hi all, had a little excitement today, kicking myself for stupidity decided to try and get my old sigg firejet running today after 30? years sitting in the shed experimented with a base washer made from some lead sheet (was going to closely watch that), and cleared the jet with a 0.3mm acupuncture needle (100 for $6) put some coleman fuel in the small sigg bottle and pumped away...but bottle wouldn't hold pressure due to cracked pump/bottle washer (should have taken the hint) pulled a big o-ring off another sigg bottle and put that on the pump and pumped away, pressure held, so lit stove after awhile i thought i'd try pumping the pressure right up to get the blue flame to jump out to the outer ring as i used to do.........pump, pump, pump saw a little dampness around the brass end of the fuel line, paused, told self it could have come from slop when filling bottle flame was roaring a little louder, but hadn't jumped out so pump pump pump then there was a little hissing sound from the bottle, should have shut down stove right away.... then a little liquid below the hose brass fitting at the pump, then the flame jumped from the burner to the bottle and sort of fireballed fortunately i was outside, but to get away from the wind next the wooden fence and almost under the washing on the clothesline, next to my motorcycles.... quickly turned off the pressure at the bottle...but it was a bit late for that, some of the burning fuel was on the fence, it died off as i rubber it with my sandel, more fuel was burning on the concrete, it took some stamping out and sandel was briefly burning plastic pump was now burning quite well as it was fed from the pressure in the bottle, burner was still burning yellow too carefully lifted it all and took it to the middle of the concrete to burn away from anything else then rushed back to stamp out burning concrete where the pump had been, then raced into the house to grab a small extinguisher got back to the stove just as the melted pump popped and jumped out of the bottle a couple of quick shots of powder from the extinguisher and it was all over of course the 30 year old o-ring between the fuel-line and pump failed due to my over-pressure lucky it wasn't in, or near, a tent vestibule lucky i wasn't trying this on the kitchen bench lucky i didn't burn down the garage, fence and my bikes just thought i'd share
Ive always tested stoves in a roasting tray. It catches the liquid and gives you the option of moving the bevy. Luckily only had to do that once and I can report the hair on the back of your hands does grow back
Thanks for sharing! Glad to hear only the stove was damaged and no-one was injured... a great reminder of the risks involved when playing with fire / old stoves! O-rings clearly need regular maintenance / replacement on stoves / pumps like this. Their reliance on such small, fragile and difficult to see bits has always made me very nervous... To take MSR as an example, despite their annual maintenance recommendations for liquid fuel stoves / pumps seeming like overkill, I still take them very seriously. Obviously, they are trying to limit their legal liability but the other way to look at that is to take the view that the recommended maintenance is what is required to ensure the risk of this sort of thing happening is negligible. That's the type of risk I want to be taking for this sort of thing if I'm using a stove in less than ideal conditions. The risks involved lead me to factor such maintenance as just a cost / hassle of ownership when purchasing. Like servicing my car... https://www.msrgear.com/blog/msr-stove-maintenance-guide/
Had a much newer Dragonfly do similar. Nearly took out a measurable percentage of Shropshire. Soaking my (only) T shirt with the last bottle of water and smothering it was what finally put it out. We then had to find a pub in posh Ludlow that would serve a shaking man who looked and smelled like a trainee arsonist! It was this that fuelled (Ha!) a return to paraffin!
Thanks for the story. No one hurt and nothing else damaged - not a bad outcome. Has the stove survived? I think we’ve all done something like that in one or other walks of life. There lack of collateral damage speaks of an innate experience - and a handful of good luck!
@erice Thank you for this warning of the need for regular inspection and maintenance of our precious stoves. It's very scary when an o-ring fails on a stove or lantern. In my case it was the seal on the top of a pierceable cartridge gas lamp. I was outside and somehow I managed to turn the lamp off and blow out the small flame at the leak before any harm could be done. The lamp was ditched, after it had vented the gas, because a replacement seal was not available. Regards John
@erice , Thank you. A good reminder. I am thankful any time that members admit mistakes and share their dangerous results. As is often the case there are a sequence factors (you had warnings). Which fire extinguisher do you all use? <-- a safety first thread i find helpful. I'll not note/critique various flags. I will share tidbits: one that has been burned-into my own processes. ALWAYS have spot, separate from cooking area, to fill and prep stove. ANY leaks, drips seepage happens there. Once in cooking area, ANY seepage is a flag, shut down stove, address the problem. and as suggested above, servicing/testing stoves done on a tray (fuel spillage is contained) AND fire drill ensures the entire tray can be quickly moved (outside) away from all things flammable. thanks again. sorry for the SIGG : (, that looks like pump and connections would be a total loss with my limited skills.
@erice, thanks for sharing! This SIGG fire-jet stove can be fuelled with kerosene without any jet changes! Just a lever must be moved to another position, to change the air-ratio. I own a SIGG fire-jet, but I have used it only during a few weeks, some 20 years ago. I found the systems with separated fuel tank and burner, connected with a removable hose, always too vulnerable. The O-ring in the connector, a few cm from the flames, the strange silicone-washer on the underside of the burner, the plastic pump, the very limited possibility to reduce the flame and all the parts which can fail or get lost, did never convince me. Using them i.e. on the sands of a beach is not a pleasure. I was socialised with Phoebus Nº 725 and Phoebus Nº 625 or Optimus Nº 80 before. Simple and robust stoves. If I had to use the fire-jet today, i would fuel it with kerosene only. Best regards Radler
Hi @erice that was a lucky escape, things could have been much worse but thankfully your quick thinking solved it all. When i score a stove i just change all the seals whether its really needed or not, and all ways pressure test before even putting fuel in the stove
Same here- the only excepetion sometimes being original cork NRV pips. Even if a seal seems sound, often you'll never know if it was something recently shoved on, made from an entirely unsuitable grade that was hanging around the garage. I always roll my eyes a little when a newcomer asks advice about what to do with a new purchase, and they are advised to dunk test and replace anything that leaks. Fine I suppose if you intend to light it once then put it on a shelf, but not to be trusted in regular use or on adventures.
A good point there, what could be worse when out on a hike and stopping for a brew or a quick meal and a seal fails and the stove cant be lit as it cant hold pressure. I remember a good few years ago when some one was selling some nitrile rubber for seals and in a short while it bulged up and went soft and failed, for what the cost of seals from the fettle box is its not worth the risk
Yes, all my stoves overhauled with nitrile rubber seals 15-odd years ago have had to be re-done... In petrol stoves I'll replace even Viton every couple of years.
انفجار القنبلة - Borde Bomb In this post, the guy probably didn't know about this kind of protection and used a rubber O-ring yet. Lead melts at a temperature of about 327°C and in this case is a type of protection. In a situation of dangerous overheating, it melts releasing excessive pressure preventing the tank from bursting.
Your statement was general: “on a Borde stove”, so some could think that borde stoves don’t use washers… and this could be a misleading information… and because the borde is a gasoline stove, better to be cautious. So better to say that on your borde there is no washer, not on every borde. Cheers
