Stove of the Week: Optimus Nova

The Optimus Nova is a crummy piece of junk -- or is it?  The answer:  It depends.  Buy the right version, and you might get a really good deal on a high quality expedition class stove.  Buy the wrong one, and you might just go hungry.

New post 18 Oct 2011:  Running an Optimus Nova on Canister Gas

What am I blathering about?  Optimus was bought out by Katadyn in 2007.  Katadyn has sought to reduce production costs.  Katadyn started cutting corners on the Nova.  Component quality and quality control suffered.  Indeed, the problems are so bad that Katadyn has been forced to issue a recall of the Nova.  Word of the recall and of the quality problems has gotten around.  Now, there is very little demand for the Nova.  It looks like Katadyn, in trying to milk the Nova cash cow has strangled her instead.  It's a shame.  Optimus had a very fine stove in the Nova, and now Katadyn has dealt the Nova what may very well be a death blow.  Shame on you, Katadyn!

But herein lies opportunity.  The Nova now has a bad reputation.  A stove with a bad reputation can't command much of a price.  But if you know what to look for, you can pick up a pre-Katadyn Nova, which is a very fine stove indeed, possibly for a very good price.  How will you know the difference?  I will get to that, but for now I will review a "real" Optimus Nova, a Nova from before the redesign.

First, the nova comes packaged in this padded pouch.

Frankly, when everything is in the pouch, it's a bit of a tight fit.

With care, everything can be fitted in.  However, if one carries the pump in the fuel bottle rather than in the pouch (which is the best approach anyway), then the pouch is more than adequate.

The pump on a Nova is made of very nice solid aluminum.

One of the ways we can tell a good Nova from a bad Nova is by means of the pump.  A good Nova has a connector made by AB CEJN of Sweden.  The red cover for the  connector should say CEJN on it.

If it doesn't say CEJN on it, that's a bad sign.  Likewise the male connector on the fuel hose should say CEJN.

If if doesn't say CEJN, it's not a Nova you want.  Similarly, the female connector on the pump should say CEJN.

It is not critical that the red, plastic protector on the pump be made by CEJN, but it is definitely critical that the connector on the pump and the connector on the fuel hose be made by CEJN.  If it doesn't say CEJN, don't buy it.

While we're on the subject of pumps, it's important to note that the pump rotates around the connector.  When you want to run the stove, rotate the fuel bottle (and therefore the pump as well) around the connector until you see the word "ON".

When you want to shut the stove down, flip the bottle over such that the word "OFF" is visible.

When the pump is rotated to the "OFF" position, the pump will draw air instead of fuel.  The air will proceed down the fuel hose just as fuel would.  Running air down the hose, clears the hose and helps prevent dried fuel deposits from building up.  Running air down the hose also helps to depressurize the fuel bottle so that fuel doesn't spray everywhere when you open the bottle.

Now, let's take a look at the stove itself.  Here it is removed from the pouch but still all folded up in transport mode.

Unfolded, the stove looks like this.

Now let's take a closer look at the valve control handle.

The valve control handle should say "made in Sweden."  It shouldn't say something else, including just the word "Sweden" alone.

Very good then, let's attach the stove to the fuel bottle and pump.  Note (if you have good eyesight) that the word "ON" can be seen on the collar of the fuel pump.  The fuel bottle is in the operating position.

Now, take a look at that bottle.  Notice that it is an MSR bottle but that this is an Optimus stove.  This is worth noting:  Sigg, MSR, Optimus, Primus, Snow Peak, and Brunton fuel bottles all have the same thread and generally are interchangeable.  I say "generally" because I have not been able to get an MSR pump to fit onto a Primus bottle.  The threads are the same, but the place where the threads start on a Primus bottle doesn't seem to work with an MSR pump.  So, good news:  if you can find one of the above brands of fuel bottles for cheap, go for it, and you can use it with stoves from that brand or any of the other brands.  But, lest there be bad news, always double check that your pump fits in a particular bottle before you head out into the field.

What's that you say?  MSR says "use MSR bottles only?"  Well, they do, don't they?  Hmm.  Isn't interesting that when MSR first started producing stoves that they didn't even make their own bottles.  What did they use?  Sigg fuel bottles (note:  fuel bottles, not drink bottles).  Has Sigg somehow declined in quality since then?  Hardly.  Now in all fairness to MSR, there were some problems in the past with people using cheap imported bottles.  However, saying "use MSR bottle only" is going a bit too far.  Any quality fuel bottle from an established manufacturer should be fine so long as the bottle has compatible threads.

Now, let's get to the meat of the matter:  actual use. The Nova is a winner.  It's got a very nice, powerful flame.

But at the same time it simmers well.

Now, that's a very nice low flame.  The Nova (pre-Katadyn) also has an excellent reputation for being able to handle cold weather and indeed is said to be better than the Primus Omnifuel in this regard.

Of course, just as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the proof of  a stove is in the cooking.  I assure you, the Optimus Nova really cooks.

That's it for this week's stove, the Optimus Nova.  I hope you're able to tell a good one from a bad one and that perhaps you'll find yourself a really good deal on a really good stove.

Thanks for joining me on another Adventure in Stoving.

HJ

The Pre-Katadyn Optimus Nova
What's good about it?
Powerful
Reliable
Stable
Efficient
Highly adjustable flame
Pump can be rotated to purge the stove
Excellent extreme cold weather reputation
High quality CEJN connector

What's bad about it?
Expensive
A bit loud
The pouch is a bit small (minor issue)
Katadyn has now ruined the stove

Pre-Katadyn Optimus Nova:  Overall, highly recommended.
Katadyn Optimus Nova:  Unreliable, not recommended.