Hello, I have a new (to me) 123R that is a little too free with it's fuel. In fact, it runs at full burn when OFF. After purchasing this little stove I looked everything over carefully, even took it apart to check it out. First burn,......it worked and my sweetie pie had a nice picnic,...but it wouldn't shut off. Thankfully it was an R model so popping the cleaning needle it stalled enough I could blow it out. (after the meal was cooked of course) Once out it continued to hiss and spit fuel until the supply was exhausted. It started on it's own during prime,.......without ever being turned on. I've read some old threads on here and cleaned it vigorously internally without positive results. The good news,.......pure blue flame and a cherry burner plate. Any ideas>>>? Thanks in advance, Dave
Dave--have a look at the cut away shots of that stove in the site--somewhere.. there is some trick about putting the cleaning needle in and counting the number of clicks before tighting everthing down--there is a long instructions in here someplace --anyway by doing that the needle and valve will end up in the right place to shut the fuel off-----
Dave Gibson is right on the money. Remove the jet, and then turn the valve counter-clockwise until you can lift the cleaning needle out (you may have to loosen the box nut on the valve spindle to do this). With the needle out, turn the valve all the way clockwise -- the valve is now closed. Now put the cleaning needle in, making sure the gear teeth are facing the right way. Slowly open the valve and listen for the clicks, as the needle lifts up and it's teeth drop behind the gear teeth. Give it four clicks, and then close the valve again. Re-install the jet. If that doesn't do it, try three clicks, or five. Best of luck, and let us know how it goes. ....Arch
Thanks very much to both of you. I originally set it up with four clicks,.......I'll try a progressively smaller number until something good happens (fingers crossed) Thanks again.
If everything else fails, you could try to remove the cleaning needle, and operate the stove without it. That way, there will be nothing potentially limiting the operation of the needle valve. If it closes completely now, you'll know that the needle valve and the corresponding valve seat are OK. Knut
short version,....no luck. I tried the whole range of 'clicks' from around 6 to about 2 1/2. The lower the number of clicks the better control I had with regards to shutting it off (I could easily blow it out but fuel still flowed to a certain point when off and hot). The problem is even with the slight leak,.....there is almost no flame and almost zero range of operation. I.E. there is MAYBE a 20 degree range of movement of the key before the needle is rearing it's head and stalling the operation. without the needle,.....same problem. has to be the improper mating of the stem/vaporizer and valve spindle correct?
Time to disassemble this stove and ensure there is no forgien object within the valve seat which is keeping the valve from fully closing. Often times a bit of carbon from a charred wick will get into the valve and keep it from fully closing. You will want to replace the wick with new wicking. A string of material from a string mop is just the right size / thickness to accomplish this task. I too have had this problem in a 123 stove and this was the only cure. Good luck. lance
I've had it apart a few times now. Four times today actually. The wick is new looking for the most part. Using a bamboo rod meant for kabobs, i probed the valve seat and think it has a burr. If that is the case it would certainly explain a lot. Has anyone ever seen/heard of this before??
Hi I'm probably wrong but this is what I've done in the past. Last chance saloon, if after checking there is no foreign object blocking the closing of the valve, try creating a new sealing surface with valve grinding paste. Smear a small amount of the finest paste on the cone only! of the spindle and reassemble without packing and operate repeatedly to burnish the seat. Wash throughly and reassemble. You should now have a gas tight seal.
I have a few of these 123R's and agree with the advice given thus far, including the latest by 'speedster. Occassionally you will find that the priming process will result in what appears to be a full burn, even though you know that the valve is fully closed [this assumes that the valve is operationally perfect, which yours will be after the valve grind]. This prime-burn is caused by previously unvaporised fuel remaining in the riser stem of the burner. This can be caused by the operation of the valve when the burner is not operatonal. With the fuel cap on and with only a minute negative pressure differential between the tank and the outside air, the fuel will rise in the stem. When you come to prime, even though the valve is closed, this fuel vaporises, and gives the impression that the valve is open somehow. It's not. Just wait a while - a long 30 seconds is usually sufficient - and the fuel in the stem will run out and the burner flame will die out. In other words, don't operate the valve with a spanner thinking that the burner is a "runaway" and is just going to get worse before becoming your worst conflagoration nightmare, as this tends to ruin the valve and then your mood when you have finally realised the answer. Well, this may or may not have happened to me. We live and learn. Regards, Rob
I went through the exact same thing with an 8R yesterday. It lit during prime and I had to shut it off with the needle, then blow. The threads about the 111T that wouldn't shut off were what I referred to. I have a mini pump, so I just kept trying to seat the needle, pump pressure and see if it leaked. It's very hard to count the clicks sometimes just because it jumps around a bit. I set it about 5 different times to what I thought was 3 clicks and finally it worked. A very minor leak with 5 pumps that never returned again. I fired it up, let it get nice and hot and shut it off with no problem. I believe I have about 1/2 a turn free motion in the valve now. You might just keep trying...kinda like kicking the T.V....sometimes it just works!
Thanks everyone for their helpful suggestions. I'm pretty sure this particular stove's problem is not needle related at this point as it was tried without the needle and the problem continued. This weekend I intend to do what redspeedster had suggested and, using some auto scratch removing paste, mate things a little tighter. Like I had mentioned above and have confirmed, there is a burr in the valve seat. I'll report back either way. The suggestions are all appreciated as it's hard to diagnose anything over the internet and the broad range of potential solutions are certainly helpful. Thanks again to all for taking the time. Dave
Well,........she's purring again, and shutting off. I tore it down, replaced the wick just for kicks, and used baking soda as the abrasive. Mixing some into a thick paste I dropped a dab into the valve seat and did the twist repeatedly. Things in there got nice and shiny, smoothed out,....and it now starts and stops as designed. Thanks for the help and ideas.
