the design of the hand-held blowtorch; Lindqvist's patent covered the burner, which was turned upward on the stove instead of outward as on the blowtorch.[1] The same year, Lindqvist partnered with Johan Viktor Svenson [sv] and established J.V. Svenson's Kerosene Stove Factory for manufacturing the new stoves which were sold under the name Primus.[2] The first model was the No.1 stove, which was quickly followed by a number of similarly designed stoves of different models and sizes.[3] Shortly thereafter, B.A. Hjorth & Co. (later Bahco), a tool and engineering firm begun in Stockholm in 1889, acquired the exclusive rights to sell the Primus stove.[4]
The efficient Primus stove quickly earned a reputation as a reliable and durable stove in everyday use, and it performed especially well under adverse conditions: it was the stove of choice for Fridtjof Nansen's North Pole attempt, Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition,[5] and Richard Byrd's North Pole expedition.[6] Primus stoves also accompanied George Mallory's ill-fated expedition to Mount Everest in 1924,[7] as well as Tenzing and Hillary's successful one in 1953.[8] While many other companies also made portable stoves of a similar design to the Primus, this style is often generically referred to as a "Primus" stove, regardless of the manufacturer.[9]
The Primus No. 1 stove, made of brass, consists of a fuel tank at the base, above which is a "rising tube" and the burner assembly. A steel top ring on which to set a pot is held above the burner by three support legs. Other Primus-style stoves may be larger or smaller, but have the same basic design. The No. 1 stove weighs about 2.5 pounds (1.1 kg), and measures about 8.5 inches (220 mm) high with an overall diameter of just under 7 inches (180 mm). The tank, about 3.5 inches (90 mm) high, holds a little over 2 imperial pints (1.1 L) of kerosene and will burn for about four hours on a full tank.[10]
To light the stove, the user pours a small amount of alcohol into a circular "spirit cup" just below the burner and lights it to heat the burner assembly. When it is hot, the user pressurizes the tank by means of a small hand pump integrated into the housing, which forces kerosene from the tank up through the rising tube (A) and the ascending pipe (B) to the pre-heated burner head (C), where the fuel is heated and vaporized. The kerosene vapour is then forced under pressure through the descending tube (D) to the vapor nozzle (E); here it sprays through a jet in the middle of the burner, where it mixes with air and burns in a sootless blue flame. The heat from that flame vaporizes more fuel to sustain the process when the spirit cup burns out. The user can pump the tank more to increase the pressure and make the flame larger; turning a small "air screw" (usually located in the filler cap) will release pressure from the tank and make the flame smaller.[11]
If no alcohol is available for lighting, a twist of cloth or even dry grass will form a wick in the spirit cup. Pumping once will dispense a small amount of kerosene to dribble down into the cup which will then light using the wick. As the flame dies down, a further gentle pump will either ignite the main burner or dispense more kerosene into the spirit cup.
Prior to the introduction of the Primus, kerosene stoves were constructed in the same manner as oil lamps, which use a wick to draw fuel from the tank to the burner and which produce a great deal of soot due to incomplete combustion. The Primus stove's design, which uses pressure and heat to vaporize the kerosene before ignition, results in a hotter, more efficient stove that does not soot.[12] Because it did not use a wick and did not produce soot, the Primus stove was advertised as the first "sootless" and "wickless" stove.[13]
Last week at Outdoor Retailer, I saw the Primus PrimeTech Stove Set, which appears to rectify some of the imperfections of my recommended kits. It competes against the MSR Windburner Group Stove System, but offers more and is better priced. It is available now, in two pot volume sizes:
A minimum system weight would be 20.0 to 21.2 oz for the 1.3-liter version, which is 3.7 to 4.9 heavier but $36 less expensive than my recommend 2L a la carte system. This assumes that I use my Bic lighter instead of the ignitor and that I leave behind one of the pots and the aluminum reflector.
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I have a Primus Eta Express and I really like the pot. The stove and the windscreen suck, I actually am intending to swap the stove out with a better stove, but I *can* do that, which is why the Primus heat exchanger pots are really charming.
Otoh, they make simmering much more problematic. The center gets all the heat. With a taller pot, the heat is distributed up through the column, rather than boiling the center and leaving the edges relatively unheated.
Can the burner get pulled out easily? To be replaced with dragonfly or whisperlite. I use a Primus ETA pot with dragonfly for a significant time and fuel savings in melting snow but still need a stove support and this windscreen could be pretty slick especially as it will add yet more efficiency.
However I cannot complain about its performance in the field. I loved the low, stable design, the interchangability of pots, and it melted snow like a champ. There are no instructions for using the inverted canister, so I found out that you need to heat up the element before inverting it, like using a liquid stove. ? It is so quiet that it is difficult to tell how hard it is running, or whether it is running at all.
Forgot to mention, the locking potgripper is great. Feels very solid when it is locked on the pot. Hopefully it stays that way over time. Overall I think the system is a viable alternative to a system stove with better stability and flexibility.
I do not know about the controlability of the Windburner, but there is very good flame control on the Primus, though it is so quiet you have to look at it to know what it is doing and it takes a lot of turns on the valve to control. I love the fact it sits on the ground and is super stable.
I would say the Primus may not be quite as well designed of a kit, but it gives you some flexibility the MSR does not (canister and pots). Some annoyances aside, the 1.3 is pretty good bang for the buck.
Thank you Andrew. I was just a trifle concerned. I did make sure that the valve was off. Thank you for your prompt reply. I will be tent camping on Lopez Island in Washington States San Juan Islands. Casual mountain biking, kayaking and fishing.
Have you tried opening the valve e more than 2 turns? I found I have to have it fully open to light mine. The valve is not easy to determine how open it is and there is very little resistance. Have you tried a standard fuel canister (not the winter fuel)?
On nearly every trip we make to the desert there is usually a new piece of gear along. I often try to mention some of them, and write reviews about the gear if I have the time. The Swedish gear maker Fjallraven has recently opened a store in Boulder and I have acquired a couple of pieces of gear from them that are worthy of note. I have a pair of their G1000 Trekking Pants, which I will review in a future post, and a Primus Profile 2-burner propane stove, the focus of this blog.
Th Primus Profile stove is something I have been thinking about for a long time, especially for river trips. Until its purchase, and for the last 25 years, I have been using a basic 2-burner Coleman stove. We are on the second one now; the first gave out after about 20 years. There is nothing wrong with the Coleman stove- it does its job- you fill it, light it, and cook. But it is a bit tedious with the pumping and lighting sequence, especially if there is wind. They are fairly inexpensive to operate, with a gallon of white gas costing around 12 dollars and the stove costing about 100 dollars. For reference, we use about 3-4 liters of white gas on a two week trip, depending on the time of year and how much time we are at the truck.
Primus Set Up
The basic Primus Profile 2-burner costs just about the same as the Coleman, right at 100 dollars. It is available at many stores, including NRS online. The Profile is the basic model stove; there are others in the line with additional features. The Primus takes about the same amount of time to set up as the Coleman, just a couple of minutes, but lights much easier. Setup requires opening the top, swinging out and locking the side wings into place, and connecting a hose to the stove and to a propane canister. This is where it gets easy- there is no pumping or priming- just open the gas valve to the burner then twist the electronic piezo igniter knob and you have a flame to set your pot on. The Coleman requires preheating, longer in the cold and wind, and there are often flareups to deal with, taking more time before you can start cooking.
Both stoves are near the same size and weight, with the Primus being a little sleeker and thinner, a bit longer, and with rounded corners. It also feels a little stronger and better built than the Coleman.
Propane Canisters for the Primus
The primary, and really only drawback to the Primus has to do with the cost of disposable propane canisters, near 4 dollars each. On our fall trip we had just started on our fourth canister on our way home, so fuel for the trip was about 15 dollars, about twice the cost of using the Coleman stove. They feel a little bulkier than carrying a few MSR fuel bottles full of white gas. Also, they may not be recyclable, something I consider another negative.