Help with burner for Stuart boiler

[John Horne 2Participant @johnhorne2]

Thanks Ian, I'm going to rig something up with a thin wall steel tube and try variations of wick etc.

[John Horne 2Participant @johnhorne2]

OK……I took a piece of thin wall steel tube and cut my slots, junior hacksaw width as recommended by a friend online who checked his own burner, cut a nice size vent at one end, pushed in a wick, not too tight, filled with meths, ends plugged……it refused to light, even when I played my torch on it.

I dribbled some meths from a syringe along the steel tube…….it refused to light.

I found an old 1/2 brass blank cap and filled it halfway with meths……it refused to light.

I had already tried a piece of wick in a short length of brass tube and it did light but was pretty weak now that I compare it to things I've seen online.

So I think I'm back to the meths being the problem.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Is your wick too tight?

[John Horne 2Participant @johnhorne2]

Nope, I tried it all ways, tight, and to the point where meths runs out the slots, nothing I do will make this thing burn.

I've changed everything now, slack wick, tight wick, different wicks, vented, unvented, slots of every size, even a trough, and now a different burner tube made of steel …..it wont light

The only thing left is to try a different brand of meths.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

how old is your meths? Meths absorbs water over time, reducing it's ability to burn, and the the way some of it burns(yellow flame), I think it has a high water content fron new. when you light it there should be an almost invisable blue flame.

Ian S C

[Philip BurleyParticipant @philipburley44197]

last time I tried my ST burner it refused to burn properly , The menths was't more that a year old . I gave up and use a gas burner . Maybe the problem is the meths , I will buy some new and try it again

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Silly question – Really silly. You have got meths and not surgical spirit ?
BobH

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I read in another thread that meths in UK is diluted 10% with water, and it is recommended that you get industrial 99% meths.

Ian S C

[John Horne 2Participant @johnhorne2]

Mon 26/06/2017, Experiment No 37….present are Professor numpty, ably assisted by Bonzo the dog (looking a little concerned).

Ok, I went out and bought a new bottle of meths, different brand (Diall), filled one of my trial wick holders, short piece of wick, lit it, instantly better ! nice blue flame around twice the size of the last try.

"Eureka" I thought…..cracked it

My original burner tube is completely wrecked so I filled up the steel tube I had slotted with cotton wool (which actually burnt the best out of all the wicks and stuff I had tried). Poured in my new meths till it soaked the cotton, ran my gas lighter along it…..nothing.

By this time I was getting just a teeny weeny bit frustrated so I fired up my propane torch and played it along the tube, the slots burst into flame, my joy lasted about 2 seconds as the meths boiled over and ran down the front of the bench, which happens to be a set of wooden drawers, it was also running inside the drawers.

Being well prepared I didn't panic and calmly went to dab out the flames with my trusty oil soaked rag, which burst into flames, meths then ran down my arm from my fireball burner tube, honestly, I just had to laugh, I havn't had this much excitement since my case got caught it the escalator steps at the airport.

Bonzo was last seen heading down the garden for cover.

When I got things calmed down all the slots were burning away merrily, nice and cleanly, so, almost there, and its only taken me a week, lol.

Maybe the other meths was a bad batch or they changed it or it was really old stock, I dont know. I do know that I'll be getting some thin wall brass tube and probably starting from scratch. Who would have thought such a simple thing could be such a nightmare, oh well, I now have loads of meths and a bottle of Blackcurrant mixer in the fridge……cheers !

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