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A guide to self reliant living

 THE BUTTERFLY #2412 PRESSURE STOVE

The Butterfly #2412 stove can be assembled quickly for use, then disassembled if required for packing up to move if necessary. To assemble the stove, the three "L" shaped legs are first fitted into corresponding slots on the bottom of the top plate, then lined up and inserted into the hollow pegs soldered to the sides of the fuel tank. There is a cap with a gasket on the top center of the tank: remove and save the cap (screw the cap onto the end of the pump handle), then use the supplied wrench and screw in the burner assembly and tighten it with the wrench. 

The Butterfly #2412 is the only pressure stove designed for really portable use!  Combined with the multi-fuel capabilities of this stove, this makes it one of the most versatile and valuable stoves anyone could ask for to use in an emergency situation.

Butterfly #2412 Pressure Stove

Butterfly #2412 Pressure Stove Disassembled

To light the #2412, first fill the tank with clean fuel through a filter funnel* until it is about 3/4ths full. Pour some alcohol* into the alcohol cup, make sure the air bleed valve on the filler cap is OPEN, then light the alcohol.  Just before the alcohol burns up (easily visible), tighten the air bleed valve on the filler cap, pump the manual pump on the side of the fuel tank, and the stove should easily begin putting out heat. If the ambient temperature is very low (below 40 F), it may take two fillings and burnings of the alcohol cup to preheat the burner assembly properly. If lighting outdoors, block any wind from blowing the heat from the burning alcohol away from the burner. In an emergency, virtually any fuel can be used in the alcohol cup for preheating, but expect some sooting on the burner unit.

"Butterfly" kerosene stove are available from www.StPaulMercantile.com . St Paul Mercantile is highly recommended.  Their prices are low and service is high - a great combination!

You can begin cooking immediately. If you need more heat, just pump a few additional times to build more pressure in the tank (Remove any boiling liquids on the stove first, though!). You can hear the heat output differential, so there isn’t a problem regulating the BTU output. To lower the temperature, simply unscrew the bleed valve a quarter turn and listen as the pressure lowers and therefore the BTU output decreases, and tighten the bleed valve when you have lowered the temperature sufficiently.

Let me give you an illustration. Bette wanted to cook some rice on the little #2412. The first thing you need to do is boil water, so I had the stove pumped up to produce a high heat. The water started boiling in only a few minutes, and then the rice and butter was put into the boiling water, which of course immediately cooled the water below the boiling point. In a couple of minutes it was boiling again, so I opened the bleed valve to lower the temperature output to a gentle simmer, then tightened the bleed valve again. The rice cooked perfectly without scorching on the bottom, and I had some nicely cooked rice for lunch. Bette wanted to heat some beans, so they went into small pan, I pumped up the stove about 5 strokes, and the beans heated to boiling quickly, as which time I lowered the temperature (open the bleed valve for a moment) so they could simmer. When the beans were cooked, Bette turned off the stove by simply opening the bleed valve a half turn and leaving it open.

With 0.6 L of fuel in the tank, you have about 4 hours of cooking time available with the #2412: obviously, these stoves are extremely fuel efficient! One liter equals 1.0567 quarts, so a gallon of kerosene will yield from 24 to 32 hours of operation, depending upon the pressure at which the stove is operated, which should be enough for several weeks of cooking or heating water for washing.

 

All kerosene pressure stoves follow the time honored design principles of the old style gasoline torches: The fuel is preheated in a tube until it volatizes, the vapor is blown through a very small venturi jet in a nipple and burns completely as a vaporized fuel/air mixture. Safety in terms of pressure is not a factor, as the jet is always open...it is virtually impossible to build up too much pressure in the tank. But that open jet design means the tank is not sealed, so if the stove is to be transported after use and fuel remains in the tank, be sure to transport the stove in the upright position and with the bleed valve open. If you are hiking or carrying the #2412 stove in such a way that it cannot be carried upright, then use the supplied wrench to remove the burner assembly and replace it with the brass cap, and tighten the bleed valve on the filler cap. It only takes a couple of minutes to perform this procedure, so it isn’t time consuming or difficult.

Notice the "*" above? Those were put there to alert you to avoid potential problems. Kerosene pressure stoves vaporize the fuel through a tiny jet hole, remember? The stove comes with a jet cleaner in case the jet becomes clogged. That, of course, is why you should use a filter funnel when filling the fuel tank...why borrow trouble with dirty fuel? Preheating with alcohol is best done with the highest temperature burning alcohol, which means 91 to 95% alcohol, not 70% rubbing alcohol. Alcohol burns very hot, without much of a visible flame and produces almost no soot. In an emergency you could preheat using kerosene in the alcohol preheat cup, but expect it to leave a soot deposit on the burner and require several cups of fuel to achieve adequate preheating.

Can a kerosene pressure stove be used indoors in an emergency? Certainly. They burn without noticeable fumes, and because they burn kerosene it does not produce excessive carbon monoxide as do gasoline stoves. [Always open a window a bit when using any device with an open flame...they burn oxygen, too.] These stoves are too small to support an oven, but with a support stand to hold the oven with the stove beneath, they easily put out enough heat to properly heat the oven...it just isn’t ideal for that purpose. The #2412 is a pressure stove...they do have a sound. It isn’t as loud as a Coleman stove or lantern, but you can hear the mild roar of the burner unit in operation, just as you can with a Primus kerosene stove. Unlike the tiny Primus, however, the Butterfly #2412 is large enough to use for daily cooking, if required.

IMPORTANT!

  • Clean the inside of the fuel tank of new units before use by rinsing with kerosene.

  • Once a year, clean the burner unit (including the jet) and repeat step one. This will keep particles from clogging the jet. If the burner of the #2412 is removed, always store it in a sealed bag with the wrench and needle cleaning tools.

  • If the stove does not light, or burns off center, clean the jet with the supplied needle.

  • If the #2412 stove is stored with fuel in the tank AND the burner installed, open the bleed valve, otherwise changes in barometric pressure can cause fuel to rise up through the bleed valve and leak.

  • For transport with fuel in the tank, remove the burner unit and store it in a sealed bag, and replace the burner unit with the supplied cap (stored on the end of the pump handle), and close the bleed valve on the filler cap.

  • Always use a funnel with a filter to fill the fuel tank. Coleman filter funnels work well.

  • Kerosene pressure stoves will burn diesel fuel, gasoline, alcohol, stove oil, etc, in an emergency, but for indoors use only kerosene is recommended.

  • In an emergency, the stoves can be pre-heated with any fuel, but expect a lot of soot on the burner. The soot does not degrade performance, but is pretty dirty to handle.

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