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Expedition stoves just got a notch better with the introduction of the lightweight, dependable Optimus Nova Plus Stove.

The Optimus Nova Plus Stove includes all the amazing high-altitude and cold-weather performance of the regular Nova stove with an additional Powerline hose for easier use. This hose includes a quick disconnect from the pump for faster brew sessions, and puts the flame control further from the burner to keep your hands singe free. The Nova Plus Stove burns on white gas, Optimus arctic fuel, kerosene, diesel, and jet fuel because you never know what type of fuel your expedition may get stuck with. This compact gas stove takes up less space than a fuel bottle when folded and weighs only 15 ounces, including the pump.

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Optimus Nova Plus Stove

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Here's what others have to say...

do these stoves break fast? like in the...

lis5671059

Member since 
Posted on

do these stoves break fast? like in the review?

Karl G.

Member since 
Responded on

My Optimus is going fine after 5 years, everything can break but these are pretty easy to fix and spare parts are available. They are well made and many people use these stoves with little problem. It helps if you have a little basic mechanical knowledge. By basic, I really mean basic. It also helps if you per filter your fuel if you are using dicy stuff like questionable diesel. You also have to clean it more often if you are using this type of fuel. Works great with the high quality stuff sold in camping stores.

Phil Maher

Member since 
Responded on

Optimus stoves are okay, but a better one of this type is the Primus Omnifuel. Far superior construction, and it can also burn canister fuel, which comes in handy sometimes. Hope this helps.

1 5

Rob McCallum

Member since 

This stove is not reliable. It will break after 3 - 4 uses.

My wife is on an 8-week research trip in the Mojave desert with this stove. The pump fell apart after 3 uses leaving her unable to cook food.

I drove 1100 miles to bring a replacement stove to her, and the next AM we started to cook some eggs and the new stove failed. The hose that delivers the fuel was somehow plunged. I was using new fuel and brand new fuel cans.

DO NOT buy this stove. It will fail. Look at MSR stoves.

citationx2203213

Member since 
Responded on

Real shame, Rob. I am surprised that you actually feel this is how they're designed/made, rather than thinking this is an extremely isolated incident (and that you allow your wife to work with jerks that can't lend her some of their stove time).
On the other hand I had my original Nova from 2005 until recently and never had an operational problem with it, using it from -15C to +40C (?20-100+F?). Then two months ago I decided I'd onsell it (still functioning!) and buy the nova+, which I've found to also be extremely good, with a better designed flame controller, and to me it seems the + stove is able to pump out even more heat than the Nova did!
A great stove, but if you're going on an expedition I would suggest taking a maintenance kit. It's quite easy to use. I did have to replace the leather cup on the pump in 2010 (once every 5 year replacement, not bad!).

Unanswered Question

I am looking for information on the durablity...

mcstone31607008

Member since 
Posted on

I am looking for information on the durablity of the stove as an expedition stove. This would involve heavy usage. I understand that routine cleaning comes with this style of usage. Reviews have jumped from 2007 to 2012 era. Will this stove be able to handle the usage? Optimus says it will, I called and had a chat. I do not want any advice on other stoves such as a dragonflies, xgk’s or primus omnifuels, I have owned all 3. I am looking for a more reliable stove without breakable parts and the ability to simmer as well as melt snow. Reviews have jumped from 2007 to 2012 era. I am looking for someone that might own this stove and have some knowledge for the 2010 era stoves.

Does anyone else leave their pump in the...

Bill O.

Member since 
Posted on

Does anyone else leave their pump in the bottle full time? I've been doing this for about 2 months now and haven't seen and ill effects, nor do I see anywhere in the manual where it says not too. Just seems every video I have ever watched of someone using this stove they pull their pump off the bottle when not in use, that seems like a good way to spill fuel, or introduce contaminates into my fuel bottle.

conan

Member since 
Responded on

I had a msr set up that I never took the pump off of it. You should be fine leaving the pump on there.

Bryan Meyer

Member since 
Responded on

I started leaving my pump in the bottle while doing the JMT. No problems.

4 5

Brett Clatt

Member since 

Used it in 10 degree weather at 11,100' by Chinns Lake in Colorado on 2-19-12. Worked true to the instructions. No annoying fuel leaks or mess. Turning the tube to up the flames is a little unsteady, you need to straighten the tube to make it easier.

body color is black? or sliver? I saw the...

alt5447390

Member since 
Posted on

body color is black? or sliver? I saw the black one at another shop..
I confused. which color is new one?

body color is black? or sliver? I saw the...
Gone Fishing

Member since 
Responded on

The body on the new model that Optimus sells is black from what I have seen. You could use the "Chat Now" to verify.

Brett Clatt

Member since 
Responded on

Black.

D. Joshua Christensen

Member since 
Groups:
Responded on

the old black one was defective. the chrome replaced it. now there is a new black one that is not defective. The way you can tell if you have a new black one or an old one is the QA number on the side of the unit.

As a result of the receipt of a number of reports of fuel leakage in the field and after quality assurance analysis, Katadyn Products Inc. has decided to voluntarily recall some Optimus Nova and Optimus Nova+ Multifuel Expedition Stoves. If you bought your stove between January 2009 and September 2010 and it has a black burner housing and shows a QA-number from QA000011-QA007313, please fill in the form below to file your request for an exchange. The QA-number of the stove is located on the side of the black burner housing. All Nova and Nova+ stoves with silver burner housing have no QA-number and are not affected.

The newest model is black and does not have a defective QA number

Is nova plus compatible with trangia like...

SERKAN TOZER

Member since 
Posted on

Is nova plus compatible with trangia like nova?
Can I use it with trangia adapter or not?

Jeff Petway

Member since 
Groups:
Best Answer Responded on

Yes, it is compatible with the trangia adapter.

5 5

Nathan Belz

Member since 

I've seen the original Optimus Nova Stove in action, and I will say that the new flame adjustment system on the Plus model is MUCH better. Definitely worth paying the little bit of extra cash. I generally use straight up white gas and can boil 1L of water in about 3min. Coldest I've been is about 10deg Fahrenheit and still was able to boil in the same amount of time. I would recommend buying the cook set as the pot features a coil system on the bottom that is designed to trap more heat than a regular pot - makes boiling a lot faster. I decided to go with Optimus cause I felt like it was much more durable than other brands on the market - I know multiple people that own Optimus and have had their stoves for countless years and they hold up to a beating.

As far as amount of fuel to amount of cooking, my experience is that the 1L bottle can cook for 2-3 people for 5days. Depends on how wise you are about use, what you are cooking, how much coffee you make, etc., but definitely has multi-person multi-day capacity. And I personally don't find the added weight of a little extra gas on the onsite of a hike to be all that cumbersome. Cleans easily, looks great. Can't write enough praise for it. GREAT STOVE!

The plus means better
5 5

bob4544373

Member since 

I bought mine before going to Iraq in 2003. I ran it off military grade diesel drained from my engine check valve. It ran and burned like a champ. With white gas it burns SUPER hot and cleaning is much easier than with diesel. I talked to another soldier and he said he had used many other flamable liquids in his and it worked great.

Hot fire in a Hot Zone
2 5

brent.lesl1678179

Member since 

I used this stove about 30 times and it worked perfectly. I was impressed with the ease of use and durability so decided it would be the one for a 6 month SE Asia cycle tour...

Unfortunately in the Laos countryside,right when I needed it most,a leak appeared somewhere in the fuel line that meant air would come out instead of fuel. Gah! I ate rough for a little while and dismantled the whole fuel line to try and find the problem. I figure it must be leaking somewhere where the little plastic hose connects to the bottle top in the inside of the bottle,or else I am stumped! What I can say is that air comes out (and fuel occasionally) of the bottle instead of fuel!

I emailed the "customer service" about this over a week ago but am yet to receive any actual customer service or acknowledgment of my existence.

From other reviews it seems the stove is a bit of a gamble - sometimes you get a lemon.

brent.lesl1678179

Member since 
Responded on

Update to this:

After finally getting a response from customer service, they instructed me they no longer make the pump I need to replace (they have a different connector for the stove now). They have offered me a new stove to replace my obviously defective one at the same price as a new one. No discount or anything.

It seems to me they change their design every few years, making parts that will break over time, which forces you to "upgrade" every few years to their latest version. While this might be OK practice with shoes and TVs, I don't think it's a smart thing to do with what can be considered safety equipment, a stove to boil water and cook food on when you are in the middle of nowhere. An expedition stove this is certainly NOT. I would term it as a low altitude campers/consumer stove where you can walk out and buy the latest version if your one breaks.

I would recommend people go for an MSR if they want a fully serviceable expedition stove. They are more reliable, parts don't change every couple of years and they provide good customer service.

ARYcave

Member since 
Responded on

I can see that too. I've returned mine (thanks to bc-com their after sale policies are awesome!) and looking at MSRs now.

mik3248194

Member since 
Responded on

I have had mine for a decade from NH to denali and never had a problem. Seems like your issue is an isolated one. Everyone of my buddies with an MSR stove end up buying a nova when they failed.

I can't find an O-ring to replace the one...

mattbarnes100154704

Member since 
Posted on

I can't find an O-ring to replace the one in the fuel feed valve/quick coupling.

Can you replace the O-ring in the fuel feed valve with a standard O-ring from a hardware or do you have to pay $30 for the extensive repair kit for the sake of one O-ring?

Phil Maher

Member since 
Best Answer Responded on

Just so you know, Optimus does make a regular maintenance kit that sells for about $15. That said, if you can match the o-ring exactly, and don't think you'll be needing any of the other, more specific, parts anytime soon, the local hardware store should have what you need for less than a buck.

3 5

ARYcave

Member since 

I have used it 2 weeks in CO at altitudes varying from 8K to 13K. At 8K it worked satisfactory. Above 10K I never managed to run it smoothly. I used camping fuel purchased from Walmart camping dpt. Even after long lasting warmup (the cup under the burner was almost full of fuel prior to warmup burn) it never ran smooth but rather kinda farting. I was able to cook on it but I know it was not right. The primary problem however is the design of flexible fuel line with quick disconnect. First - it can be very hard to keep parts of the connector clean. Imagine yourself sitting in freezing cold somewhere on a mud-rock island on a glacier and the damn thing drops on a "floor" while you are disconnecting or connecting it. Sand gets into connection and immediately rips apart the tiny o-ring. By the way that damn o-ring is a cheap EPDM rubber that gets already half dissolved by camp fuel even before abrasion caused by accidentally introduced sand. They put 4 of those o-rings in initial kit but trust me you need something like 20, and a patience of a surgeon to replace it in blasting freezing wind. The dust caps that supposed to protect line connector from debris are pathetic - they fall off by themselves.

The stove bag size is cramped and compartments are not easy to fit with stove parts.

A separate Foo I would like address to Optimus fuel bottle screw caps. They now equipped with polymer gasket seals that shrink being out of contact with liquid which results in them falling out from the cap and the cap is leaking. If you fish the gasket out from the bottle: good luck setting it back in cap - it will expand being saturated w/fuel and it won't fit. I'm not sure if it is only Optimus caps though acting that way because O bottle look pretty similar to other brands. Overall I'm disappointed - my 30 yrs old soviet made Shmel stove (which I always hated BTW) works much better than this stove. I would like to return it actually if they take it back ...

How many hours of useful cooking do you...

JetStream

Member since 
Posted on

How many hours of useful cooking do you get from the fuel bottles? There are three sizes:
.4 / .6 / 1 liter bottles.

Phil Maher

Member since 
Best Answer Responded on

Lots of variables involved with the answer to that, such as flame setting, fuel type, altitude, temperature...but from the specs, 450ml (0.45 liters) will give you about 2.5 hours of burn time on high. Again, variables not considered, boil time for 1 liter of water is approx. 3.5 minutes using white gas. Calculate that out over 2-3 times per day x the amount of water you plan on boiling per meal x the number of days you'll be out, give yourself a bit extra for priming, preheating and a bit of slack time, there's how much fuel you'll need. Base your choice of what size bottle you'll need on what you come up with. But I can tell you that the smallest bottle I can get away with is where I like to go personally, although I have several sizes to choose from in the gear closet that all come in handy from time to time.

Does anyone know what non-Optimus fuel...

nop3003415

Member since 
Posted on

Does anyone know what non-Optimus fuel bottle will work with the Nova + stove?

moroni

Member since 
Best Answer Responded on

I always recommend using the same brand fuel bottles. Primus bottles will work but the threads between the two are slightly different which could possibly become a fire hazard due to escaping fumes & loss of pressure. Go with the Optimus bottle just to be safe. The risks are simply not worth the potential consequences!

cpa3802227

Member since 
Responded on

The fuel bottles are all pretty standard. I use a small MSR fuel bottle with mine, because the store only carried MSR bottles and I needed a small one.

5 5

Mike Bean

Member since 

What a fantastic stove. Simple to use, quick start up. Boils water fast! All around great purchase!

Will this stove work with ethanol?

carp4828167

Member since 
Posted on

Will this stove work with ethanol?

Derek Wilkins

Member since 
Responded on

Straight from the Optimus Nova+ Manual: "The Optimus Nova+ has a burner designed to use petroleum-based fuels. Therefore, you cannot use alcohol-based fuel."

You can download the manual from the Optimus web site:

http://www.optimusstoves.com

Write your question here...Does this stove...

Matt

Member since 
Posted on

Write your question here...Does this stove burn unleaded auto fuel?

moroni

Member since 
Best Answer Responded on

The Nova+ will burn unleaded auto fuel but it's not recommended for three good reasons:

1. Erratic flame,
2. Excessive hydrocarbons produced,
3. Jet clogging requiring numerous cleaning.

It will however burn diesel, kerosene, white gas, & jet fuel very efficiently.

5 5

Grant Sun

Member since 

I have used this stove about a dozen times now. I've never had problems with it. It is one of the most reliable things in my pack. It is very durable as I can just shove it anywhere in my pack and not have to worry about the hose or stove breaking. Many of my friends have different types of butane and although they can get theirs started before me, I always get the water boiling in half the time. I got this as a gift but when researching found that it is one of the most versatile and reliable stoves out there. Thanks Optimus!

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