Anything else come close?
Needing a new stove...
VAnimrod:
Not a lot of info in your post, so not sure what you're asking. If you are asking if any other stoves are as good as the SVEA 123, then the answer is definitely yes. The SVEA 123 is an elegant stove that was leading edge technology 50 years ago, but today there are many modern stoves that offer better performance for less weight and come in smaller packages.
STOVE/FUEL COMPARISON
I own a dozen or so stoves, so many that it�s hard to keep track, and I have discarded, sold or given away several more. I own and operate, or have operated, or have seen operated just about every kind of stove that�s on the market today or has been on the market for the last fifty years.
I�ll discuss fuel first. The most common types of fuel include wood, white gas, kerosene, Isobutane, propane, Sterno, and alcohol. Other less common types include butane, unleaded gas and diesel. Each has its� advantages and disadvantages.
Archeologists have discovered the remnants of fire pits in excavation dating from about 100,000 years ago. So human beings have burned wood for heat and/or cooking for about that long. You have to know how to get a fire going and in today�s increasingly urbanized world, some people just simply haven�t had much experience. Wood cook fires will coat your pots in messy soot and that can get inside your pack if you don�t clean them properly before packing. It takes longer to cook over a campfire since you have to get the fire going, burn enough wood to create a good bed of coals, then wait for the fire to die down some so you can get close enough to the fire to start cooking. Today, many people are reluctant to have a campfire because of the impact on the environment. This is most obvious in high-use areas such as US Forest Service campgrounds and other high-use places where people camp often. No matter how you burn wood, you have to deal with smoke. Wood is lightweight since you don�t carry it at all, you pick it up at camp and it can be used for heat as well as for cooking. The price of wood is right since it can be gathered free from the environment.
White gas is a clean (filtered) form of gasoline and it is a petroleum product. White gas is most often pressurized, usually with a pump, at the point of use. It burns clean and develops high BTU output at just about any ambient air temperature. White gas is moderately priced when considered on a per unit basis, compared to other fuels.
Unleaded gasoline is that which runs your car. It is not as clean as white gas and consequently it can clog tiny orifices like those in the jets of small camp stoves. But unleaded is cheaper than white gas.
Kerosene is also a petroleum distillate and it delivers more BTUs per unit than gasoline but it creates soot in its� flame and it is not as clean as white gas, so it has a tendency to clog tiny orifices like those in stove jets, just like unleaded gas. Kerosene is inexpensive compared to other fuels.
Butane and propane must be discussed together. Butane is a form of natural gas. Propane is a petroleum product. Butane produces fewer BTUs per unit than propane so it can be stored in thin walled containers, usually canisters with a threaded valve on top. Propane is more volatile so it must be stored in thick heavy canisters. Isobutane is a mixture of 70% butane and 30% propane that produces more BTUs than pure butane but still can be stored in lightweight, thin-walled canisters. Pure butane is rarely used in camp stoves today. Propane is very popular for a variety of camp appliances when weight and bulk are not concerns. Butane will not atomize at temperatures below freezing. Isobutane is relatively expensive on a per unit basis. Propane is less expensive than Isobutane but more expensive than white gas, when considered on a per unit basis.
Alcohol is a distillate from the fermentation of just about any organic material. Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) produces soot that will blacken pots. Denatured alcohol does not produce soot and it produces more BTUs per unit than does rubbing alcohol. Typically, alcohol is burned without pressurization and you can�t see the flame. Alcohol will deteriorate aluminum so you have to carry it in plastic containers. Alcohol is moderately priced compared to other fuels.
Sterno and Esbit are brand names for a product that is offered as a solid cube, wafer or in a can. The solid is impregnated with alcohol. If you�ve ever gone through a buffet line, you probably have seen the small Sterno cans burning away under the pans containing hot food. Canned Sterno contains a gelatin that holds the alcohol. When I was in Viet Nam, we used a mixture of C-4 and peanut butter to heat C-rations and we used Sterno tabs to get the mixture burning. We didn�t heat with Sterno tabs because it took too many tabs and it was too slow. Sterno is expensive when considered on a per unit basis.
Today, there are many types of small, lightweight stoves used by backpackers and campers and most are effective for their intended purpose when used within their design parameters.
The first widely available camp stove in the U.S. was invented by Coleman, starting with Model 1, in 1923, and they�ve gone through various changes over the years. The modern Coleman two burner stove is essentially the same as the Model 9C developed in 1927. I�ve heard them referred to as �suitcase stoves� and if you�ve done much base camping, you�ve probably used one or a variation thereof. Typically they have two burners and a fold-down wind screen. Some of the early models were designed to burn kerosene but the most common are those that burn white gas. Today they are available in multi-fuel varieties that can also burn unleaded. You have to occasionally pump the fuel tank during operation to maintain pressure. The same two-burner design is also available today using propane, which eliminates the need for pumping. The fuel tank or a propane cylinder can be stored inside the case. They are too bulky and heavy for backpacking but they are still a mainstay in base camping.
Coleman invented a single-burner, cylinder stove, model 520 that burned white gas, for use by GIs during WWII. The fuel tank is attached on the bottom of the stove and it fits inside two cylindrical aluminum pots that twist together. My father had one when I was a kid but it eventually developed a leak in the fuel tank and it was cheaper to replace it with a new stove than it was to have the leak brazed shut. In their day, they were about the best thing available for lightweight camping. They haven�t been in production for decades and are now looked upon as antiques. However, that is a proven design and the compact, single-burner, liquid fuel stoves that Coleman offers today, like the 442 and the Omni-fuel, are direct descendents. The only thing that�s missing is the twist-together pots.
There are a variety of small, lightweight wood burners on the market that significantly reduce the amount of wood that is used and consequently reduce the time that you have to wait before starting to cook. The Bushbuddy and the Firespout can be folded into a small lightweight package. Or you can fabricate your own from a coffee can using a can opener and a pair of tin snips.
Optimus starting manufacturing camp stoves that burn white gas, in Sweden in 1899, but they were not widely available in the U.S. until after WWII. They offered several models and the all-brass models are among the most elegant stoves ever produced.
The SVEA 123 is an excellent example. Typically they are auto-generators, which means you have to prime them to get them started and heat from the fire eventually warms the fuel tank to make the fuel atomize. They don�t work well in extreme cold or in high winds because those elements reduce the effect of auto-generation. You can still see them on some store shelves today, but they are not hot items since other, more modern designs are more popular.
MSR started manufacturing the �XGK� stove about 50 years ago. It burns white gas and (according to the manufacturer) will also burn just about any kind of combustible liquid; unleaded gas, kerosene, JP4 jet fuel, perfume, high-proof liquor, alcohol, diesel, etc. It is built very sturdy and will take a lot of abuse but it�s heavy and bulky by modern standards for lightweight backpacking stoves. It�s still the stove of choice for Himalayan expeditions because white gas is not readily available in Nepal and kerosene is. The jets can be easily clogged by dirty types of fuel but MSR offers a jet designed for kerosene. It can be field maintained and repair kits are readily available. It has to be primed to get started and pumped occasionally during use. MSR also offers the �Whisperlite� stove. It�s a smaller, lighter version of the XGK and has been the mainstay of mountain climbers in the U.S. for several decades. It use to have problems with the jets getting clogged but modern �Shaker Jets� seem to have reduced that problem significantly. Like the XGK, it can be field maintained and repair kits are readily available. It also has to be primed to get started and pumped occasionally during use. It�s not very good at simmering. Another offering from MSR is the �Dragonfly� stove. It has a second valve that improves simmering capability. I own all three of these MSR stoves and I prefer the Dragonfly. I rebuild them occasionally and change the �O� rings on the fuel bottles annually. The XGK and Dragonfly produce a very powerful flame and I suspect that it�s powerful enough to sweat solder copper pipe.
Several companies offer small lightweight Isobutane stoves. They are very simple to operate bordering on idiot proof. Some have hoses that connect the canister to the stove and some stoves screw directly onto the top of the canister. I personally like the type that screws directly on top, because they are lighter and less bulky. I own a Hummingbird stove that is the hose type and it must be assembled/disassembled before and after use. But it becomes a reasonably compact package when disassembled. It is about twenty-five years old and it�s still available on store shelves and it costs only $30. The Coleman Peak One Mini Butane stove can be purchased at Wal Mart for $28. It just might be the best value offered for small lightweight isobutene stoves. I also own an MSR �Pocket Rocket� and an Optimus �Crux� that screw on top. Both are excellent stoves. The Crux can be placed into a small pouch that fits inside the dome on the bottom of an Isobutane canister, so the finished package is extremely compact. The Pocket Rocket fits into a small plastic container provided by the manufacturer. They do not require any assembly or maintenance. Either they work and you continue using them or they don�t work and you throw them away. I have only discarded one Isobutane stove since 1972. It was still working after about twenty years of use, but the pot stand connectors eventually broke. Isobutane is a mixture of propane and butane, and butane does not atomize at temps below freezing. So if you use one in freezing temperatures, it performs poorly while the propane burns off and stops working all together when there�s nothing left but butane. The empty canisters tend to accumulate on a long expedition and waste volume in your pack while carrying them back to civilization. I recently saw a friend break out his new Snow Peak stove and use it to heat a cup of tea on a day hike. It�s similar to the Pocket Rocket and Crux. The Coleman F1 Ultralite is another similar design.
The Jetboil and MSR Reactor are Isobutane stoves that come with a combination wind screen/flue/pot stand that makes them very efficient users of fuel. They are designed for boiling water and they accomplish this task more efficiently than most other stoves, which means you can carry less fuel. They are not very good for cooking (like frying fish or simmering a casserole) but if all you need to do is boil water to re-hydrate freeze-dried food, one of those stoves might be your best choice.
The Primus Omnifuel and the Coleman Firestorm stoves have a fuel tank and pump for burning white gas and they will also accept Isobutane canisters. That seems like a good idea on the surface. However, the best thing about Isobutane stoves is that they are so lightweight and compact. So they are the best choice for ultra-lightweight summer backpacking. However, the Primus Omnifuel and Coleman Firestorm are neither lightweight nor compact when compared to other Isobutane stoves. So if you use one in the summer and burn Isobutane then you would be combining all the disadvantages of white gas stoves and Isobutane stoves. A friend tells me that his works fine in cold conditions when burning white gas, and as good as an MSR Whisperlite. So if you wanted to buy only one stove and use it in every situation, then a Primus Omnifuel or Coleman Firestorm stove might be your best option.
I own a small Safesport alcohol burner stove. It�s not quite as small and light as the Pocket Rocket or Crux, but it�s close. It takes a long time to get started and alcohol delivers fewer BTUs per unit than white gas so it takes more fuel to boil a given amount of water. Trangia might be the biggest manufacturer of alcohol stoves. They are absolutely silent when operating. So if you want a hot cup of coffee in a blind and don�t want to make any noise, it�s the way to go.
I own several propane appliances; stoves, lanterns and space heaters. Generally they are of the brand �X� variety bought at Wal Mart, K Mart or Target. They are inexpensive, simply made and so easy to operate that they are almost idiot proof. The fuel canisters are big and heavy so not good for backpacking. I use them exclusively for base camping because they are so convenient. There�s no priming, no pumping and no maintenance. Just turn on the knob, light them and they work.
All stoves have their various hazards. Alcohol stoves can be spilled and you could get burning fuel on you and your gear/tent and you can't even see the flames. Most white gas stoves require some priming and that can create fire a hazard if too much fuel is used for priming. On rare occasions, white gas fuel bottles/pumps can leak and the dripping fuel can catch fire. Any fuel bottle with old "O" rings can leak so keep the "O" rings fresh and new. Butane canister stoves can experience some problems but it seems less prevalent in them because we usually use the canisters soon after buying them so the "O" rings don't have time to go bad. I see that Jetboil currently has a voluntary recall of one of its' control valves because it occasionally but rarely leaks. Propane canisters can also leak if they are stored too long. It�s possible to accidentally leave the valve open on most Isobutane and propane appliances and that can result in filling a tent with volatile gas just waiting to explode or asphyxiate someone. So it�s very important to close the valve securely every time you use the item.
I use Isobutane canister stoves for ultra-light summer backpacking because they are lightweight, compact and simple to operate.
I use white gas stoves for winter camping and for trips into the Alaska bush because they operate effectively in sub-freezing temperatures and I haven�t seen Isobutane canisters on the store shelves in Alaskan bush communities.
I use propane appliances for base camping because propane is less expensive than Isobutane and because propane appliances are more convenient to operate than white gas appliances. I don�t care about the weight/bulk of the propane canisters when base camping.
KC
