Optimus 00 Kerosene Stove Review

"I purchased mine in 1975 or 76. I had an Air Force assignment to Izmir, Turkey to a NATO mobile unit and wanted something portable. I picked this stove because it would burn kerosene, which was readly available overseas. It performed perfectly the whole time. I even had to burn diesel fuel in it once and although it smoked some it worked like a champ. I was one of the few guys that could get a hot shave in the morning and heat up instant coffee (C Ration type, but better than nothing). I also carried it in my Blazer and used it when I was stationed in Colorado. When I pass this down to one of my grandkids I'm sure they'll get years of use out of it too."

"This isn't a review as much as it is a testament to the unbelieveable dependability of this stove. I bought mine back in 1970, and since then I haven't replaced a single part on it. You do need to use priming paste which makes starting it a little tricky, but done correctly it will start the first time - everytime. I defy any of these new styles to last half the time my 00 has."

"Bought a korean Copy of this one in 81 and the original in 85 You Fuel it with about a pint of Kero and it will run all week couple of ounces of ethanol will prime it 40 times.
Cooked many hundreds of meals on these stoves and they have NEVER let me down."

"I have an Optimus 00 that I purchased in the mid-1970s. In the early 1980s I replaced the leather pump with some rubber O-rings in a home-design system. I drilled a small hole in the pump cylinder so that the pump could draw air. I was tired of oiling the leather pump and I thought that I had a better design. I also have a small brass chain that attaches the tank lid and the filler cap to the stove body so that the parts don't get lost.

Thirty or so years old and the stove still fires up just fine. The stove is amazing. Tonight I cooked blackend fish on the patio with the old 00.

Still a little finicky to light (I use a small amount of white gas) and still a little heavy for long trips. But the 00 does put out the BTUs. The old stove could sure tell some stories of great trips with great company and nice camp dinners."