Bits and bobs have been arriving for a while now and it occurred to me today that some of those bits are for my Primus #3. So I replaced the pump cup washer and it has a new filler cap seal as well. The jet nipple was a bit tricky to replace as it's bigger than the standard nipple key that I have, but a 5 B.A. spanner proved to be a useful substitute. Now, I have had discussions regarding the fuel mesh filter/restrictor that lives in the riser tube, but I've yet to remove the burner assembly to check it out. This mesh reduces or eliminates the 'pulsating' flame, which until now didn't mean anything to me (being a novice stovie). Also, being a newbie, I haven't linked to a YouTube video clip before, but hopefully this will have worked with the link below . . . It is a short 20 second clip showing the burner head and it's 'pulsating' flame. You might be able to hear the pulsating noise as well as see the pulsating blue flame underneath the flame spreader plate (or whatever the technical name is for that part). If the link doesn't work, then it can be found on YouTube entitled 'Primus #3 with roarer burner' and is published by Baz E (that's me!). Here are some still shots of the beast. I found that the wind shield that I made yesterday sits rather low around the burner, but can conveniently be 'hung up higher' due to the small bolts sticking out on the inside, obviously an intended design feature of my wind shield! I've also put my Primus #5 alongside for size comparison. Unfortunately, the #5 wasn't able to be fired up as the #3 had all my remaining supply of paraffin in it. Must get down to the shops and buy some more. Baz
Apparently not leaking, just a strange effect that larger stoves or apparently, marine stoves with long fuel lines suffer from. They need the restrictor in the tube to smoothe things out. In order to make a restrictor, I need to obtain some brass wire mesh gauze and roll it tightly into a cylinder, only I'm not sure of the gauze size or wire gauge, nor where to obtain it from. I did come across a web site (something like Wire Mesh Gauze .co.uk) that sells various sizes of gauze, but until I find out the requirements, it's pretty hard to say what I need. Baz
https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/vaporisation-gauze-for-no-96-and-no-100-stoves.28557/ Send me a personal message if you are interested. Best Regards, Kerophile.
No harm in adding a gauze if you will feel better about it but for my money that's perfectly normal behaviour for a roarer burner in your clip.
Ray - I replaced the jet for other reasons. Comparing the two side by side, they look identical, including the jet opening. However, the old jet had a small defect, that directed the paraffin vapour off to one side. The vapour below the burner head, before it burnt, could easily be seen angling away at about a 20 degree angle to the side, causing virtually all the flame to come out on one side of the burner, rather than in 4 uniform 'patches'. As I had a couple of new spares, bought specifically for this stove, it was easier just to swap it out. JonD - I'm not greatly experienced, but the smaller versions that I have both run with a pretty steady, uniform roar - no pulsating. This big one definitely has a pulsating sound and matching pulsating blue flame. That said, it did seem to run happily in this pulsating mode for about 20 minutes, until I turned it off. I think the previous owner must have used something other than regular paraffin to run the stove, as there was an almighty pong on initial start up. Fortunately, that disappeared after running the stove for a while. Kerophile - I have sent you a PM and would be interested in the specs of the restrictor. I probably won't be melting 10kg of lead, but will probably be using this stove for boiling billies or dixies at Scout camp. I'm still feeling rather 'chuffed' at being able to upload a video to YouTube for the first time and being able to link it to my post above without the help of my teenage kids! There's life in this old dog yet! Thanks for all the expert advice everyone. Best regards Baz
Thanks Baz, I only asked because some of these new jets do not have .32mm apertures. I do not have a larger sized burner as your Primus 3 has but have noticed on the smaller Optimus 2500 sized jets used for 1 and 2 pint stoves that a standard size pricker does not always fit. One of my 1 pint roarers with an undersized jet aperture makes the fluttering sound your #3 makes although does not pulse. I guess gauze in the riser would be the next thing to try. I hope it works out well. Ray
Just a quick update regarding the burner [Primus part #4131]. I whipped the burner off this morning with a view to making a filter/restrictor out of the brass gauze that arrived yesterday. I also thought I'd take the opportunity to test fit the brand new Liberty #3 roarer burner that I recently bought. Needless to say that the shiny one pictured below is the Liberty burner! The original burner was not difficult to get off, being little more than hand tight. Firstly, the thread on the Liberty burner is not a match for the Primus and therefore I was unable to put it on. Liberty burner returned to cupboard from whence it came. Turning my attention to the original Primus burner, I couldn't help but notice something sticking out from the middle which had a knurled outer edge, see next picture . . . Having a knurled end leads me to believe that this is intended to be only finger tight with a view to regular maintenance. However, it was completely stuck and required the use of a blow torch to eventually get it free. Incidentally, I just happened to read the label on the back of the blow torch ('MAPP') gas cylinder and it says that the cylinder must not be refilled (in the U.S.) and there is a risk of a penalty of $500,000 or 5 years in prison. Just thought I'd mention it, as this question came up in a previous post. I have posted a picture of the label with the other post where the question originated from. Anyway, here is a picture from elsewhere on this site of a Primus parts catalogue, showing all the parts for the burner #4131. In particular, we are focussing on part #4749. Also below, are pictures of part #4749 having been removed from my burner (with some crud on the work surface). My one looks to be a solid plug from whichever side you look at it! Careful scrutiny of the part in the Primus diagram seems to show a single hole in the middle, so a quick clean up is needed . . . A bit of flaky crud came out of the burner head, so a quick tap on the workbench and then the restrictor #4749 is rehoused at finger tight. At this point, I realise that I don't have a replacement burner washer to suit and although the old one is knackered, assemble burner back in place. To see the state of play, fired stove up. Jet partially blocked, must have disturbed more crud in the tubes that hasn't fallen out on the bench, so stick a pricker in and that cures it for now. Flame is a bit more yellow than previously. Pulsating is less noticeable for some reason, but still there in the background noise. Small leak from knackered washer. Conclusion I think the next steps are to shop for some burner washers (O/D 22mm I/D 16mm). Both the washer seat under the burner part and the one on top of the riser tube have a concentric groove. Not sure if this means the washers need to be 'non-asbestos' asbestos washers or lead, so that the restrictor can be serviced occasionally (e.g. knurled bit = this part needs to be serviced regularly). Any ideas on the burner washer material greatly appreciated. Also, I think I need to whip the burner off again and have a go at cleaning the internals to get the crud out, as I've obviously loosened more than I thought. I've got gauze, so might as well make and insert a mesh filter restrictor in the riser tube below the burner. It's interesting to note that all the fuel supplied to the burner passes through that tiny orifice in part #4749, therefore you just make the mesh cylinder as tight as you can possibly get it! MAPP gas cylinders are not refillable! Baz
@Go Scout The easiest way to get what you need for washers etc is to get them from The Fettle Box. You can spend a lot of money getting all the gear you need to make your own, but the return is not that great. 1. Having looked at what you've said above, I would give your burner a thorough clean with carburettor cleaner, with the nipple taken out. Use pipe cleaner to poke around the burner tubes once you've soaked them with carburettor cleaner. Do this a few times until you're satisfied they are clean. Clean your nipple and its jet. 2. I suspect your "hand tight" burner may also have contributed to the pulsing, as will a knackered washer. A clean burner,with the restricter cleaned and fitted correctly, the proper jet, a new washer, and a tightened burner might cure your problem. Cheers Tony
*** Update *** I placed the spirit cup onto the riser tube with the burner head off. The cup sits on the very outer edge of the washer seating, nearly all of which can be seen through the centre of the spirit cup. This leads me to believe that there should only be a single washer, and not one above and one below the spirit cup. My good wife was out for the day, meaning that non-approved kitchen activities can be undertaken, so long as all evidence is cleaned up or removed before she gets back. I therefore used the blow torch / citric acid / quench method (not necessarily in that order) to clean out the dirt from the burner head (also tackling the silent burner head from my Primus #10, that's been awaiting for just such an opportunity). Kitchen sink full of soot and crap. Work surface covered in pools of dirty water. Doh! If I'm right, and only need 1 heat proof washer, then there's a perfectly good one sitting on the Liberty burner (that has the wrong screw thread) mentioned at the start of this thread! Clean/polish stove. Kitchen trashed, throw away dish cloth! Extra care was then taken to remove all evidence of non-approved kitchen activities before the lady of the house returned home. Gauze baffle made successfully in workshop. Can't get it into end of burner because of the baffle/restrictor mentioned above, so install it in the top of the riser tube, low enough to clear the baffle/restrictor when the burner is screwed back on. 'That' washer retrieved from other burner, and stove re-assembled. Stove fuelled up and lit - success! Stove looking better now it's had a quick clean. No leak at all from 'that' washer, even though burner head is little more than hand tight. Pulsing - not completely absent, but you'd really need to know what to listen out for. The pulsing is more obvious as the pressure drops, just before the flame goes out. Video's and pictures taken for stove reference gallery, featuring a rather embarrassing looking 'original' trivet. Heat proof gold paint Googled - how much!!!!!!!! It'll have to wait for now. All in all, a good days fettling - happy days! P.S. the Primus #10 running beautifully too , albeit with a leaky burner head washer (still awaiting delivery from The Fettlebox). Baz
Congratulations on the stove. And on successfully hiding the evidence of your activities in the Mrs.' kitchen. When my youngest son was preparing to go on a hiking trip, I got out the sigg firejet for him. To show him how to prime the burner, I CAREFULLY covered the oak table in the front room with newspaper and kept a roll of paper towels close. With kerosene the firejet takes a while to heat and this time it dumped some liquid fuel when I opened the valve. Kerosene soaked newspapers burn well and beating them out with a roll of paper towels is not the best cure. The burning newspaper flies everywhere! Not to mention the roll of paper towels now spreading smoke as I waved it , as it was now also on fire. So everything went out the front door and was extinguished. We spent the next 30 minutes airing out the house and hiding the evidence all to no avail. As soon as my wife came home she somehow knew. A sixth sense wife's seem to have. So now I mostly go out to the garage ( the MANtuary) I even refilled my little coleman 226 OUTSIDE before lighting it up.the other night In the house to see how well it lights up a room. Sorry for the ramble. Back on subject I have enjoyed your sharing the process of your fettle. Great job. IVAN
