This abnormality can be due to an over-rich mixture and the first thing to do is to reduce the jet aperture to 0.23mm, using the method described by Bryan Miller. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/2600 If the aperture of the vaporiser is correct, and you still have yellow in the flame pattern, something else worth checking is the distance that the lipstick penetrates into the burner bell. Because lipsticks and burner bells are interchangeable, you sometimes find that the jet, instead of being level with the inner base of the bell, is actually 3-5mm higher. I have fettled four 96-type stoves recently and found this problem with three of them. I corrected this by cutting a strip of 5 thou thick aluminium sheet (from a beer can- watch you don't cut yourself!), and using this make a "shim", around the lipstick to stop it penetrating too much into the burner bell. This "fix" really improves flame strength and colour. The shim material, Al., is a good conductor of heat, so heat transfer to the vaporising lipstick is not impaired. Best Regards, Kerophile.
I think I need to take a cold shower after reading and this And this off to the shower room I go Good morning George / gentlemen Its a good thing its stove related
On a somewhat related topic, how does one seperate the bell from the lipstick, when they're truly stuck???
Heat the flame spreader up quickly with a small blow lamp in one place in the area where it comes into contact with the lipstick. As the FS is brass it should expand, at that point, quicker than the lipstick, simply lift off. I should use a pair of grips mind
Check out this video. YouTube link This gentleman has a good idea of using one leg to take off the bell. Sorry for the thread drift Jeff
Thanks, Henry!! I'll give it a try. Jeff, great video, thats a Very nice opti 96!!!I'll try the twist trick, before I try the heat trick!
I think the 'twist trick was done for illustration purposes only. You'll see he gets hold of the pan rests straight away. It's clearly done on a cold burner. If it's done on a hot burner the brass will be soft and there may well be a chance you'll deform the basket. Maybe OK for stuck baskets but not for really stuck baskets. Might be better to combine the two, use a blow lamp for quick spot heat and the twist trick to simply lift it off.
That leg-wielding is great to seperate the bell from lipstick before it cools and clamps down on that tube. Heating up the assembly upside down, than pour cold water down into the (empty)tube helped me a few times when heating alone did not give joy. As an 'all or nothing' approach there is the following trick: Heat up the assembly; make sure you do not de-solder the nut, which is soft soldered (liquid cooled normally). Select an old pair of channel pliers that will close loosely under the collar of the bell, without vising the lipstick. Do not try this with the pliers higher up the burner bell: it will deform /damage the bell easily. Hold the (hot) assembly thus right side up. Select a light (!) hammer -up to 200 grams - in order to give high speed blows to the underside of the pliers. The idea is to 'break' the bond by a sudden shock, not by heavy force. It is tempting to do this with the bell down, but you stand a chance to dislocate the nut from the tube. This has worked for me 100% sofar, but you can damage the bell collar; go for it only when it is somehow imperative to seperate. A friend used a 96 with both parts firmly attached for years and years, and could not be bothered! If you have a selection of tubes and bells, you could interchange to see if the new combinations do not tend to grip as much after cooling down. I have a set that never gave these troubles - which is why I keep it! The occurance of yellowish flames could be remedied that way too, as Kerophile has pointed out why. Mike
Thanks for all the suggestions. I want to try another lipstick, the stuck one is running rich. Otherwise, I'd leave it alone!
Hi, If you have a Primus or Optimus No.96 with a stuck burner don't mess about, ask the expert, Bryan Miller: https://classiccampstoves.com/posts/14175 Best Regards, Kerophile.
