Hi all Glad to see the house move went smoothly. With the shiney brass addiction having been sated for a while I have only been dropping in for a read now and again, with an annual visit to Newark catching up with a few faces. Anyway to the point and will probably follow up with the full story idc. I have recently acquired a Turm 38 which has seen far better days and has required complete dismantling including de-soldering filler tube, support bracket and lower cup and tubes to enable several reels of solder to be taken off. Problem is the old wicks are firmly stuck down the tubes. Actually it's the remains of the wicks, the tubes are clear for just over an inch and then pretty much blocked from there on down. I have attempted a long hook arrangement to no effect and have tried a soak with vinegar to try and dissolve some residue, again no success so far. I'm reluctant to over heat the tubes to try and burn the remains as I understand that that they are probably heat resistant anyway and don't want to de braze the assembly. Hence the post to see if anyone else has had to extract wicks in this condition. I've had a good search around and have been unable to find any fettling tips for this issue, unless I've missed it I would be grateful for any links. For the replacement I'll try presscalls twisted wire method he used with his tourer, or possibly pipe cleaners. WD40 may be my next port of call unless there may be a slightly more 'dissolve' method. Like many here the stove I'm hoping will be a regular user for coffee making indoors as I'm all electric and Ibrik's on a ceramic hob are not a brilliant idea, and will probably get more use than the Valor.
G'day there, I have done the same with Touring Turms and Turm Sports. Some were easy, the worst as below. I ended up forcing the old wire and wick out with a long skinny wood screw. I carefully wound it into the tube until it had a firm bite, then gave it a gentle tug. After doing this a few times, I managed to get a hold of the old wire wick carrier and finally extracted it. I made a new wick carrier out of fine stainless wire, like they use for Tig Welding. I then attached a replacement wick made out of the fibreglass rope that is found on firebox doors. I "un-wove" the rope, and attached through the eye of the twisted wire carrier, leaving a very generous loop for the next extraction (if there is ever a need!!!) My only issue with any of the Touring Turms or Turm Sports that I own, is the fibre washer that seals the tube. Mine leak abominably, and I need to replace them sometime. One day huh. Hope this helps, and best regards, Mike.
Good to hear from you Simes. Mike's suggestion's good. I had a worst-case scenario with an old meths stove belonging to Pinapplerose. That example proved drilling out a blockage is fraught - drill runs off-centre easily. John
I have a Desco that had a bleeped-up wick, and found a novel way of dealing with it. I took a brass tube, slightly smaller than the inside of the feed tube, and using a file, cut saw teeth into the end. I put the home-rolled cutter into a power drill and used that to cut out the wick and wire remainants, ala' sewer auger. Murph
Elegant, Murph. I can see it working well on the Turm type of wick but wouldn't make headway against a steel-shrouded type as in that meths stove belonging to Pineapplerose. John
Thanks for the suggestion Mike, although I think I was heading in that direction it was nice to know it was probably the safest one. As you can appreciate the contents of the tubes was always going to be a bit of a mystery. I had a rummage and came up with a couple of old bike wheel spokes, one I fashioned into a 'scoop' and the other I just used to drill down into the blockage to find out the extent of the issue. As it turned out there was nothing recognisable metallic left just rusty wick material , and not much of that to be honest, it was just packed about halfway down the tubes. Unfortunately I think I started with the mini bottle brush a bit too early as there was obviously a considerable amount of crud on the inner walls which is now stuffed down at the bend blocking it there now. As it was damp it is compacted sludge, I suppose a bit of a warm should dry to dust and a bit more prodding should shift it. Hi John, nice bit of silver soldering. I know I can be a bit excitable with new toys but had dismissed the power drill option fortunately. I did attempt it manually, but that was really the reason for the initial post, learnt that lesson a while ago . As a point of interest would putting the fibreglass matting between the wire before twisting making a brush effect work do you think? Thanks Murph for the auger suggestion, I'll keep that in mind if I suddenly find loads of spirit stoves mysteriously appearing in the post 'ahem cough cough' While clearing the tubes I believe I've pieced together a bit of history. The underside of tubes have numerous dents and dings, suggesting that someone has tried to loosen the old wicks by repeatedly knocking them against something, at which point surprise surprise the tank fell off. Resolder so badly that it wasn't even aligned properly and the upper bracket no longer aligned with the frame holes. Grab the gas again to adjust the bracket on the tank and the filling tube comes unstuck and now sits at an angle. Conclusion 'f@@k it I'll put it on eBay, Simes'll buy it' I'm taking the occasional photo so will post those at some point.
Hey Murph, very clever! You have made a "trephine". I'm sure "The Doc" will be impressed too. Probably has several in his kit. B
As I'm approaching re-assembly there is one final piece of the jigsaw remaining, the filler tube. Does this just sit on the tank and fixed in position there or does it fit down into the bezel/thicker section and soldered in place there? - the filler tube is 23mm long. This may aid regarding whether it sits within the hole or just on top. As previously described the stove arrived with the tube sat at an angle, I'm guessing it slipped when the previous fix for the bracket happened. This would suggest it sits atop the hole, if it was firmly sitting inside it may have retained it's position. I'm unsure how this might be checked on an intact model. The existing instruction leaflet I'm assuming is for a Mk I with the tube supporting that end of the tank, this appears identical to linux authors 38 in the reference gallery with a bracket soldered across the tank and bolted to the frame there. (later Mk II?)
Firstly thanks go to everyone who as offered advice and assistance from the sunny Gulf to New Zealand. As promised below are a few images of the 38 project to date. For the moment I have really only concentrated on it being mechanically sound and functional, the aesthetics can wait for another day. Apologies for the date stamps in some images I really must turn the feature off. The first couple of images show the condition of the top of the tank once I had removed it from the frame. Unfortunately I've not got an image of the underside when it arrived but the next two of the work in progress on solder removal will hopefully give you an idea of the amount of the stuff that had been applied. Here is the kit of parts as clear of solder as I wanted, the feeder tubes need more work at this point. The spoke 'tools' are in the foreground along with the solder pump and the micro torch I had been using. Close up of the tank just before reconnecting the feeder tubes and the the next of them back together. At this point I am happy enough to do a trial burn, so fit 3 twisted pipe cleaners into each tube and attach to the frame. Principle work outstanding is the tank top work of the filler tube and frame strap. It lives mwahahaha. Well almost. There's meths dripping from the tank bottom, clearly I'll have to revisit my soldering. Solution is to G clamp the feeder assembly to the tank and tighten slightly then apply the heat, once fluid the two parts compress together and a touch more solder and wipe round with damp sponge and jobs a gud un. Coffee time. A few coffees later and willie (linux_author) comes up trumps with the info required to re attach the filler tube, so while I'm dismantling I'll check the condition of the pipe cleaner wicks. Still work to do here I think. All bits clamped together, the filler tube has a wire wrap which I'll hold to apply a few tack solder points before completing, the micro torch is very good for these sort of jobs. The tubes have been given another good brushing out using cream cleaner on the bottle brush and a good flushing, probably not shiney clean but I suspect good enough for a while until I crack on with the looks of it. I have replaced the tube seals with pieces cut from thin cork from self adhesive protection pads,(may help you there Mike). I think that's about all for the fettling thread, any further images I think will go elsewhere for action shots and all the coffee kit. Work still to do is to straighten out the frame which is also slightly bent, probably continue to clean the inside of the tubes and fabricate a more substantial wick a la John's twisted wire solution, nice excuse to look out a nice wine, just for the brass wire you understand. Anyway a big thanks again for everyone who has contributed, SWMBO is well pleased as she wasn't a huge fan of lighting the Valor just for making a coffee. Simes
looks great! this little meths stove is nice and quiet in the morning! willie on the sunny and 33C Gulf of Mexico
Hi Simes Nice fettle with great photos and commentary. The most amazing thing of course was to get SWMBO on board!
Cheers Trevor Actually it wasn't a particularly difficult persuasion job as you might imagine as she enjoys her coffee as much as I do. While on holiday in Turkey a few years ago she was shown how to use an Ibrik in a small cafe we used regularly. Oh she said, that's what those things are in the cupboard at home, so we brought back a set of cups and saucers. Sadly they rarely get used as it can be a bit of a faff to fire up a stove just for a couple of coffees, and we tend to just stick the filter machine on. The 38 can now sit somewhere handy with the makings readily to hand. She wants it painting red, so may approach a local powder coating firm who do small bike parts. As it's a simple almost turn on and go stove she's more than happy. 8) Regards Simon
hope your Turm 38 is working great! i just refurb'd the two wicks with new cotton string (an easy job). Here's the stove making some espresso this morning after my early swim in the pool these single-burners are perfect for delicate brews, and allow for a nice, slow push of hot water through the coffee grind! willie on the bright and sunny and caffeinated Gulf of Mexico
Hi Willie, I think the cotton may burn up after awhile. If so, try fiberglass. I have 1/4 inch fiberglass rope in a Touring Turm and it seems to be holding up well. Ray
Not so sure I would go so far as 'perfect', authentic possibly. Don't think I'd be completely happy with a pile of fluffy asbestos rattling about in the bottom of the fettling box either.
