I’d like to suggest a new award and put myself forward for it. We have Stove Of The Month and Stove Of The Year, I think we need Eejit Of The Year. The prize could be something like pointers towards a new hobby. I picked up a battered old XGK for a few pounds. It came without a pump, so I got myself a pump and set about fettling this stove that’s clearly been well used. The body was battered and the fuel line filthy: I successfully got it working: then went back to cleaning the fuel line some more as there were lots of carbon meteors evident when burning. That’s where it all went wrong. When spraying carb cleaner down the fuel line through the straw from a wd40 can (yes, I sure you can see what’s coming)… …the straw shot off and lodged itself in the fuel line . I can’t shake it loose, I’ve managed to get some 1mm brass wire pushed through from the burner end but with no success. I’ve even managed to get an insulated copper wire from a power cord in via the burner end but I can’t push it along as far as the steel wire. I’ve tried a car tyre compressor with a schrader valve cut out of a bicycle tyre to form a crude seal but with no luck. Where do I go from here? Would some proper compressed air or pressurised water delivered through something that would properly seal against the burner socket have some chance of blowing it loose? Beyond that all I see are options like removing the fuel line to get better access to burner end, melting it out or looking for something nasty that would dissolve the plastic. -R
Make your valve up and sneak down to the local garage and use their air compressor Or fix it to your tyre valve and blow it back out.
I considered this but am not sure how far in the straw has travelled and am wary of pushing it in further. I might give it a go in conjunction with some wire pushed through from the burner end in the hope it would prevent the straw moving further in. -R
I was thinking more like my local scuba shop… but no, those kinds of pressures would be dangerous. It’s the “make your valve up’ bit I’m at a loss with. How do I fashion something that will make a reasonable seal? -R
I've had this problem before Later, it was solved, water was poured into the oil pipe, and then it was shaken vigorously
It turns out one of my earlier attempts at shaking the straw out had worked! When I managed to push some 0.6mm stainless steel wire through from the pump side, bend a hook in it: and pull it back out without anything snagging I began to question of the straw was still there. Another check of the grass found it where the previous three checks had not! @SUANTOU MSR thank you for letting me know I am not the only one to do this! And thanks to all for their suggestions. I think the false alarm puts me in even better position for eejit of the year -R
Glad you got it sorted. I was going to suggest a blast with a compressor. They are awesome stoves & I love the condition!
I think you did well. Congrats on getting a great stove working. Have you been tested for red-green colorblindness? Sure, red and green look different, but when you drop a red straw in a green lawn, do the colors get hard to distinguish? A lot of males are red-green colorblind. ....Arch
Thanks @ArchMc. I’ve been boiling the kettle every chance I get to get fresh fuel through it. As far as I know I’m not colourblind. My previous scans of the (overdue a cut) grass were not as rigorous as they could have been because ‘red on green is obvious’. -R
