Have acquired a used Optimus 111B, but the stove flames out whenever the fuel adjustment is opened more than a crack. I have primed the stove for a long period to get the burner hot and also allowed it to run with its barely sustainable "roaring" flame for long periods, but no matter what, when you open the adjustment a hair more the flame blows out. It does look like the jet and valve have been serviced recently (i.e. bright brass color). Any ideas?
Jet is a possibility. You could have the wrong jet for the fuel you are using or simply and nicely polished jet that is old, hence an oversized hole. Also unscrew the whole burner head from the tank and ensure there is a screen or wick installed. If not, you could be getting to much raw fuel to the burner head. All spares are readily available if necessary. Happy fettle! Rob
I have one that blows out when its valve is opened after a long prime. It does it more pronouncedly, when alcohol is used. If I prime it with white gas from the tank, it rarely does it. This will soot up the burner, however. But your 111B seems to exhibit a stronger tendency. What happens, if you open the spindle quickly to the full throttle? Is there any difference, compared to when it is open just a crack? Here are some possibilities, at the risk of redundancy: 1) Maybe priming could use more alcohol; fill 3/4 of the cup and see what happens. 2) Try priming with white gas; it may make a difference. 3) Open the valve under pressure without priming; see whether the fuel streams out in solid stream. If not, the burner is not able to supply steady stream of fuel, and it may have blockage inside. 4) Does your 111B have the windscreen that fits on the burner? Are you priming with the cone-shaped windscreen on or off? It helps to have it on. If the jet orifice is enlarged due to friction wear, more fuel will come out, and the flame will be larger and burn orange. If this is not happening, one may assume that jet is of the right size. bark2much
Thank you for your responses. After studying pictures of other 111B's, it would appear that I am missing a flame ring (Part #2151). Could this be my problem? I did try changing the jet with one from my 8R as well as trying all of the suggested priming techniques with no improvement.
Without the flame spreader that is going to happen. There is probably nothing wrong with you stove with the exception of missing the spreader. Don't mess with your stove until you get one on there and try it again. Rob
Referring back to my posting of Fri May 20, 2005 4:36 am Post subject: 111b flameout, I finally obtained a windscreen for the 111B, but am still having the flameout problem. I have tried alcohol priming and white gas priming, cleaning all parts with Gumout, and verified that fuel streams out of the jet with just pump priming. It still will only sustain a flame (blue-colored) when the fuel control is barely cracked open. Am looking for any ideas.
It still sounds like it's getting waaay too much fuel. perhaps the spindle end and or the valve seat is mangled or worn? Sounds like its flooding out...
Hello, Omp, Just a thought: 111B burners have a roll of brass "gauze", or screen, inserted into the fuel tube, just at it's end. If you back off the nut on the fuel tank, and remove the burner, you should see this rolled up brass screen. If it's not there, then I think your burner IS getting too much white gas. If your brass screen is not there, you can make a replacement, or contact Basecamp in the UK, or A&H, in the States, to get a replacement filter/screen. Check it out and see if this had merit. Good luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
Hi OMP I think Doc may be on the money here . . . . the gauze is designed to conduct heat from the burner tube into the fuel which is moving from the tank to the burner. This should ensure that the fuel is vapourised when it leaves the jet. If it isn't there you will need to get a replacement, if it is there it may be very dirty. If it doesn't come out with long nose pliers then insert a long thin wood screw and twist it to catch the gauze then pull straight back. Unravel it carefully and scrub up with hot water, soap and an old toothbrush. Rinse, dry and roll tightly and reinsert. You might try swilling out the tank with White Gas, but the best way to avoid having to use prickers is to be sure you use clean fuel. Other than that you may need to replace the jet, they tend not to like it if prickers are used too much as they just get too wide. Let us know how you get on and post us some pics ! Cheers
The recent fettle on my 111b had mine doing the exact same thing. I at first thought that i might be pumping it too much. After reading this thread I decided to take my brass packing out and have a look @ it. Sure enough it was a little tricky to get out but after a wood screw and some cursing I got it out. It was almost completly plugged @ the end. I ran it under some water and cleaned the inside of the burner out with a rifle bore brush. I tightly rolled the packing up and placed back in the stove. I preheated with meths about 1/2 a cup and had a pot waiting. As soon as I cracked the valve she fired and steadily started burning until it was full bore. That was the magic bullet!! That brass screen was not letting enough fuel to vaporise. It probably was building too much pressure with the clog. Now that it is going correctly I am very pleased with the way that it burns and I will no longer describe it as "puney" I will compare it with a raging inferno on crack!!
Hey, Splitbus, Great job!! =D> =D> =D> =D> \ \ \ \ NOW, you know why most of us dearly love the 111 series of stoves!! Again, way to go on your 111B fettle! Enjoy it, now that it's working as it should, Merry Christmas, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
Sorry SB, forgot to mention the cursing . . , but well done on getting another 111 back in the land of the living . . =D> =D> =D> =D>
Only slight progress to report. The wire gauze was intact and pretty clean, but cleaned it anyway. Cleaned out the inside of the burner with a rifle brush and solvent. Substituted the jet from my Optimus 8R (which works fine). After priming with alcohol, was able to run burner full open, but flame seemed "touchy" and not full strength. Tried pumping tank, but burner flamed out. Tried again with same "touchy" flame resulting. Did not adjust anything and after 3-4 minutes the burner flamed out - no wind, etc.... So cleaning helped, but underlying problem is still there.
Hello, OMP, Where do you live, Sir? If you are relatively close to me, and I live in Southern California, I'd be willing to take a look at your 111B, if you'd like to send it to me. You can trust me with your stove, just as you can trust all our other Stove Mates with it. I am certain that many others of our Stove Mates would be willing to take a look at your stove, and see if they could fettle it for you, if you'd let us know where you live, and if you'd trust us with it. Please give that some consideration, and see if any of us can be of service to you in helping to get your 111B back into the kind of shape of which it's fully capable. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
I am wondering if it might be a pressure leak? Have you done a dunk test? Pump it up and submerge the stove in the sink full of water and watch for bubbles. It is surprising how fast the pressure will leak out of a small stove tank and kill the flame. Doc is correct. We can't stand to know that there is a stove that need fixing. The best way to ensure that your stove mate neighbor does not mess with your wife while you are on a hunting trip is to leave a dirty broken stove on the kitchen table while you are away. :o
Hi, I think that a pressure leak is a probable cause also. If the flame is established and running ( all be it weakly) then it dies out of its own accord then it sounds like the stove is loosing pressure. If there was too much fuel being supplied you'd have a big yellow flame. The fact that the flame never really gets up to strength means that either it's suffering fuel starvation from a blockage (which you can rule out cause you cleaned the filter gauze and that seems to have improved the flame your getting) or it's not getting up to the correct working pressure which forces more fuel into the burner and its suffering fuel starvation from fuel not being suppled to the burner by pressurising the tank. Originally the stove would only work when the valve was opened just a crack but when you opened it fully the flame just dies. Sounds like with the valve just open there is enough pressure in the tank to drive some fuel into the burner once the valve is open fully this small amount of pressure is insufficent to push fuel to the burner and the flame dies. Then you cleaned the filter gauze which means the flame will now establish when the valve is opened fully. Sounds like cleaning the gauze removed some built up gunk. The stove now flows fuel more freely so what pressure is in the tank can push the fuel with the valve fully open. It does sound very much like a pressure leak. the dunk test in a bucket of water will show you if the stove has a leak. good luck and sorry for the long winded answer. Cheers John
Tried the dunk test and the stove is air tight. Verified that the stove was pressurized by opening the jet under water - lots of bubbles. The only other odd thing about this stove is that the washer between the spirit cup and burner is missing. Is it simply a "lock" washer for the screw on spirit cup or does it have another purpose?
