Hi, i've been trying to fix my ranger 10 stove burner. It is supposed to be in a case ofcourse, but for the sake of the pictures I removed the shell and the windshield. The problem is mainly that I cant get it to burn properly. The picture shows the best I have gotten the flame so far. |imgRemoved| These are the burner parts: |imgRemoved| And even that flame is not stable.. After a minute or so it turns into a 3 feet high yellow flame. Also I see some evaporated non burned kero escape from the burner... Somewhere around the jet, but as far as I can see it comes from above... Like it reflects from the burner cap or something. Oh and the tank gets hot..really hot, no way I could touch the filler cap without burning my fingers. What I'v tried so far: extra preheating, even with a torch... until red hot, doesnt matter changed the fuel to fresh kero changed the jet.. I have the one that came with it, one marked with M, and one from an 8r, and one marked with A. (I didn't try the last one) Changed the inner and outer cap for different ones, especially the inner cap seems weird to me, with all the holes in it. With a 'closed' one not so much kero seems to escape.. burns shitty all the same Tried pumping once, pumping not at all, pumping a lot. With more pressure, it will fireball me faster. Checked if the fuel spray was going straight up.. With all but one jet it does. Checked for leaks... It holds pressure for at least 72 hours with the valve closed Put in the needle again at 4 clicks. What am I doing wrong? Am I missing something? Missing a part perhaps? I do not have another cobra burner to compare it with.
Jan: First off i suggest you install some kind of heat shield between the fount (tank) and the burner. it should stand off a bit to reflect the heat away and to allow a bit of air to pass between the shield and the fount. Second i believe these are a white gas (petrol) stove. (somenone is sure to jump in here and call me all kinds of nasty magic words then correct me if i'm wrong) and that may be your main problem; the wrong fuel. i would check this first but because you are getting burned from the heat be sure to install a heat shield like those in an 8R or 111. lance
i think i read that 199 is white gas paraffin alcohol with heat shield ,10 is paraffin diesel no heat shield but I'm usually wrong about these things
He, Jan, Lance, and all, First and foremost, this stove was meant to burn kerosene, and nothing else!! NO Coleman fuel, NO, Meths, and NO unleaded auto gas!!! Second, there is NO heat shield with this stove, so please don't try to add one. In order to get the Cobra burner into an 8R-sized case, it was designed to be be used without a heat shield. Yes, the tank gets hot, but as long as you're only burning kerosene, which, again, is the one fuel this stove is supposed to burn, then all is well. Supposedly, you can burn diesel in it, too, but I would never try that unless there was no other choice. Most everyone who has had a problem with this stove actually over-heating, has had it whilst trying to burn something other than kerosene in their Ranger #10's! I have two of them, and they are truly wonderful, extremely hot-burning, and well-simmering little powerhouses! Here is what one of mine looks like, when at full steam. I'm not sure why yours is burning oddly, Jan, but let me think about it and see if something comes to me. Unfortunately, we're in the "last minute dead rush" of packing and loading for our upcoming job, and I can't dig out my Ranger's to play around and see what might be happening with yours. But, the main thing is, don't give up on it! It's a wonderful little stove, and when used properly, will do great things for you. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
I have a modified 8r shield for the stove. It helps to keep the tank cool, but it doesn't improve the yellow-flames problem. So I want to try to fix that first, maybe the exessive heat of the tank is because of the same failure. I wonder if I am missing a part or something. I do not have another cobra burner to compare it to, maybe a roled up mesh filter somewhere like in the 96? Or a ring between the burner and the jet? About the coleman fuel idea... I thought of that too. And I guess it will work... for a little while... but I can hear the kero making a boiling sound in the tank... so I guess putting coleman fuel in there will transform this stove into a hand grenade. edit: I found this topic: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/5108 could it be that my ranger 10 should have something in the fuel line? That perhaps without it it is heating the fuel in the tank instead the fuel in the burner?
Hey, Jan, It's very normal to hear the kero boiling in the tank, or at least it is for my #10's. As you surmise, you should never use a more volitile fuel in this little stove, because the safety valve WILL blow on you, because of the extreme heat involved!! Stick with kerosene, and all will turn out OK, once you figure out why it's not burning properly. I've never used a heat shield, at all, on my stoves, and I'm wondering if your problems are due to you modifying one to fit yours? Hummmm....... Good luck, take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
I am guessing here, but are you saying that thre is a flame leak around the jet? If there is, it would burn the way your describe. Why not wrap a few turns of teflon valve masking tape around the jet, and install it, and see what it does? If there is any presence of spark or flame under the burner, it would affect the normal operation of the burner.
Pin hole or fracture in the annulus surrounding the center tube ?? Or crack in the casting , after the valve assembly , as it seems to hold pressure ok . Cobra burner (modern) seems to be more prone to heat/crack/stress failure than most . But a couple of wraps of ptfe tape around the nipple could be the solution .. Being a cast body burner theres the possibility of voids in the material & if a void coincides with a mating face .. then youll get a leak .......... not always evident on start up but reveals itself as the metal heats up . nick
no luck.. I wrapped the jet with teflon tape, still the same problem. I think I will try to make some kind of plug, to close the jet hole entirely.. maybe I can find evidence of a leak somewhere. I can accept it that I may have a stove that doesn't work.. But I hate the fact that I do not know why
Jan I have had a simelar problem with my russian clone of an optimus 8R after I ripped the hole stove apart I found all my low pressure problems were caused by a rotten seal in the valve assembly neck. My stove would not come to full flame due to fuel pressure escaping around faulty seal. Replaced seal and now my litle RUSSIAN power house of a stove once again makes mother russia proud!!! Good luck on solving problem I know how frustrating it is when your stove is acting up!!! Eric Shipley.
Jan - I had the same problem with both Ranger 10 and 111C. For the Ranger it was just the jet was loosen. Tighten it fixed the problem. But for the 111C, it was a leak on the circular tube on the burner. This is a known defect for Corbra burner. Try dunk test - Empty the tank and pump air in. Then submerge the whole thing under water. You should see bubbles come out from the jet and the fracture if there is any. Cheers.....Som
Jan you got us stomped on this one. But don't give up you got a good stove there,i wish i had one. I would completly take that stove apart. Check for any blockage in the fuel pickup tube. You said the stove holds pressure but looking at your photo the flame doesn't look as strong as it should be especialy with the flare up. Keep us posted. Take care
Hi, Jan, I think you have a wrong jet installed. It appears that the jet is pushing out more kero than it can handle--hence, incomplete combustion. The current jet (M) is for multifuel, and is supposed to work with both gas and kero. May guess is that it is somewhere between the ideal orifice sizes for kero and petrol. 8R is designed for petrol, so its orifice is larger than that of the kero. Find one designed specifically for kero, and see how it goes. Old 111T usually comes with a kero-only jet (besides G and A; or M for 111C), so you may be able to elicit help from those who have a spare.
hi bark2much you said the old 111t came with a kero jet did they all come with this jet fitted ?,as i am having the same problem with my 111t burns white gas/panel wipe fine ( well maybe a tinge of yellow flame and very very hot to hot i think but don't have another to compare it to) but if i try running kero/paraffin i am getting much the same result as jan huge yellow flame the weird bit is if i adjust the flame i can find a sweet spot and the kero will burn fine,but either side of the sweet spot then its back to yellow flame, it had me stumped but your idea about the jet seems to make sense of it,which would you recommend I buy a kero specific jet or go for a multi fuel jet,as i will burn kero/para most of the time but can't rule out the occasional use of pw/white gas, btw the stove was unused until i got it a week or so ago,but i have no idea at the mo as to what jet it has installed i have looked but can see no markings but from what you have said it seems a white gas jet fitted could be causing my problems on paraffin,the stove is generating so much heat that if you leave it running you cant hold onto the flame adjuster knob or touch the back of the lid as it will burn you also trying to pump pressure into it is near impossible as it's so hot that its unbearable to keep your hand that close,as it seems way to hot on either white gas or paraffin could this be the result of an "A" jet being fitted? or would the stove not run on petrol/paraffin at all with the "A" jet ?,any answers would be gratefully received
Hi, parramethtrol, When I had the 111T for the first time, it came with two burner sleeves and three jets. I tried with all three, and the jet for alcohol would put out too much fuel for either kero or white gas. I assign each jet to the specific fuel it is designed to burn. If you place three jets together, you can see that there is a difference in the orifice diameters. I would suggest that you get the jet designed for kero to burn kero. My experience, however, is that even the jets designed for the same fuel exhibit a slight difference among themselves, and the flame shape and quality could be significantly different (the same goes for the inner and outer cap combination). One jet would produce more yellow tinge, while another would shoot just off center, so that the blue flame around the burner cap are not of the even strength,etc. If you are going to order the jets, order the minimum of 3, at least. That way you can match the ideal output. I think 5 should be comfortable. IF you are using a jet designed for alcohol but use white gas, I am sure the total output of heat would more than the stove is supposed to handle. But When I use my 111T with white gas or kero, after a while the whole stove gets hot, and it is not comfortable to handle barehanded. Even the fuel tank (brass) gets warm. My 111C has a steel tank, and it get really HOT! I can hear kero boil inside sometimes after I shut the stove down. With white gas, I think this condition would be a little too risky. So I use only kero in 111C. Incidentally, the 111C has the M jet factory installed, and it is a pitiful performer with white gas, but with kero, it is a darling. I think M jet is more for kero than white gas.
hi bark2much my 111t was supposedly second-hand but hadn't been fired up it came with the meths restrictor but only with the jet that is fitted so it is possible the previous owner had rigged it for meths,it is running way to hot to be comfortably handled, i ran it for a few minutes but that was enough,i reckon i might try it on a tank of meths see if it runs ok (worth a shot) on that if it doe's then that would seem to be it, i shall take you advice and order some different jets a couple for para/kero and a couple for white gas, and see how i go with them,i didn't expect to have probs with a stove that got to hot they usually don't work if i buy them thanks for replying and for the advice, i'll get back when i get the new jets and keep you posted as to how i get on,thanks again regards Bill edit reread your post will order more than a couple of each to be on the safe side,another quick ? why did yours come with more than 1 sleeve ?
I do not know why, exactly, but if you read the instruction sheet that Optimus originally included with the stove, it say that one sleeve is for alcohol and the other is for burning gasolone! Can you believe that? As a n00b, as such novices are called nowadays, I followed the instruction, and I would get only a yellow flame. I deluged the priming pan with alcohol, kerosene, and what not, and ignited. The burner was tried in the infernal priming fire, but no use. That is when I decided to search the internet for info, and voila! I found this forum. Anyway goiong back to the instruction sheet: Restrictor Gasoline When using gasoline as fuel, restrictor no. 5136 must be fitted. When using alcohol, the instruction says, restrictor no. 5213 must be fitted. Each sleeve has a different location of the holes, and the one for alcohol has a flange at one end. I think Optimus made a mistake. If you put the restrictor in the burner and burn gasoline, it will not burn properly.
well i'm %$?$?$ i see the restrictor in the diagram ~5163 with the flange but the only mention of a restrictor in the instructions i have is for the 5163 for use with alcohol no mention of gasoline , the restrictor i have doesn't have a flange just 3 holes one end and two the other ! and no mention of what its for in the instructions,now i am confused, the one i have must be the 5213 that your instruction say is for alcohol,the stove had that fitted when it arrived but seeing i was burning white gas then paraffin i removed it,as there is no mention of a restrictor for petrol in my instructions, i have taken another look at the jet and the orifice doe's seem large, well in comparison to the jet in a 8r looks like it may well be rigged for alcohol after all but with an alcohol restrictor that isn't mentioned in my instructions,.............................. if any of that makes sense to you because I'm completely lost, i think i will try it with the meths and restrictor that i have got and see what happens (as your instructions reckon thats the right restrictor for meths) , i will definitely get the new jets and try them out, I'll try the kero jets first as i would prefer to be running that , looks like a process of trial and error or carry on using a flame thrower and that isn't really an option
Hey, I did not mean to confuse you. Obviously, Optimus corrected the error in printing, and omitted the reference to gasoline restrictor in the later edition. Hope you find a happy solution.
