Some may recall how I recently travelled to Ross (midlands of Tasmania) to meet up with @Scott B. At that time we explored the Collectables store and I discovered this under a bench. It came home with me... It appealed to me because of its obvious unique history and features: - An unnamed furnace style burner (obviously a mechanical problem there) - Wiring attachment of the legs - only one leg remains attached by soldering - Tank cap replacement This is a stove with real history! I scrubbed in the sink with a little detergent and rinsed the tank with kerosene and nut slurry to reveal a leak I replaced the filler cap seal, NRV pip and managed to remove the burner without unscrewing the riser ( I reckon that's some asbestos in the seal). I then spent considerable time pondering how to attempt a repair of the tank/riser leak whilst maintaining the integrity of the stoves patina... The usual freezer to hot water dunk test suggest two leaks - the one under the riser/spirit cup and one for the base of the air-release screw/tube (previously soldered). After visiting all four of the tip shops located around Hobart I came up with this solution yesterday. I cut off multiple pieces of 50:50 resin core solder to create a "gravel". How much is enough? I have no idea! I mounted to modified Primus gas light frame on to a tripod of repurposed tent frame extensions. Then I introduced the solder "gravel" into the tank before inverting it on the suspended ring. To the riser I attached a 600ml Coke bottle of water. Following this I lagged it with wet rags (I forgot to insert wet rag into the pump tube) and finally injected 2.5ml of Bakers Soldering Fluid. My plan was based on using the principles of gravity and heat rising. I wanted to give it a "Short, Sharp Shock" (Interesting aside/correlation is that those words were spoken by Roger Manifold)! My problem was how to tell when the solder "gravel" had melted? Applying heat to the riser and spirit cup created its own fire of residual carbonaceous material! After my first attempt, I shook the tank and heard my "gravel" still. 50:50 solder has a melting range of 183-214 degrees C. I gave it a slightly longer sharp shock... The flux was steaming from the tank filler and the lagging rags around the base were steaming, so I figured that I was well over 100 degrees C! No rattling of "gravel" this time! A dunk test confirmed that there was no further leaking from the riser/tank region, just the air release. I was quite "chuffed"... @Tony Press had generously provided me with a suitable flame ring, so I fired it up! Provided I pumped occasionally it burned quite well. Today, knowing that I had a leak from the air-release tube I decided to install a burner with a "blind" jet and pump the fuel tank full of air - a lot of air, prior to dunking into hot water. Sadly I exposed a terminal illness There endeth this epistle. R.I.P.
@Rodger Willows A triumph of tenacity and skill nevertheless Rodger, regardless of the eventual outcome. John
Far from dead, add to the story and patch it! This is the equivalent of a grand old Edwardian farm oil engine in service through two world wars only to have the cylinder frost damaged in the winter of '47. The resulting copper patch formed to fit over the crack, and fixed in place with screws all round would once have been removed by enthusiasts and the damaged welded and filled instead, ready for an infantile repaint job. Now a characterful repair and original paint are highly prized. As you say, what a wonderful piece of history, an equally fine attitude towards returning it to service while conserving as much of said history as possible, and some ingenious methods to achieve this. What a great start to the New Year!
In case it's useful and worth considering in future, I've changed methods for removing burners from the early style of risers. Rather than using clamps or strap wrenches and the like on the riser, I fill the tank with water, immerse the stove in water up to half way up the riser, then heat the burner-riser interface as hot as I dare (the spirit cup is the limiting factor if fitted there). No risk of heat affecting the riser-to-tank joint, and on cooling the burner gives no fight.
@presscall and @Blackdog Thank you both for comments/input. Maybe I have to explore POR-15 (or some other ponderous option)…
Flame ring or flame tube? Too bad! That nice rocket stove burner can continue to produce it's lovely roaring noise in some other stove.
There are quite a few stoves around with a copper or brass patch historically fitted over stress cracks, and there have been a fair few done in recent times too. Unlike tank sealant, a patch brings strength back into the tank. Nothing fancy to it- shape patch, tin, tin tank, sweat together.... Steel tube is fine for display and occasional use, but stainless or cast iron (as original) is needed for heavy work. I've burnt through a couple of steel flame tubes on a furnace I use a lot- at the high temperatures they run at, the steel oxidises very quickly. Not melting but high speeed rusting... which is of course a very slow form of burning due to the much lower, ambient, temperature.
Not unobtainable: Also Base Camp sells them (or at least few years back they sold them). Can also be DIY made from steel/stainless/brass tube.
@Tony Press Thank you for your comments and assistance with the flame tube (41mm x 1.6mm walled steel exhaust pipe). @hikerduane I’m considering an exhumation after @Blackdog suggested a repair method (thanks). I’ll need to spend time researching stress fractures and their repair. @Afterburner If I’m unsuccessful in my quest for repair it will certainly become a donor for harvesting of spares. @Blackdog Thank you for your information regarding the tubing - it will give me something else to be on the lookout for when I’m doing the rounds of the tip shops! I’ll have to accept that I’m not going to be able to maintain the patina when I repair it.
@Rodger Willows Nice work on the rig Rodger, Well thought out! Nice to see her burning after witnessing the stove rescued first hand. The Radius I mentioned over the weekend has a very well fitted patch plate on the tank. I will post some pics tonight after work. Thanks for sharing Regards Scott B
All part of the ever-evolving story! It will soon weather in nicely... half a century and no one will know
Stovies are more green than those that identify themselves green! We recycle everything, all goods & material end up to be stove parts.
Following the encouragement, I decided to undertake a exhumation. When I disassembled the stove I found a few remaining "granules" of solder. I reckon that makes my strike rate about 95%! In order to undertake the stress crack repair of the tank I needed a donor carcass to provide the graft, so on Wednesday I started early by dropping Kim (my children's mother - whose house I'm minding) at the Hobart airport and undertaking the 750 km return trip to the NW of Tassie where my storage unit is. I diverted to the house of @Scott B in Launceston on the way back with a few "Swedish Death Cleaning" items! Here's the Companion donor following graft patch harvest Then it was a matter of learning about tinning and sweating (lots of that)! I knew that I had a leak around the air-release screw as well as the pump tube as it turned out There goes all that patina, but at least it's now safe to fire up! Hmmm, now that I've played with one furnace-style burner perhaps it's time to explore more! Thanks all for your support and encouragement. This has turned out to be my most challenging/arduous fettle yet...
A great outcome @Rodger Willows , bet you're pleased you took the plunge. Neat work as always, the patch will blend in over time and is just another chapter in the story. Some loss of grime, but a small price for a stove which lives once again. If the tank mounted spirit cup is original, rather than a bodged reapir, this No.1 is quite a rare beastie....
