If in heating the burner the tubes get the appearance of being trasluscent or transparent then you have a problem, but not until then. lance
Steve, thanks for the tip. i ordered some gaskets from them. i received a few different sizes, after i requested some for optimus/primus kero stoves. the "green" ones fit perfectly, i also received some thinner grey ones that will fit with minimal inside trimming, or if i thread them on to the burner. now the next part of my question. how many gaskets per burner? do i place a gasket above and below the pre-heating cup? last night i tried using one gasket (a new, old stock one from the Hurlock spares kit) and yeah, it worked for a few minutes, and then there was a nice fire in the preheating cup as well as coming out of the burner, yellow flames everywhere. however there was a very nice blue flame from the burner for a few minutes before that happened. (i used meths to preheat, and have K-1 kero for fuel). anyway, i want to try this again and make sure it is sealed well so i don't burn the place to the ground. i did notice that the i.d. of the preheating cup is slightly larger than the i.d. of the pipe and the threaded part of the burner, which leads me to believe the gasket is supposed to be crushed (when tightening the burner) into the "extra" space. and if i remember correctly there was only one gasket on it when i got it (but it was broken), and it looked like a very different material than the gaskets i was sent. the parts list does only show one gasket. input/advice/expertise appreciated.
Hi Hazet, Yes, I have been using two gaskets, one above and one below the prime cup. You will find that these gaskets are pretty much a one shot deal, one use only. Mine have all shredded when I remove them... The green ones ARE slightly larger than the grey type, supposedly the same tho... Happy fettling ! Steve
again, thanks for the input. i used both green gaskets, one above, one below the cup. sealed well. although i am afraid to overtighten the burner, i have it pretty well tightened. the last thing i want to do is break the tube off. anyway, i could not wait to see if it worked better than last night's firebomb, so i lit it and it produced a pretty decent flame. no fire under the burner and i burned it for about 10 minutes with various flame heights. i am still getting a fair amount of yellow flames, and every once in a while a green one flashes. i am thinking that maybe it is because i do not have alot of kero in the reservoir, maybe the tubes are not fully cleaned of carbon, and maybe partly due to brasso residue. of course, as usual, i could be completely off base with those thoughts. here is a daytime pic, i will edit this and post nighttime pics so the flame is more visible. thanks for all the help, this is really exciting!
It looks pretty good, probably all the yellows and greens are contaminents in the tank, burning off. i would expect this to clear up with clean fuel run thru it! Keep up the good work!
I love that flame pattern. Top job. 2 photos of the gaskets used on the burner of my Optimus 00. These came from the plumbing department of a hardware store, think they are a paper fibre type washer. I've since replaced the lower gasket with one made from 'Chieftain' gasket material. Still on the look out for a supplier of this material, it's very, very good at providing a tight seal.
