Optimus 45 Silent Burner Yellow Flame?

Excellent. Now that you figured it out, many of us are saying "of course, why didn't I think of that". And, the toothpick idea for comparing hole sizes is brilliant.

My simple-minded explaination is the smaller cap did not allow for sufficient air to mix with the fuel, but someone with better knowledge of "cap science" will provide better details. In any case you pointed out something that is easy to overlook, in that many stoves purchased secondhand can end up with mis-matched parts.

 

A quick search returned this..... Link

The second set of pictures show a Patria regulated burner posted by Kerophile.

Ken in NC

 

Hi;

Thanks George

Dariush

 

Hi, the burner caps of silent burner stoves can be temperamental objects.

Just because they appear to "fit" a burner doesn't mean they were made for it or will offer optimum performance.

In addition, you can often be unable to decide why one set of caps perform faultlessly, while an alternative pair are a real dog.


Many times I have gone through my spares box, trying different combinations until I get good performance. I then wire the caps to the burner so that they stay together until I next need to work on them.

On the subject of Regulated silent burners, these were made by a number of different Manufacturers, in various countries, over a period approaching 100 years. In addition the materials used to make them change over time.

https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/170

We should not be too surprised when these "mix and match" components sometimes perform sub-optimally.

Best Regards,
Kerophile

 

Itchy,

I think your explanation addressing the air-fuel mixing sounds pretty reasonable to me.

The thing that is troubling to me is that the burner and caps from Patria were purchased new, i.e. together as a complete burner. So I would have expected them to work well together.

The Opt cap came from a second burner I had. I'll probably clean it up and test it to see which combination of burner and cap work best on it. I'm assuming the Opt cap will be the best for it too. If that is the case I might try drilling out the holes in the Patria cap to see if that makes a difference.

Thank you everyone for you thoughts and ideas. I would not have been able to work this out without your guidance and encouragement.

Christine

P.S. I might even put the old fuel in the tank and see if the fixed burner works with it.

 

Hi All,

Here are some pictures of me and my boat and of how I have installed the stove.

When considering stoves for my boat, one of my concerns was the lack of room to locate one. Once I saw the Sea Swing I realized that I could mount one on the compression post.

The choice of the stove itself was largely governed by my desire to not use LP gas. I did not like the idea of a leaky LP bottle allowing LP gas to accumulate in my bilge. The kerosene Optimus 45 with the proper rising tube was then the obvious choice.

Thanks again for all of your help!

Christine

 

Good Evening, Christine,

Excellent photos. Many thanks for your report, and well done on your efforts!! Your boat looks lovely, and the stove setup is brilliant use of the space you have available! Thanks, again, for sharing, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

G,,day Christine .
sure isn't a lot of galley space to give you much choice .
very good to think of the safety side of LP gas being heavier than air . a lot of boat and yacht people give little thought to some safety aspects .
I was licenced to drive a jet boat with paying passengers , and the safety side was a very big part of getting the coxswain / engine drivers licence , plus a lot of other stuff.

it looks like you enjoy getting away without a lot of excess gear ,
enjoy it .
cheers
Kerry
edit ps , I presume you leave the hatch open when using the stove . to vent fumes .

 

Thanks Christine.
I can smell the salt air just looking at your pictures.

Ken in NC
(A long ways from the ocean)

 

Doc, Kerry, Ken,

Thanks for the nice comments. It is very satisfying to come up with solutions that work so well, isn't it? For me the Sea Swing with the Opt 45 fits the bill.

Doc: When I've come to various forums for help, I've been frustrated in the past to see threads with no comment on how suggested fixes worked. I have since resolved to try to always report back so others could benefit. I also try to use useful key-words in my subject line too! :-)

Kerry: Yes avoiding the prospect of my little boat blowing-up was a very large part of my selection process. For this reason I avoided any fuel in gaseous form that was heavier than air and could leak from its container (Camping Gaz, butane, propane). With my boat battery in the bilge/cabin floor, the chance for ignition of fuel was definitely a possibility.

And yes, I keep the cabin well vented when using the stove. I've installed a CO detector but especially in the cool waters of the Pacific Northwest of the USA, condensation is a major problem. As such, keeping the hatches open or at least ensuring good ventilation is necessary to prevent moisture build-up from water from the combustion, heating of water in the pot, or even from breathing while sleeping aboard.

Ken: Funny you should mention smelling the salt-air. There was one point in our cruise where we had some nicely challenging conditions where I could taste the salt of the sea water when the spray from punching through the waves hit my face!

Very Best,

Christine

 

Christine says.

personally as a young teen had first hand experience with a fatality 2nd to a leaky propane stove where I had a summer job cleaning boats and general grunge/dirty work.....knew the boat, had cleaned it and had met the young engineer father of 2 who died when the "Corsara" exploded into a fireball when he turned the ignition switch, children and mother were on the dock and saw him up close as did I from a distance when he was blown into the sea on flames he died about 4-5 days later; gas in enclosed areas is ....just an accident waiting its time; YES am scared of it!...........Christine; you made the right decision IMHO ...........enjoy the Sea
Lou

 

Lou , the jet boat I drove had a bilge blower .
it had to be turned on for 2 minutes before starting the motor .
this was irrespective of how long the motor had been turned of for .
this was to blow out any fumes , before a possible spark from the starter motor .
it was a necessary nuisance , but well worth it .

I am sorry you witnessed what you did , so avoidable , and so sad .
cheers
kerry

 

Kerry; what a wonderful thing to make a living driving a jet boat yes;
that was the standard operating procedure; to open hatches, sniff; ventilate, start blower then start the motor and although have seen much worse since then, it made a strong impression on a youngster ......I had the task of cleaning the boat prior to purchase; the young engineer was a new owner and did not open the hatches prior to starting; the bilge blower was a factor; there were issues with... did he turn it on?, did he not?, or did the electrics from the bilge pump or blower set off the explosion?; or was the blower switch inop? over 1/2 a century ago will never know for sure but personally am scared of flammable gas and that includes oxygen.......the tragedy could have been avoided if only SOP had been followed; life is lovely but very fragile; cheers

Lou

 

I don't have any experience in boats, but many years ago a friend had a small campervan, built on a Toyota HiAce or similar.

There was a leak in the propane feed to the stove - the gas pooled in the centre walkway. When he lit the stove, the flame moved to the floor. I distinctly remember it moving along the walkway.

Thankfully it flashed and no real damage was done, but it could have been very bad. Has made me very careful.

Norm