cavemanmike
Well-known member
Less than half the price it was 2 months ago
Buy buy buy
Wow how cheap is heating oil
- Thread starter cavemanmike
- Start date
Less than half the price it was 2 months ago
Buy buy buy
Andy Farrant
Active member
You can buy a barrel of 'Oklahoma Sour' oil for $4.50 at the moment. Brent Crude is below $30 a barrel...
The end of the oil age will be marked by a crash in oil price as output exceeds demand as the world switches to cleaner renewables, rather than a price increase as oil runs out (the shale oil has proved this wrong). Think 'peak demand' rather than 'peak oil'. In my view the sooner the better.
The end of the oil age will be marked by a crash in oil price as output exceeds demand as the world switches to cleaner renewables, rather than a price increase as oil runs out (the shale oil has proved this wrong). Think 'peak demand' rather than 'peak oil'. In my view the sooner the better.
Pitlamp
Well-known member
As long as I can still buy Coleman fuel for my beautiful Optimus Svea 123R stove, I'll be happy.
(These also used to be known as the "Optumus Climber" stove, a.k.a. the "Bivi Bomb".)
I've not used mine for about 25 years but I dug it out this morning (still with fuel in the tank), fired it up and it ran like a train.
I was converted to Trangias when I got given one for an expedition. I'd never taken them seriously before as they didn't make a proper noise. My Trangia introduction was in a filthy layby when desperate for a brew on the way down through France. Couldn't get at the paraffin for the Optimus 111B ("Sidewinder") in the overloaded car so used the Trangia, grudgingly. Liked it - and use it all the time now. But there's nothing like the roar of a "proper" stove.
(These also used to be known as the "Optumus Climber" stove, a.k.a. the "Bivi Bomb".)
I've not used mine for about 25 years but I dug it out this morning (still with fuel in the tank), fired it up and it ran like a train.
I was converted to Trangias when I got given one for an expedition. I'd never taken them seriously before as they didn't make a proper noise. My Trangia introduction was in a filthy layby when desperate for a brew on the way down through France. Couldn't get at the paraffin for the Optimus 111B ("Sidewinder") in the overloaded car so used the Trangia, grudgingly. Liked it - and use it all the time now. But there's nothing like the roar of a "proper" stove.
I used an old-fashioned Primus for many years and loved the noise it made. Bit of a pig to get going sometimes but it still worked OK in really cold weather, which modern camping gas stoves don't. Used to get mine started with a small block of solid fuel - more efficient than carrying a small bottle of meths and less messy than using the paraffin itself. (I found you needed to ask for "rod sprit" in Norway if you wanted meths - they dye it red instead of purple.)
BTW, did you know that Amundsen took Primus stoves with him on his successful journey to the South Pole in 1910-11 - he solved the problems which Scott had with paraffin on his return from the Pole. Scott found the tins he'd left stored were only half-full when he picked them up - he didn't realise that the leather seals round the lid leaked in below zero temperatures. Amundsen, coming from Norway, knew about the cold weather problem and soldered his tins so they didn't leak. One of Amundsen's tins was found by another Polar expedition some time early this century and it was still full.
BTW, did you know that Amundsen took Primus stoves with him on his successful journey to the South Pole in 1910-11 - he solved the problems which Scott had with paraffin on his return from the Pole. Scott found the tins he'd left stored were only half-full when he picked them up - he didn't realise that the leather seals round the lid leaked in below zero temperatures. Amundsen, coming from Norway, knew about the cold weather problem and soldered his tins so they didn't leak. One of Amundsen's tins was found by another Polar expedition some time early this century and it was still full.
Pitlamp
Well-known member
That's worth knowing; thanks!
Why do lawn mower shops sell it - do they use it in petrol mowers as the fuel?
Hello Jenny - yes, the good old "Sit up and beg" Primus stove; an excellent tool. I've got a really old one I acquired in its own tin box, which is going to be a restoration project. That's an interesting bit of information about the two great polar explorers!
Why do lawn mower shops sell it - do they use it in petrol mowers as the fuel?
Hello Jenny - yes, the good old "Sit up and beg" Primus stove; an excellent tool. I've got a really old one I acquired in its own tin box, which is going to be a restoration project. That's an interesting bit of information about the two great polar explorers!
Yes, Boyd had a half-pint one in a red tin - which is what I "learned on" the first time he took me camping. Then we acquired a pint one, also in a red tin box. Still got both in the storeroom at home, though not used them for many years, and always preferred them to the more modern and fancy devices but they were heavier to carry.
I always wondered why the writing on the tins included Arabic but it seems they were in demand by the nomadic Arabs as being easier to manage than hunting for fuel in a desert. According to a book on Amundsen, he became interested in using the stoves because he'd seen the women traders in the open air markets in the north of the country using them under their skirts in cold weather to keep warm. I have to confess that, until I read that, I'd never have thought of stuffing a Primus under my skirt to keep warm.
I always wondered why the writing on the tins included Arabic but it seems they were in demand by the nomadic Arabs as being easier to manage than hunting for fuel in a desert. According to a book on Amundsen, he became interested in using the stoves because he'd seen the women traders in the open air markets in the north of the country using them under their skirts in cold weather to keep warm. I have to confess that, until I read that, I'd never have thought of stuffing a Primus under my skirt to keep warm.
Bob Mehew
Well-known member
I was told both soldered their paraffin tins but Scott's suffered from tin pest, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_pest.Jenny P said:
That can't have been what caused Scott's problems though because Amundsen's tins didn't deteriorate and he never had any problems with leaking tins or the paraffin evaporating.
It is something to do with the behaviour of the leather washers which were used in the seal of the screwed on lid on the tins Scott used. If you read the original diaries and reports it refers to Scott using leather washers to seal the screw-on lids of the tins. Apparently the paraffin can evaporate if the tin is not sealed completely - I thought it needed hot weather for paraffin to evaporate but it seems it does it in cold weather as well. I don't believe Scott ever understood why the tins weren't full when he collected them from the depots on the way back - I think his diary even speculates that they hadn't been properly filled or that someone had accidentally put half full ones in the depots.
Amundsen knew about cold-weather problems with paraffin and arranged for the lids to be soldered around the edge of the lid where it came next to the body of the tin so that it was completely sealed - the solder must have been comparatively easy to break off when they wanted to open each tin as they came to use it. There is nothing in Amundsen's diaries about any problems with tins which were not full whereas, if the problem was tin pest, you would expect that it would have affected his supplies as well. Also, when you consider that one of Amundsen's paraffin turns was found so recently and was still completely sealed and full, tin pest can't have affected it at all.
It is known athat Wikipedia sometimes isn't correct but I have books with both Scott's and Amundsen's diaries quoted in full plus other books on the history of Polar exploration, so that's what I'm relying on.
I'd never heard of tin pest so I'll have another read of what Wikipedia says about it. It's intriguing though.
It is something to do with the behaviour of the leather washers which were used in the seal of the screwed on lid on the tins Scott used. If you read the original diaries and reports it refers to Scott using leather washers to seal the screw-on lids of the tins. Apparently the paraffin can evaporate if the tin is not sealed completely - I thought it needed hot weather for paraffin to evaporate but it seems it does it in cold weather as well. I don't believe Scott ever understood why the tins weren't full when he collected them from the depots on the way back - I think his diary even speculates that they hadn't been properly filled or that someone had accidentally put half full ones in the depots.
Amundsen knew about cold-weather problems with paraffin and arranged for the lids to be soldered around the edge of the lid where it came next to the body of the tin so that it was completely sealed - the solder must have been comparatively easy to break off when they wanted to open each tin as they came to use it. There is nothing in Amundsen's diaries about any problems with tins which were not full whereas, if the problem was tin pest, you would expect that it would have affected his supplies as well. Also, when you consider that one of Amundsen's paraffin turns was found so recently and was still completely sealed and full, tin pest can't have affected it at all.
It is known athat Wikipedia sometimes isn't correct but I have books with both Scott's and Amundsen's diaries quoted in full plus other books on the history of Polar exploration, so that's what I'm relying on.
I'd never heard of tin pest so I'll have another read of what Wikipedia says about it. It's intriguing though.
TheBitterEnd
Well-known member
Jenny P said:
Soldering a tin full of paraffin...
what could possibly go wrong
I've got two in the shed but I've lost the little tank sealing caps for transporting them which is a shame, otherwise I would be tempted to use them from time to time. Heavy but fun
TheBitterEnd said:Jenny P said:
Soldering a tin full of paraffin...
what could possibly go wrong
I've got two in the shed but I've lost the little tank sealing caps for transporting them which is a shame, otherwise I would be tempted to use them from time to time. Heavy but fun
Can you not match a bolt and washer to seal the tank in transit? I'll look an see what thread is on my stove.
Best of all stoves we as a family have done chips on! :bow: O.G.
