Burners eh? Who’d have ‘em… so after a bit of a medical relapse I’ve just started having a fettle and finally got around to tackling a crud encrusted Valor 55 and attempting to fire up my Burmos 21 which @Blackdog very kindly soldered the pump tube for… well, it does fire. Sort of … after fixing some nasty leaks under the spirit cup it did burst into life but seems to be losing pressure. All seals replaced etc - interestingly enough it ticked over on half power for a bit then had a real surge for a few minutes then back on to half power… I’m guessing it’s had a fun filled life because the burner seems to me to be seriously on the wonk - and no, I’ve not cross threaded anything this time!!! Views? images are of half power and the full 2 minute Monty… best, Chris
Is your burner “on the wonk” because the burner itself has been bent (the tubes aren’t vertical), or is the pump not vertical to the tank? Tony
Everything below the tubes is vertical if that helps … it looks like it’s had a hell of blow at some point I’m guessing…
You can carefully re-align the burner by clamping the hex in a vise (use something to protect the hex). Then, with a piece of wood against the edge of the very top of the burner, with a hammer, gently tap the burner back into alignment. If you’ve got a propane torch, heat the burner tubes to dull red first (let them cool naturally). Tony
By the way… The windshield clips to the burner: [Credit: @Stanisław Grajewski, from Burmos 21] Cheers Tony
Thank you! This is one labour intensive stove - especially for a small one too… so will the weird angle of the burner affect performance, hence the reason for it being inconsistent As for the windshield: yes I know that bit I had gone into the garage with it all clipped up then realised I didnt need it up in position so slackened it off so I could see what was going on if anything… C
If the vapourised kerosene coming out of the jet does not hit the central area of the top plate of the burner, you may get a lopsided flame pattern, and possibly a bad air/fuel mix. Just test it and see. My comment regarding the windshield was to a general audience rather than you specifically. Cheers Tony
That burner looks a bit slanted indeed. But brass is very malleable, fortunately, so can be straightened quite easily. But the fact that you said that the off-center seem to inhibit performance worries me a bit. Make sure that there are no dents or bents in one of the pipes, that is not good and might lead to a crack. I second @Tony Press 's advice. Heat up the part that needs to be bent to prevent it from tearing. *Edit* Can you make some pictures without the heat shield in place? This wil give a better picture (pun intended ) of the state of the burner.
Hi Chris, sorry you've been unwell, I can certainly relate to that at the moment, and of the ongoing Burmos saga... These Burmii often auto-light on a normal priming and do a good job of self pressurising- I've often run an entire tankful of fuel through one and only needed to give it an initial pump and another once the tank was about 3/4 consumed. Any suspicion it's loosing pressure suggests something isn't right! Worth checking whether it is loosing pressure from a leak somewhere. Drain fuel, pressurise, block the jet (eraser tip of pencil or similar poked through burner head once screw is removed), immerse in water and look for bubbles. You mentioned a leak near the spirit cup, did you fit a replacement washer above and below the cup? These slacken after the first firing and often need nipping up. If it's my soldering which turns out to be dodgy I can only apologise and retire early from stove fixing!
Rest assured @Blackdog its not your soldering! I did a dunk test before firing and all was well. The possible loss may be from the spirit cup washer - yes there is one above and below but I think that at some point someone has over tightened the burner and the spirit cup opening has spread a tad - getting a good seal isn’t easy. I’ll take some pics of the burner shortly so you can see the wonk better
