What Is a Primus Stove?

The paraffin (kerosene) pressure stove was invented by Swede Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist in 1892. A company set up to manufacture the appliance was named Primus, the Latin word meaning first. Primus stove quickly entered into common usage. However, other companies have also produced this type of stove.

  1. Fuel Tank Pressurization

    • The fuel tank is pressurized using the stove's pumping mechanism. This forces kerosene out of the tank and along the rising tube. Methylated spirit in the spirit cup below the burner pre-heats the burner tubes.

    The Burner

    • Once the burner tubes reach a high enough temperature, a fine spray of hot paraffin gas is emitted through the central jet on the burner. Air mixes with this gas and the stove's flame ring forces the gas into a circle.

    Burner Noise

    • Primus stove burners have a distinctive noise, familiar to generations of users, which has earned them the title "roarer."

    Campers and Explorers

    • The distinctive use of a pump to light one of these stoves has been familiar to campers and some of the world's most famous explorers for more than a century. Roald Amundsen used one during his journey to the South Pole, and Sir Edmund Hillary included the stoves in the equipment for his ascent of Mount Everest.

    Other Manufacturers

    • Other manufacturers of paraffin (kerosene) pressure stoves are spread around the world and include Meva of Czechoslovakia, Metacel of Australia, Petromax of Germany and Hipolito of Portugal.