@presscall, Reading this topic, I have a few question if you don't mind answering me: what is the role of that steel wire mesh rolled up and shoved in the burner body before screwing it onto the gas tank? Can it run without it? I got "courageous" and completely disassembled the shmel 2 stove for a clean up. And I found something similar to a steel kitchen scrubber... Not impressed since now I can see it must have something else in there... Someone else before me was In there... Also ,can't believe a shmel 2 stove could burn kerosene with just a jet change! I measured the jet diameter and 8 mm is easy to source. Think I have one from 3d printing with a hole 0,1 mm,a 32 gauge hole... Really small . Thank you!
It helps vapourisation of the fuel, conducting heat from the burner to the incoming fuel as it passes through the mesh. A roll of brass gauze would serve also and is commonly found in kerosene stove ‘lipstick’ burner vapourisers with the same function. The burner would probably work without it for a while after the initial pre-heat, but vapourisation is likely to begin to break down (spurts of yellow, smoky flames) some minutes into the session. That failure to vapourise the fuel would be even more marked if the fuel were kerosene and not gasoline.
I understand. Was wondering how does this thing work /vaporises gasoline without a generator like in Coleman stoves... So in theory burner needs a big hot(250-300 Celcius surface area for the gasoline to make contact before it reaches the burner head! Measured that one too and the tolerances between the 2 caps where the gasoline vapours enter ,is about 1-2 mm . I will stick to gasoline for now! I'm no engineer, so I trust the smarter guys before me that calculated things and tested burners before me! The whole brass burner was dirty inside and the on/off knob was turning rather hard. This is the reason why I decided to take a break after months of using it almost daily and give it a good clean. The graphite thing/bush came out in one piece ,but I did soaked it in some Liqui Moly solution for stuck screws. I'm begining to admire even more the British Army No.12 cooker/stove. How does that thing burn diesel so good is beyond my understanding.. at first glance there's not much complicated stuff to it. Plus it's simpler than Optimus Nova,another stove I had my eyes on for awhile now! One thing is certain: the next stove I will buy must burn diesel from any gas station. Do you have any photos of a disassembled British Army No.12 stove? I'm curious what's inside it! Found this interesting article British Army Cooker No.12 Review (Diesel/Kero only) Thank you! View attachment 324918 View attachment 324918
@presscall I got it all clean but am unsure if I should use the same steel "mesh scrub" thing it had or look for a replacement. As it was it ran but makes me wonder if it could have burned better! what do you think? here's some pictures, beeing Sunday I had some free time to waste.
@presscall I forgot to ask ,but you didn't mentioned either: a Shmel 2/4 with the jet adjusted smaller for kerosene will it still burn gasoline? Very interested in this
I suggest you replace that ‘pan scrub’ substance with a roll of brass gauze. Not satisfactorily. You’ll get it to burn but the output will be significantly reduced. Regarding the British Army No.12 burner, you’re right, there’s nothing complicated about its construction. A conventional kerosene silent burner was incorporated in THIS No.12 prototype. The burner in it is no different from the type of regulated silent burner found in an Optimus 111. Longer pre-heating and a need to thoroughly de-coke the burner regularly (rarely if at all if kerosene fuelled) is a consequence of burning diesel however. Most likely that’s true of burning diesel in the production No.12 also. Certainly a longer pre-heat is inevitable.
Well, I had the stove assembled in a hurry but the right way ,and surprise surprise, with fresh gasoline well preheated with alcohol it burns with a redish/yellow flame... and before it had a blueish flame. Guess it receives too much fuel, or there's something bad in gasoline... I couldn't stay too long outside because around here(Buzau county) there's a gigant problem with mosquitoes in the early morning and evening/night... Basically in about 10 minutes of standing still you get covered by mosquitoes,face arms, legs,etc... and they all bite... That's all for today, tommorow I work ,no time for stoves... I did used the same scrubby steel thing just to have it running fast/today! If anyone or you Presscall have any idea why it burns yellowish or what could be done to make it burn blueish again, I'm open to sugestions... I don't need the stove for now,since I'm home, gas cooking stove is ok in the house ,Bbq is "armed and ready" dry wood for it is plenty, I won't starve anytime soon. :-) But I would love to make it blue again . thank you all!!!
