Bought an old 99. Seems in good shape. Fueled her up. Lit. Started burning nicely. I then noticed that the control key/knob did nothing at all. As she heated up, the tank obviously got hotter and hotter until there was an absolute 4-headed flame dragon pouring out of this beast. I had to suffocate to put out! Any ideas on what to look for when I take apart, and what to replace? TJ’s much. Mcbhaine
Where is the issue? Knob rotate freely, not engaging the spindle, broken spindle? Have you disassembled the stove? Missing the jet? Surprised you let it go long enough to get the tank hot. Sounds like you let it go out of control so long. Duane
Cracked valve even? Duane PS: Maybe remove tank and burner from the case, empty fuel, loosen fuel cap, place in freezer for 15 minutes, fill sink with hot water, close fuel cap good, be sure valve is closed, dunk in the water, observe bubbles if able. You have in hand, you'll have to be our eyes.
From any cracks, parts not working as designed. Might need to write it off if not mechanically inclined. Duane PS: I also wonder if pricker needle assembly isn't set. There are threads regarding all.
I'm always interested in Duane's valuable input and the dunk test is a good start (do it) but due to, while at full roar "... an absolute 4-headed flame dragon pouring out of this beast." and a flare for the dramatic, good, less boring is good : ). , anyway, you were able to turn the valve (*more below) "... the control key/knob did nothing at all. " being able to achieve full roar, there may be nothing leaking. I can see a 4-headed flame dragon pouring out of this beast. as great. Yes, you do want to be able to turn it off. *Q1 I have, does valve just keep on spinning or? Upfront, if valve spins endlessly, it is broken AND (a broken spindle) you can loosen the packing nut and see if spindle pulls/unthreads out. Do NOT force it, a spindle with a cleaning needle will NOT just simply unscrew (functioning valve stops both directions).
… or Testing for air leaks doesn’t fit the symptom of an over-pressurised fuel tank supplying a burner at full pelt with no control at the valve to shut down. A disassembled burner would reveal what’s happening provided we could see photos of the disassembled parts.
It needs to be stated.. the obvious. These are pressure vessels with flammable liquid. Care should be taken to ensure that the vessel works properly before use. Instructions are helpful, but proper maintenance of old stoves are usually not included. That is the real purpose of this website. The use, safely, of classic (otherwise known as OLD) stoves. Use care, diligence, and patience, as if your wellbeing depended on it. Because it does.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments. Here you go. Nothing looks stripped. The spindle turned normally, with stops at the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations. The packing on the spindle was entirely fragmented and gone. I don't see how missing packing would prevent flame control, but perhaps I misunderstand the mechanism (fuel wasn't leaking, much, out if the control end of the spindle, after all). Question about how deeply one threads the pointed spindle into the horizontal female end of the throat. Is that depth what controls flow? Any packing at the far, deep end if the spindle?
"Much"... ! A fuel leak on a gasoline stove going at full throttle is an explosion waiting to happen. 1. The spindle needs to screw all the way in (clockwise) to turn off the fuel flow. Try it without the pricker so you know how far it goes - not alight, of course. 2. It sounds like your spindle and pricker were set incorrectly, thus you were unable to stop the fuel flowing when you turned the control to the right. This is quite dangerous. 3. You should look through this site to see how the pricker is set in these types of stoves (Optimus 99; 8R and similar). There are plenty of posts on this subject. As pointed out above, incorrect setting can be potentially dangerous. 4. Replace the graphite packing, once you know how to set your pricker. The graphite stops the fuel being forced out of the spindle/packing box when the stove is in operation. 5. Become a subscriber so that you can visit the manuals in the Reference Gallery and understand how these stoves operate, for your on safety. Cheers Tony
[From: Optimus 99] Exploded view of Optimus 99: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/no-99-exploded-view.136/ Instructions: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/optimus-99-instructions-1977.44196/ Tony
@Mcbhaine re Is that depth what controls flow? yes. re Any packing at the far, deep end if the spindle? no re Question about how deeply one threads the pointed spindle into the horizontal female end of the throat. I'm afraid my attempt to answer that might confuse things. I will say, your valve has 2 functions: off -to- throttle up and jet cleaning needle. [The valve operation/function is explained in the instructions linked below as well.] The cleaning needle if not properly installed can prevent the valve from closing. It's all apart now, I suggest reassemble your 99 w/o the needle. This allows you to focus on one function off -to- throttle up. Performance is not affected running minus the needle, it's no problem. You already managed to suffocate it, good, very good. Safety First i recommend read a list created by fellow stovie Sam RIP. his list I added to his list later in that same thread, i added" > Fire drill, go thru the paces needed to extinguish / contain fire in any given area. note: not just a stove, if fuel leaks where might it go (it might be a flowing puddle of flame btw) Tony provided instructions . The 1960 8R instructions will also work for 99 (same tank/burner asm.). This 8R instruction includes more detail, how to operate and notably how to install cleaning needle when you get to that point.
