Is there a tutorial or master class thread showing the best way to remove and reinstall the 8R/123 non-pump fuel cap gasket ? Thanks for your reply Buzz
If you warm it with heat it can be pulled out easier than cold. I usually warm it with a small butane torch then cut with an x-acto blade and pull sections out one at a time. Oh, use care not to scratch the metal below the gasket. Ken in NC
Thanks for the help. I burn old gaskets out of 3 piece Coleman caps and then scrape them. But with the pis in the Optimus caps I am leery of heating them Buzz
I there some rubber inside the SRV in the cap? If yes heat might damage it also... I have used o-ring removal tool (that are easy to get from car spare part stores) for removing gaskets. Also I have used a set of different type of dental probes for gasket removing and thread cleaning.
I have been successful using a dental pick or a small machinist scribe to pick out the gasket. There is supposedly a rubber pip inside the cap of the 8R so heat is a danger and unnecessary at least the one time I have had to do this repair. BTW, if you need a quick fix a fuel proof O ring will do the trick. I have had my 8R chugging along for well over a decade with a Rubber O ring. Good Luck, Jim Henderson
Time ago I bought used Optimus 155 and it had o-ring in fuel tank cap and it seemed to work fine. It was a bit thick so it needed some pressure to cap when mounting it that thread started to "bite". I had some extra nitrile rubber so I made new gasket to the cap.
Thanks for your reply I am hoping someone will post a pictorial of changing the fuel cap gasket as so many times this needs to be done on stoves and newcomers might not know how to do it. Buzz
Hi, Buzz, This is such a simple task, I don't see how a video could be of much more help, than a good description would be. What is it that you would like to "see"? I usually slice through the old gasket, remove it, then replace it with a new gasket. Easy-peasy. Thanks, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
I tend to agree with Doc. Stab it with a terminal screwdriver, this cuts (or shatters!) the original gasket, hook out the pieces and replace with a new viton seal.... Alec.
I'm gradually losing my eye sight. A simple task may seem simple unless you have trouble seeing or you encounter a really hard, dry, squashed gasket. The last gasket I dug out was not an easy out process. I thought a simple expo of the process might help nubies I dig what you are saying from your standpoint, simple things are always simple if you have prior knowledge Buzz
No really, this is really simple even the first time. Ok, don't use a torch to warm it, put it in hot water, that should soften the gasket, and not damage the pip if you are worried about that. But, if the gasket is hard, I would then think the pip is hard, too. But, that's another story. Use an X-ACTO blade to cut the gasket in 4 places across the gasket, like a pie, so the gasket is in 4 pieces and 'dig' those 4 pieces out separately. A small srewdriver, wire, even a paperclip with a bend in the end to give you 'pull'. Ken in NC
Somehow I think that sometimes it is good to learn by using good old "trial and error method". With that method I can see if my assumptions are working or I can gain some new knowledge and apply it in future challenges as before or in little bit modified way. 8-[
some old gaskets are just hard as a rock, I carefully cut them with a blade or small screwdriver and the gasket cracks... Sometimes the gasket starts to spin inside the cap and the job is quite fun... That's the worst I dealed with a cap seal...
Losing your sight, sorry to hear that. You may have already considered this, but I have found that head mounted magnifiers are an excellent help with dimished eyesight. I have used mine for a couple decades now as my sight fails to old age. Mine has a velcro head strap and there are 3 sets of lenses on the head piece. Two of the lenses flip down to increase power. There is even a light on each side near the temples that a slightly useful. You might consider one. I used to be able to untangle my wife's tiny gold chains with just my eyes, now I need the magnifier head piece to do many things that are difficult to see as clearly as when I was young. Harbor Freight has cheap ones http://www.harborfreight.com/magnifier-head-strap-with-lights-38896.html I got mine from a hobby shop. A life saver, and one I use all too often. Jim Henderson
Thanks Jim Henderson. I'll pick one up next time I have a chance. $4.99 is a bargain if it holds together for awhile. All good Buzz
xavi, I had the spinning remnants of a gasket the last time. Lol I knew it was in there but I couldn't quite see it . Buzz
Hi Buzz, sorry to hear your eyesight is not good. The "spinning gasket" is always frustrating. Echoing other solutions here, I "spear" the remaining piece of hard gasket (assumes you can see it) with a small screw driver, it shatters into smaller pieces. I do this a few times and tap out the pieces. If the old gasket has still got some flex in it, I hook it out with a small screw driver. The other thing that may help is working under an illuminated magnifier (sold by shops such as Tandy here) - about an 8 inch diameter hollow light with a lens in the middle - all mounted on as "gooseneck." Norm
yep, i have a couple of the gooseneck lamps. the one i use to pry out gaskets had a broken neck.lol the other is in the shop and it is colder than h__l in there. the gasket was a spinner, and it was stuck up under the bottom threads of the cap. i knew it was in there but i couldn't really see it. oh well, job done. replacing fuel cap gaskets is a routine job for sure. i picked up three more stoves this week and two of them need new gaskets. so i made a nice little picker from some stout stainless rod with a bend in the handle to get purchase. i'll post and image of the gasket picker tomorrow. buzz
Is there a source for the PIP gasket and the viton seals? Thanks in advance. I have replaced the ones in my 123 with great results... now its time to restore the 8r I have...
