OK, I added photos of my Prince #100 to the archive and I am pulling it apart. What in the heck is in this burner tube? Do lipstick burners use a wick? I found a ring of this same white powder around the rim of the filler port, too. Also, should there be a high temp gasket between the threads and the hexnut on the tube to seal against the fount? There was a shred of a rubber-like gasket there when I removed the burner but it clearly did not fare well.
Hi Sparky i have never heard of a lipstick burner using a cotton wick all lipstick burners have a brass mesh gauze in them to increase the surface area to maintain vapouriseation A cotton or simular material wick would serve no purpose in a paraffin/kerosene pressure stove i would guess the wick substance in your burner could have been put in it by the previous owner may be the brass gauze had become coked up and the previous owner cleaning out the burner believing the gauze only purpose is a filter of sorts and replaced it with the substance which is now in the burner
Hi Sparky, Mr O. is correct, brass gauze only in the lipstick! Far too hot for cotton or similar material. The joint between the lipstick and the tank should be fitted with a lead washer only. I have often received old stoves with leather, asbestos and other materials added...sometimes on top of a perfectly good lead washer. Your lead washer looks to be in place and OK. Scratch it to confirm shiny metal, clean it up and it should be good for another 80 years. Best Regards, Kerophile.
Well, I am learning something everyday. This is my first lipstick tube burner and was not sure what to expect. Is there a source of the brass wire mesh somewhere? I did not see it on Base Camp. I unscrewed the NRV and it loostened easily but will not come out of the pump tube. May have to un-solder the tube to get it out. Well, what can we expect of a burner that is 80+ years old?
Bob, Artist supply stores may have the brass mesh. I've used copper mesh before and it works. Hobby stores may have mesh, but I doubt that the big box hobbylobby type of stores would have it. Best, Bob
Hi Sparky i got my brass mesh from a uk supplier on ebay there may well be a seller on ebay in the US i just typed in brass mesh/gauze and looked at what was out there i brought a piece of A4 size with a fine mesh
Hi Sparky, I have an Opt96 thread going and various people mentioned to me that my lipstick burner should have mesh installed. I was referred to www.themeshcompany.com. Looking at old threads in here I think you need 20 holes per inch - they do A4 sheets with the mesh just under 1mm x 1mm. I appreciate that they may be on the wrong side of the pond for you, but it may be useful. Whilst searching for the info on here, I did find pictures of the consequences of NOT having this - quite frightening! Should mention I have no association with this company. keithg
Well, what do you know? Go back up and look at my first photo and look carefully into that hole and what do you see? Yup, the mesh is still there, held in place by that white stuff. Probably just asbestos. It is very stiff and difficult to remove so I have decided not to remove it for now. I will see how it burns with the stuff in place. However, the lead washer was not in the fount opening, it was stuck to the bottom of the burner and it pealed off as I was trying to remove the white stuff. Can I make a new washer out of any lead I can find?
Some of the folks on here have hammered out flat sheets from lead fishing weights. Supposedly there is a set of punches floating around among the members to make washers from, but I have no idea where it is. And mesh is available locally but might not be handy to get to. Bob
Bob, I bet I can flatten out a big catfishing "egg weight" and trim it with plain old shears. Thanks for the idea!
Well, I am pleased to announce that I finally got the NRV out of the stove. I went to Harbor Fright and bought a 10" hemostat. It fits inside the pump tube perfectly to grip the NRV and pull it out. Cost is about $4. Not sure why the NRV was stuck but it is a mess. Hope I can get it apart to service it.