I have been getting some of my British Military stoves back to optimum. I have been successful with diesel powered ones , i.e. the No. 12, but although I have my No. 2 Mod running pretty well, I am discouraged by the almost constant interruption of yellow flames. Please don't mention needle placement as it took me 6 tries to have optimum placement. I tried no cleaning needle and that was ok but what should I do with the discarded needle? I got it set on my seventh try but OFF to CLEAN is only a 75 degree difference. I am curious if I am beating a dead horse owing to the fact that it originally ran on leaded gas? That is unavailable in the states and makes me think I have gone as far as I can. Thoughts?
It is hard for me to imagine how leaded-gasoline could ever be advantageous in stove performance, but doesn't aviation gasoline still have lead in it? The "yellow flame interruption" kind of sounds like what I have noticed at times when the fuel I was using was old and had some moisture (or perhaps something else) in it.
Why would you want to burn leaded gas anyway. The lead was to boost octane to prevent knocking/pinging/detonation in car engines. Just run Coleman fuel and enjoy your stove.
I’d check the jet orifice for being oversize. This was the combustion I was getting from a previously unused army burner and jet. That jet on the right, an Optimus 111 jet on the left. Optimus jet installed and proper combustion was restored. A fuller account is in THIS post. I came to the conclusion that army jets could on occasion slip through (no quality control) that didn’t meet the required specification. They’d probably be as unfussy about fuel, but I use an equivalent of Coleman fuel for the best possible combustion with minimal risk of forming deposits to clog the burner.
Thank you all. I will try another jet as the spare looks brand new. I am not interested in using leaded fuel. I'm aware of it's small plane applications as I worked for 5 years on aircraft refueling trucks. We kept one 100 octane tanker for just that purpose. I seem to have a memory of one user that flew a Bell 47 helicopter and did traffic reports. I only mentioned leaded fuel because the instructions on the lid say something about not exposing food to the flames
‘Operates with leaded petrol’ as in ‘because that’s the only type of petrol you squaddies are going to get your hands on’, fuelling the armoured vehicle the stove was issued with. Not for optimum combustion, but a health warning merely, absent on earlier examples in a pre-H&S age.
Hi Ken. I've been doing a bit more lantern stuff. But I still have a solid attachment to the stoves I have acquired. It makes me feel inadequate when stoves I have taken care to fettle start acting like no one ever cared about them. My Turner 1111 was a dynamo 2 weeks ago and now erupts in a fireball when lit. Same with my British stoves. I am trying to understand some of my purchases as a couple of them are huge and take up so much of my limited space. AKA my British Army Stove – two burner petrol – No 3 Mk 2 which must weigh in at 20 kilos. Did I really pay for shipping on that? Or my Coleman 395 Hot Plate. I mean they're great but hardly fit for taking along and using. Anyway, best to you both
My first thought is never use leaded petrol but I own a radius stove which was run on leaded petrol for 20 years with no issue according to its original owner. Leaded petrol emits lead containing fumes and should result in more deposits than white gas. The other issue is ethanol containing fuels or even modern additives in automotive fuel. Aircraft always use 100 octane and until quite recently it was leaded even though auto fuel hadnt been in most of the world for decades because the aircraft industry is so risk adverse and doesn't like change to something that works. Most aircraft engines would work happily on regular octane but they are not allowed to octane is an enemy of camp stoves the fewer the better
Hi. I have a few Radius stoves. What one are you talking about? An interesting story is that some friends who were into drag racing in the 70's were unhappy with our 100 oct and would put octane booster in it for their cars.
@presscall That sort of yellow flame appear when you fill white gas in a stove fitted for wartime alcohol mixed gas(25-30% ethanol to work in any vehicle without alteration) - similar flame as in my 1940's Radius 42, when I realised it was new when most swedish cars and motorcycles ran on "lättbensol" - I mixed 3 parts 95 octane E10 and 1 part E85 to approximately 25% ethanol and the stove ran with perfectly sized blue flame. It has similar sized jet as Optimus 8 and runs perfect on white gas when fitted with Optimus 8 burner bell - I did some swapping tests with Optimus 8 and Primus 71 before deciding to keep it rigged for wartime mix.
Wow. I think a chemistry graduate might help me mix this but it is beyond my ken. As for the Radius 42, I am sure. i have a good example and I will dig it out for it's close up.. I think this is the one bought from someone in Peru who shipped it in a specimen bag while not draining the fuel and it arrived intact with 4 oz. of gasoline in the bag.
@Lennart F Interesting theory Lennart, but the overfuelling stove was a 1989 issue example and a wartime issue of the model’s ancestor, a Turley & Williams, that I have presented no such behaviour. John
