The Phoebus 625 stove is a true classic among the vintage stoves. It was made by Austrian company MJR. This stove was used by regular campers and the army in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is still a popular stove among classic camping stove enthusiasts.
The stove can run on Kerosene or white gas such as Aspen 4 or Coleman fuel. Each fuel requires a different nozzle. The stove is designed in Austria and loosely based on the Swedish kerosene stoves with a adjustable silent burner head. The removable pan supports, burner head, NRV and flame adjustment wheel are very similar to that of old classic Swedish kerosene stoves. Different from the classic Swedish design is that the pump assembly can be screwed out of the tank. This is also how the tank have to be refilled with fuel. The burner head itself also differs from the classic Swedish adjustable burners.
The stove came with a storage box. Either a round red one or a square yellow one. The (West) German army, the Bundeswehr, used a kerosene version of this stove under nsn number 7310-12-137-3309.
Noteworthy design features:
Although at first glance the design looks much like the Swedish kerosene stoves it has some unique design features. The control rod for moving the spindle inside the burner head has a slightly different connection. Also the rod has a chain to keep it connected to the stove itself. The pan supports are also slightly different; they are curved in order to fit better inside the storage can. The pump tube in classic kerosene stoves is silver braces permanently into the tank. In the Phoebus 625 the whole pump assembly can be taken out of the tank. This is also how you have to fill up the tank with new fuel. The idea is similar to a Tilley Lamp.
- The flame adjustment rod is connected in a different way than in other stoves such as a Optimus 111 or Optimus 207 adjustable burnet head. The rod at the users end has a slot that slides over a pin in the rod at the burner end.
- The stove has a windscreen for protection of the pre-heat flame. Where in a Primus 210 or a Primus 96 this windscreen is made out of two or three pieces in the Phoebus 625 it is made of one cylindrical piece.
- The alcohol or spirit cup is missing. Instead of a ring to hold this pre-heat liquid there is a notch in the tank to hold the alcohol or benzin for pre heating. This will over time degrade the paint on the fuel tank. This approach of pre-heating is similar as in a SVEA 123 or Primus 71 petrol stove.
- The pan supports are bended in order to fit the stove with the pan supports still standing in a transport box.
- The pump assembly has wings. This makes it possible to remove the whole pump (tube + NRV + plunjer) and take it apart for maintenance without any tools. This is also serves as a fuel cap. Refilling fuel is done by removing the whole pump assembly. The system is almost similar as that in Tilley Lamps.
- The pump rod can be screwed onto the pump tube to hold it in place. This is a safety feature. In case of a leak of the highly flammable fuel through a failing NRV it won’t come out of the tank and create dangerous situations.
- Pomp opbouw >> NRV andersom? Geen ruimte tussen pump cup houder en pomp stang?
Spare parts to bring a old Phoebus 625 back in working order:
Rubber pip. 4,5 mm will fit. The leather pump cup has the same size as in Swedish stoves with a small size pump however the hole in the middle needs to be smaller. So a special prepared pump cup for Phoebus stoves is necessary. A complete kit can be bought at Fettlebox UK.
Instead of the rubber flat washer that Fettlebox UK has specially made for the Phoebus 625 stoves you can also use a large size Coleman fuel cap ring (outside diameter of 1″ & inner diameter of 3/4″). This one has the same diameter but is thinner and leaves therefore more thread open for a better and easier connection of the pump assembly onto the fuel tank.
More info:
www.classiccampstoves.com History of the Phoebus Werke AG written by CCS forum member Radler.
www.classiccampstoves.com Phoebus No.625. NATO Military Issue.
www.ladavaz.vrukah.info Phoebus Camp Stove No. 625 scheme and instructions.
www.fettlebox.co.uk Complete kit spare parts.
www.fettlebox.co.uk Complete kit spare parts.
www.fettlebox.co.uk Complete kit spare parts.
www.fettlebox.co.uk Complete kit spare parts.
www.fettlebox.co.uk Complete kit spare parts.