Hello everyone... I picked up an 8R, from 1971 according to the box, that appears to have had some, but not very hard use. I replaced the filler cap washer and checked the wick (which was fine.) I looked for the cleaning needle to emerge when I rotated the control knob to clean, but it did not emerge. I had read somewhere that some 8s were sometimes shipped as 8Rs, and that some folks had removed their cleaning needle on purpose, so I didn't panic. I must confess to one bone-head move. While washing it in soapy water and rinsing it, I forgot that these had a wick, and was rewarded with a soapy wick. I'm telling you this because while I ran under the hot water I saw little bubble form on the jet, so I'm reasonable certain that it's not blocked. There might be some Bartender's friend stuck in there, but I rinsed it and cleaned it pretty good. So: I dissembled the stove, dried the wick with a hairdryer, fueled it up, primed it, and it never lit. I continued to prime a few more times, and even warmed the tank with a lighter, but still, it didn't light. Any ideas?? thanks in advance, Mark
Hey Mark, Just a couple of things: 8/8r's use coleman fuel so make sure she's using the correct fuel. Also, make sure to fill her 2/3rds full. When you replaced the wick, how far up the vaporizer/fuel tube were you able to jam it? I'd also double check the for no pressure leaks anywhere. Do you have a mini pump/supported cap at your disposal to help generate pressure?
I can't say how full it is, other than it didn't pour out of the fill hole. The wick was twisted and far up the tube, almost to the end of the wire. No pump. There is no evidence of leaking fuel. I'm burning (or more accurately, not burning) panel wipe.
Sometimes they can be finicky to light - my Primus 71's take a double prime to get them going, sometimes 3 primes (depending on fuel level/temperature). You may also want to prick the jet once the stove is reassembled and during priming - just to be sure the jet didn't get clogged somehow.
big edit: I didn't use the pricker, now that I think about it, because they used different fuel and would be a different size hole.
You don't have a pricker that would fit the nipple? The jet for the 8's is the same as that for a 71, 80, 123, Radius 42, etc so if you have one of those stoves the pricker for them should fit yours. When running a stove for the first time in a long time, it is easy for the jet to get clogged from a variety of sources (wick fibers/dust/rust/impurities/etc) so if pressure/gaskets/fuel is not the problem I would check the nipple.
nope. I don't have a pricker that would fit the nipple. As some of you all are aware, I'm reasonably new to all this nutty fettling. I love it, but I'm new to it. I've seen rebuild kits for it that have prickers and other pointy bras items, and have considered picking one up, but the stove doesn't seem that used. It came in an original box with the nutty instructions. I'll probably place another order from Base-Camp for nipple. They seem to be arriving regularly these days
There's a good posting here on how to make your own prickers. You can get guitar wire, various diameters, and cut short lengths of them and resit in old carriers of other prickers that have had their needle broken off or lost. .23 mm thick will fit these jets with room to spare. Even if you don't have prickers, get the wire and use it by hand (or use pliers) to clean the nipple (make sure stove is off and not hot if jet is still in the burner). Another troubleshooting suggestion would be to take the stove out of her case, remove the jet, and warm the tank with your hands for a minute or dunk (only) fuel tank in hot water. After the tank is heated, rotate the fuel control valve to the left and watch for any fuel into the burner well where the jet was seated. If you have fuel pooling there then chances are it's the jet that's the problem (blocked).
Little bit of fuel in the tank, lift it out of the case, open the key and blow in the filler hole, see if fuel spurts out. No fuel, remove the jet and try again, if fuel appears its the jet, if not there is a blockage elsewhere. How is the end of the wick, hard and brown or soft and light coloured, may be time to invest in a mop-head? Petrol can leave a residue if used for a long time or if left partiallY-fuelled for a while a varnish will build up in the internals. If You are stuck for a pricker, You can always use a small length of fuse-wire to test the water so to speak to see if it is a blockage... Happy fettling! Alec.
This thing is blocked somewhere in the tube! I've removed and cleaned the jet. I can see light, so it's not blocked. I've tilted it, blown in it, shaken it... no fuel is getting from the tank to the area below the jet. I must have the only 8R in the world that doesn't work. Is that part even available anymore? It's a shame. I was really looking forward to using this one.
You could try heating/quenching - try a search on the site. Strip the beastie and heat the burner body till it begins to glow and then quench in cool water, try doing this a few times then blowing through, this may just be enough to shock any residue out if there. Another option is pickling the burner body in a citric acid solution to try and dissolve the crud. Again do a search on the site. Don't be downhearted, these are simple little stoves, don't let it beat you!! The entire burner assembly is still available I believe, but there is the vapourising section on fleabay in the US just now.... Alec.
Maybe it's just that simple. Be sure that you are not over-filling it. The tank needs air space to build vapor pressure. Fill the tank completely, empty the tank into a measuring cup, then refill the tank using 2/3 of the amount recovered from the tank. Prime it with both the control valve and filler cap closed securely, then see if it fires.
All good suggestions. Also, if I understand correctly, you got the wick wet and dried it before reassembly. Is it possible it was still a bit damp? Even a slightly damp wick won't work very well. A damp wick could also result in very tight packing of the fibers in the burner tube and maybe hinder the flow of fuel. You might want to make a new wick or take it out again, rinse it well in alcohol and then dry it again. It should be "fluffy" dry and clean.
I blowdried the wick. I'm certain it's dry. And as for the tank, it was not 2/3 full. This issue as I see it is that the fuel isn't getting from the tank to the jet (or the valve, for that matter.) The vapourizer is blocked up. I'll try the heat and quench, but I looked on eBay and there isn't a vapourizer or set of parts to be found. I'll Base-camp, but the site says that they are not in stock. Frankly, I spoke to my neighbor, who a machinist that makes bicycle parts. He knows his way around a lather. He said that if it's a threaded tube with specific dimensions, that he can spin one up. To be fair, I haven't checked to see if that's all the vapourizer is, but it will be the first thing I look at when I get in tonight. That's plan B.
I think it is too soon to worry about replacing burner tubes and such. Here is something very simple to try. Fuel up the stove put the whole thing in the freezer for 1/2 hr or more. Remove the jet, open and close the fuel cap to normalize pressure, open the valve a bit and set the stove outside in the sun. Fuel should start to flow within a minute or so -- and it will flush some junk out with it. This will also insure that that a newly installed dry wick is well saturated with gasoline before you try to light it (a dry wick can be badly damaged if you preheat the stove).
As I understand it, there are three holes into the vapouriser/burner: One small hole leads in from the top of the wick. One comes down from the jet/nipple. One is the hole for the regulating spindle. I have successfully cleared a blocked Optimus 99 which has a similar configuration: 1. Strip down the vapouriser by removing the bell, jet, cleaning needle, spindle and wick. 2. Take a very small watchmakers screwdriver and first clear out the little hole at the top of the wick housing. I seem to recall that this little hole is off-set slightly to one side. This is usually where the blockage is. Once you've done this, block each of the three holes in turn and blow down another hole. If you can blow air out of each hole, then all is clear. If not, clear the little hole beneath the jet and repeat the test. The last possible place for a blockage is the small hole that is sealed by the pointed end of the spindle. Be VERY careful when trying to clear this as it is easy to damaged the seat for the spindle end. Hope this helps, Terry
I think I've got it figured: it's the jet. The jet is worn out, too big, and won't light. I've also found a use for old lantern vapourisers: use the cleaning needle to probe for obstructions and measure depth. I pulled the entire vapouriser, removed the wick, and probed the tube (from the tank to the round corner) and found that the cleaning needle went all the way through and halfway into the corner. I moved it around and decided that the tube was clear. Then I removed the jet and blew into the tube. Air came out the jet opening. I could stop it with my finger and open it again, so fuel is making it all the way through to underneath the jet. I put humpty dumpty back together again and preheated over and over with no luck except for the observation that the flame pattern on my cigarette light seemed to bend upward, as though it was being whooshed up. Strike one. It wasn't dramatic, but as I could see light through the jet (thanks to a flashlight), I knew that it wasn't blocked, and began to suspect that the problem was an overly-enlarged jet. When I first disassembled the stove a couple of days ago, I saw that the cleaning pin had either been broken or disintegrating. In either case, it was damaged, another indication that the stove had in the past seem some trouble near the jet. Strike two. I put the entire thing aside for a few minutes, and when I returned, saw that fuel had vapoured up from the jet and begun to fill the preheat tub. So: the heat from the tested has pressurised properly and moved vapour properly. Strike three: it's the jet, which is far easier to deal with then the cost and pain of finding an entire new part, or heating & quenching, or any other dramatic solution. Tomorrow I shall order a jet. Thanks everyone for talking me off the ledge.
Hi Mark - this link may help too, a total breakdown and rebuild of an 8r. So the internal pricker IS with the stove, it just fell out of position. And the needle part is broken off, so it's just the 'carrier' part? Once you get this one figured out you'll be an expert on the 8r's, so stick with it.
Molson: correct: the pricker was nackered. There was no pin. I could repeat that post word for word now I've done that routine half a dozen times in the last day or so.
