Monday, March 5, 2012

Percolator Coffee on my Optimus 8R Hunter Stove

Storms came through and knocked out the electricity the night before I made this video. Instead of starting the generator I decided to make coffee on my 40 year old Optimus 8R Hunter stove, using a stainless steel percolator pot I bought for a couple bucks at a flea market. I don't really like perk coffee (it overheats it; plain old cowboy coffee is much better if done right) but I find the thermodynamics of the perk assembly fascinating. Basically the stove heats the water on the very bottom under the inner plate, the heated water follows the path of least resistance which is up the stand tube, then out the top into the perk bulb (where by the way you can monitor the color of the brew) and down through the coffee basket where it re-enters the main chamber as brewed coffee. The stove is pretty fascinating in its own right: although it is a pressurized gasoline stove, it creates its own pressurization by heating the fuel tank. Unlike the typical liquid-fuel stove, it does not require a generator tube nor a pump; although an optional pump is/was available to make it easier to start and quicker to reach full heat. I have the optional pump, but I never use it. I hadn't used this particular stove in awhile, but what I like best about it is that it always works. And I have never yet had to replace anything on it.

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