Hiking Jim got me thinking about stoves,
Oh, sure, blame it all on me why don't ya?
and then some opportunities came along -- now I have four (yes 4) new, old stoves to use alongside my XGK-EX and Pocket Rocket. Two lightly used Svea 123's (an older pre-R with the slotted safety valve and an early '70's R) an almost new condition Primus 111B and an unused (I would guess it was fired only once) late 70's XGK with the yellow and black pump and all the pre REI stuff except the cup.
Repair parts are easy to find for the 123's and the 111B since the basic units are still in production. Also there aren't many wear parts in a 123. The XGK is also still in production, but with a different design, new pump, etc.
Woo hoo! Old stoves.
I took my old Svea 123 out this weekend on a camping trip. I cooked omlettes, pancakes, etc. on it. Very good cooking stove.
A word of caution on a 111B. If the pump rod on the 111B ever rises on its own, shut her down quick! If the pump rod rises on its own, then pressure is getting past the check valve in the pump, and you could soon have a flaming spout of death. The 111 was originally designed for kerosene. Using benzene (gasoline), which is what the "B" in the 111B stands for, was an after thought to make it more salable in the US where white gasoline is the standard. Just be careful with a 111B. I personally won't use them unless the pump has been serviced recently.
The XGK works, but the pump could use a rebuild (the o rings from the EX work, but I need a new leather - and a spare) and the air tube is gone. The jets from the EX are different (GK and X for the new one, G and K for the old one). The surge damper is not present in the new one either.
The new synthetic rubber pump cup from generation five (the current generation, "duraseal" pump) MSR pumps should work just fine on your old black and yellow pump. However, I prefer leather pump cups. Leather needs maintenance, sure, but they don't bind in hot weather (a consideration for desert use) and as long as they aren't torn can be reshaped and re-used. If a synthetic one gets caught and mal-formed, you're out of luck. There are leather ones available in older repair kits or from sellers on eBay. I haven't tried any of the ones on eBay.
The old yellow and black pumps are probably the best pump that MSR ever made. Generally, every successive generation of MSR pump has been worse than the preceding generation if you can believe it. The takeover in 1980 (IIRC) by REI did not do the outdoors community any favors. Thank God REI sold the company to Cascade Designs ca. 2001. It's never returned to the glory years of Penberthy, but it's a little better now.
The latest generation of MSR pump, the duraseal, is probably their best since the generation two yellow and black pump.
The yellow and black pump does have two serious drawbacks and one less serious drawback:
Serious:
1. If you over tighten the valve, you can crack the plastic housing. Crack the housing, and your pump is irreparable.
2. The check valve is spring loaded into the base of the pump. If you pull out the air supply tube, sproing! little parts go everywhere. Lose any of those parts, particularly the little teflon disk, and your pump is irreparable.
Less serious:
3. The air supply tube almost always is broken off at the base of the pump. MSR really blew it when the selected the material for the air supply tube. It just didn't hold up. The good news is that it doesn't really matter. Your pump, based on my experience, will work just fine without the tube.
Does anyone know of a place to get parts for the older XGK?
Boy. Now, there's the toughie. You can shop on eBay and the like for old XGK parts kits, but sometimes you have to buy a whole stove for parts. It's kind of a pain, but that's about the best I can do for you.
MSR just doesn't stock parts from 30 odd years ago.
HJ
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