Hello all, can anyone help by telling me the method for cleaning a burner. It is burning orange. I don't want to mess up a good stove on a count of my inexperience. I have read about citrus acid bath. Do I need to take the whole burner apart or just the jet before I soak it?
Keep in mind that the 22B burners are not constructed like their kerosene-burning cousins and do not have hard to access vaporizing tubes. What is the history of your stove? If it is a recent acquisition, I would be tempted to just rinse the tank and then do a couple runs with fresh Coleman fuel (maybe with a little fuel line cleaner in it) before tearing the burners down (remove jet, needle and spindle apparatus) and dipping them in acid. If you do decide to play with cleaning the burner, I would start with the right one as that can be replaced with a burner from a relatively easy to find 111b. The left burner is hard to find.
Thank you for the advice about the right burner. I did get over my fear taking the burner apart and dissembled the right burner last night. It was a real ah-ha moment. I guess I was afraid the whole thing would fall apart. As for the stove. Don't really know much about it's service life. It came to me by way of an auction. It has the following decal, the only stamping is the 22B made in Sweden and it has the flower grate but uses the thinner control knobs.
It does not look much used, so unless someone was using the wrong fuel, anything but white gas that is, it is hard to imagine the burners need serious cleaning. I get the feeling you were just looking for an excuse to tinker with it. It's ok, we all do that. As you have probably already read, keep an eye on the check valve, it and the cap gasket are more likely to give you a problem than the burners (I am extrapolating from the 111).
Guilty as charged, can't stay away from it. Just found a svea 123 and it is on its way. The left burner will not be coming apart just a careful cleaning and the reassembly. All the best.
The left burner on mine looks like it has not been fired, at least the paint is still on the windshield. It is the older model with just the rails for the pots. Looking for paint now to repaint the exterior, has light specks of rust and one bad spot a neighbor offered to bead blast for me. Off to the Ford dealership after work for paint. I have a vintage brown 111 I starting stripping paint off of Sunday, that'll be my January project as I work out of town and can only work on it on weekends. My military stoves all look fine the way they are, too bruced up and they would stay at home not being put to their intended use. You are in trouble now bwcabound, winter is upon us, even in California, so we'll need projects to work on out of the weather and snow. Duane
I have followed the same procedure with several petrol & paraffin stoves, which is: Strip the burner of any removable parts. Buy big bottle of white vinegar. Fill the burner with the vinegar until all air is expelled & place it into a narrow, but deep vessel that permits it to stand vertically without emptying. Fill the vessel with the rest of the vinegar so the burner is submerged. Drop the jet, cleaning needle, control rod & gland nut into the vessel if space permits. Leave the vessel for several days. Periodically take the burner out and put it under a tap, using water pressure to flush out any debris that has been loosened. The vinegar is a dilute acid which is surprisingly effective & the procedure works equally well with both silent & roarer burners. You could give the left-hand burner the same treatment without dismantling, even if you have no intention of ever lighting it. It does no end of good for the appearance of the burner, because it takes all the oxidisation off. Looks great until you prime it for the first time.....
Do you leave your brass parts soaked in vinegar for days ????? They probably appear pink then. I only soak them for less than 30 minutes on undilluted white vinegar and the rest with a 1000 grit steel wool or fine ss brush for the stubborn parts. As soon as I see the brass turning pinkish, I quickly wash them in water. Best is really to do a heat and quench which has been very effective on burners and vaporizers. After fettling a few brass stoves, I have already mustered enough confidence on repairs with similar stoves. For different design burners, I do it very carefully 8-[ or else bugger up the whole shmoodle Ron
Thanks for all your help and yes this is the January project. Just returned from picking up 2lbs of citric acid from the local brew and grow. As far as using the left burner I do plan on this being a fully functional user. This and a Coleman are going to be fighting for who gets to come out and play, and who gets left behind. My money is on the 22b. I want to get it in excellent condition and then take it out for years of family fun. Thinking my Cub Scouts (U.S. boys youth group) will need to earn their science badge real soon, say . . . electrolysis as a rust remover. All the best.
