Primus Stove

Primus Stove

The Primus stove, the first pressurized-burner kerosene (paraffin) stove, was developed in 1892 by Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist, a factory mechanic in Stockholm, Sweden. The stove was based on the design of the hand-held blowtorch; Lindqvist’s patent covered the burner, which was turned upward on the stove instead of outward as on the blowtorch. The same year, Lindqvist partnered with Johan Viktor Svenson to establish J.V. Svenson’s Kerosene Stove Factory to manufacture the new stoves, which were sold under the name Primus. The first model was the No.1 stove, which was quickly followed by a number of similarly-designed stoves of different models and sizes. Shortly thereafter, B.A. Hjorth & Co. (later Bahco), a tool and engineering firm begun in Stockholm in 1889, acquired the exclusive rights to sell the Primus stove.

The efficient Primus stove quickly earned a reputation as a reliable and durable stove in everyday use, and it performed especially well under adverse conditions: it was the stove of choice for Fridtjof Nansen's North Pole attempt, Roald Amundsen’s expedition to the South Pole and Richard Byrd’s to the North Pole. Primus stoves also accompanied Mallory on Mt. Everest as well as Tenzing and Hillary there many decades later. While many other companies also made portable stoves of a similar design to the Primus, this style is often generically referred to as a “Primus” stove, regardless of the manufacturer.