Optimus No. 5 – Part 2

So some of you may recall that one of my first posts was about trying to get the lovely Optimus No. 5 stove that was my Dad’s to work so we could take it away.  You may also recall that we repeatedly set it on fire, not the controlled, pressurised blue flame we were aiming for but paraffin flowing all over the whole thing and engulfing the entire thing in orange fire.

Nevertheless we took it away on our 2 week trip to give it a go and after a somewhat faltering start did manage to cook our first night’s dinner on it, albeit rather slowly and with the usual fire show.  After a second attempt the following day Tom pleaded with me to let us buy a gas stove which we did.  I must sadly admit that it was a lot more efficient and much easier.

But I was still determined that if we could only fix the seal that it would suddenly be a totally different beast, though Tom was far from convinced.  So I gave the stove to my very talented metal-working Uncle Bri and asked him to see if he could figure out what was wrong with it.  Here’s his verdict, delivered via text from my Aunty Gin:

“Unky Brian experimented with your stove.  He really doesn’t think you should take it away.  You will need to carry 2 lots of fuel and if they spill they will taint everything, plus they may not be easy to find in the US. He also thought it was a bit erratic and difficult to tame.  However he thought it was a beautifully made object and would love to frame it for you when you get back!”

So there we go.  Its being relegated to being just an object of beauty, not of use.  But there are worse fates.  And it really was much easier cooking on gas.  Not entirely sure what we’ll do once we leave North America as getting gas canisters in darkest Peru for example will be nigh on impossible, but that’s months away yet so we can cross that bridge at some point in Canada.