@Litch Do you have another jet? The stove, complete, would have a jet for Gas, jet for Kero, and a jet for Spirits (with an air restrictor). If you put the gas jet in, you can try white gas.
Hi Peter, Wim is correct that the Amish are known to mix a little white gas with their kerosene. They do this for many applications and not only stove use and some of the reasons don't seem like the best of choices especially in wick appliances. I don't suggest that you do this all the time but only as a test to rule out your fuel as the source of yellow flame. Just a little will do. I only suggest this because you have a 111T which can burn white gas and kerosene equally well. I don't empty my tank completely when I switch between the two in my 111T. It seems a reoccurring theme of yellow flame tips reported by our German members and Lampenoel has been mentioned in several threads. I can't seem to easily find them at this time. @Wim , I remember both of us discussing this in past posts. Do you have an opinion on Lampenoel? I know Alkan is the Petromax brand fuel and Petromax is a quality name but when I go to petromax.de they say it's great in ALL lamps. No mention of it's use in the famous Petromax 100 stove. Peter, don't try it if you don't feel comfortable. Most of your flame shots look good. Only a couple show a little too much yellow and when I see that I think fuel or jet as the cause. Run your Alkan then try another brand. Sometimes, they even clear themselves up after a couple tanks of fuel. Ray
The stove came with one jet only and no restrictors. I knew, it was part of the description. I didn't care at that time, because I wanted to use kerosene anyway... Newbie question: Could I use the jet from my 123r or my 8r? Thank you, I really appreciate your help Peter
My 111T came to me used and with only 1 jet and no restrictors. I can switch between white gas and kerosene without problem and have never seen markings on any jets. Yes, you can try the jets from an 8R and 123R.
@Ray123 , Ray,I have no personal experience with the German Lampenoel, but what we buy as lampolie in our supermarkets & DIY shops is basically meant for wick stuff (especially the fat wick outdoor things without glass chimney, they'll burn anything! They also produce a lot of soot..... ) so I don't trust it in my stoves & lamps (not even in the wicky crap!). @Litch , Peter, I am no expert (all my 111s are kero burners only) but if I got things right there are 3 sizes of jets for the 111T, alcohol, petrol/white gas and kero. The alco one has the biggest jet hole, the kero one the smallest. Please do check if your jet is correct for kero. I once bought a set to rebuild an Optimus burner for a 155 stove, this contained the kero jet. I think Hytta in Germany has/had them. Best regards, Wim
The Optimus 11 also burns both kero and white gas without the need to change jets. I only use kero in mine, I don't really trust a NRV with petrol... (other than the Coleman etc. style NRV of course)
@Litch 1. I suspect your fuel is the problem. Find out from your countrymen what the best kerosene (paraffin) is sold near you. 2. The alcohol jet is usually stamped with an A - I doubt you have an alcohol jet. Your jet might be worn a bit, but try the fuel change first. Cheers Tony
Thank you all. I mixed 3 parts of hero plus part white gas with exactly the same results. It burns quite nicely but I bet it doesn't perform like it should... Knowing that impressions vary I ran the same boil test with my 8r for comparison under exactly the same circumstances (air 22°C and water 15°C, using the same stainless pot). The 111T needed 7'15" for a rolling boil and the 8r needed 8'10". I expected it to be more powerful like 6 min., maybe even less. Or am I asking too much?? It holds the pressure well so I think I'll try to get a new jet. BTW none of my jets has any markings. Best, Peter
@Litch Theoretically, the same sized jet, with the same amount of the same kind of fuel flowing through (eg under equivalent pressure), should produce the same amount of heat (give or take the vagaries of the design of the burner etc). So if the jet on the 8R is the same size as the jet on the 111T it should produce approximately the same heat output on each stove. Kerosene should produce more heat than Coleman fuel... Therefore, I think your test is in the right ballpark by way of comparison under non-standardised testing conditions. Tony
This is very interesting, Tony. I had expected the 111T to have a lot more power than a 123R or a 8R. At least the technical specs I had read told me so. But as you said: Why should that be the case? It's not about saving time, of course. I just don't like the thought that my equipment is not working as smooth, reliable and/or efficient as it theoretically could. Peter
To break the theory these have a different burner design which cout affect things in a couple of ways. Flame shape will be diffeent which could affect the amount of heat bypassing the pot and the burner efficiency ie how well it turns a given amount of fuel into heat.
@Litch I'm quite happy to be contradicted about my assumptions, but I think I have the correct logic here. There is of course the design factors that make some burners slightly more efficient than others because they get the air/fuel mix more efficient. But to go 'up power' means a bigger jet with a burner designed to take the extra fuel. The kero/gasoline jet will always be somewhat of a compromise. Cheers Tony
After some research I found a supplier with a different kind of kerosene that he recommends for stoves. The stuff I had used he recommends more for "the fat wick outdoor things" because it is thicker. Full of confidence I ordered 10 liters only to find out that the results were exactly the same Next thing I'll try is a new jet with a correct hole especially for kerosene. Where can I get it? Hytta offers a set but the jet is for white gas.
Hi Peter, Sorry to hear you still have trouble. I browsed a 1972 Optimus catalog and back in those days they were still using 3 digit part numbers and listed a 197 jet for the 8R and a 236 kerosene jet for the 111 and 236G jet for the 111B. I don't know of anyone selling these jets with different aperture diameters any longer. I think the eBayers and other sellers of Asian made jets are probably selling a one size jet for both gas and kerosene stoves. I can run either kerosene or white gas equally well with the same jet in my 111T. Base Camp has a 2509 jet they say is for the 8R, 111, 123R and a few other Optimus stoves. Right here we see they recommend the same jet for kerosene and white gas stoves. Even so, if anyone would have these jets with different apertures it would be Base Camp so it may be worthwhile to contact them. Have you tried using your 8R jet in your 111T? It would be a very easy and quick experiment. Try removing the cleaning needle too until you have things sorted. Ray
Thank you, Ray. I'm not having really big trouble but I have the feeling there is room for improvement... I have not yet tried the jet from my 8r but just sent a question to the fettlebox - let's see if they have a solution. Best, Peter (Hoping you don't find this too boring
Sorry for the late update: It was so hot here the last weeks that I couldn't do any proper testing. A nice fellow forumite guided me to a source were I ordered a jet especially for kero. Once installed it showed no better performance (actually worse) than the original one so I changed it back right away Now what's really interesting for me is the fact that all of this testing etc. had a very positive effect nevertheless To be honest: I'm now so used to starting and handling my 111 that I feel very comfortable with it. I appreciate all the help and hope all of this wasn't too boring
