Cleaning old paraffin 207 (taylors) burners and are the new 2 legged ones any good?

[firstascent2002]

Hello fellow paraffin fans,

My Taylors is running on increasingly ill old burners. The problem is that they get gummed up with old carbon deposits...the first sign of trouble is that a burner, with the burner plate covering it will slowly fade away after burning for 20 mins of so normally. remove the burner plate and things get better slowly...I'm guessing the increase in temperature finally closes off thefuel channels in the burners.

The taylors manual suggests soaking in ammonia (whic I have interpreted as bathroom cleaner!) but that has not done much.

Basecamp suggests either boliing in washing soda (which my wife assures me we do not have) or heating to a red heat with a blow torch before dropping into a cold mucket of water to thermally shock off the carbon.

Does any one have any other suggestions or should I spend almost 300 on two new blakes burners which teh man from base camp is less than complementary about!

Any help??

Also, if there is anyone local to exeter who can show me the correct procedre for changing the graphite washer I'd be grateful... When ever I do it it feels like it is grating....if the graphite washer the first thing to slide down the spindle or should there be a brass washer first?

Help!

J

 

[firstascent2002]

I have been told that a balancing jet is not required with the two legged burners and that would be a real plus

any first hand experience?

J

 

[firstascent2002]

does no one here use paraffin anymore! Shall I move this to the classic boat forum?

 

[seasolutions]

Hi,

I have rebuilt a shipmate cooker using taylors parts, I have a mix of new 2 leg burners and old (second hand) 4 leg ones.

I'm afraid you do need the balancing jets withe the new burners. I would agree with the man from base camp, the new burners are not as good as the old ones. specifically there is so much mass there that they are very difficult to light. I have given up with the traditional meths method and use a blow torch every time.

I have never had the experiance you describe with a taylors burner, mine generally faill by devloping a hole in the leg just below the burner which gushes flame once hot.

Its worth speaking to John http://www.taylorsheatersandcookers.co.uk/ he supplied me with second hand reconditioned burners for my cooker. this was a couple of years ago, but i paid less than £300 for all 4.

 

[srp]

Its worth speaking to John http://www.taylorsheatersandcookers.co.uk/

+1 - very helpful.

Had a single-burner Taylors on my previous boat, which I was took apart a few times to service it with new jets etc, but never had to replace a burner.
Currently have a 5 year old model K which I bought from John, which I have not had to do anything to.

There is an exploded diagram in the handbook showing how the burners and regulators are assembled. Mine is on the boat at the moment, but I could do a scan if you're desperate, which might help with your query on the graphite washer.

 

[FWB]

I have replaced one of the burners with the new type.
This new burner takes 6 minutes preheat as opposed to 4 minutes.
This is done by using the supplied fibre? insert in the meths bowl. For some reason the meths now burns for 6 minutes with this insert.
If you put a kettle on during the preheat then wait for the meths to burn out you can then light the burner as if it were gas. The kettle will be hot so the preheat time is not time wasted.
These stoves are much easier to use than a lot of folks think.

Also I use low odour fuel, the only drawback being that leaks cannot be smelt !
Link here http://www.caldo.co.uk/paraffin_extra.aspx

 

[vyv_cox]

The taylors manual suggests soaking in ammonia (whic I have interpreted as bathroom cleaner!) but that has not done much.

Ammonia means ammonia, not bathroom cleaner! Google 880 ammonia for more info. In my youth you could buy it at any pharmacy, people I knew used it to kill and preserve butterfiles before mounting them. I guess health and safety now prohibits this but it is available to order, e.g. at http://www.hswalsh.com/items.aspx?c=518

 

[Amulet]

I've been running a taylors for 8 years in a love/hate relationship. This includes dismantleing it down to the last nut and bolt, cleaning and reassembling. Some comments below:

The problem is that they get gummed up with old carbon deposits

I assume you've pricked it's jet clean. I can't say that I've ever had them get gummed up apart from the jet.

...the first sign of trouble is that a burner, with the burner plate covering it will slowly fade away after burning for 20 mins of so normally. remove the burner plate and things get better slowly...I'm guessing the increase in temperature finally closes off thefuel channels in the burners.

I can't see how the burner plate can affect the burn. There's nothing clever inside the burner to close down the fuel feed, and hotter is better in tems of fuel supply. Baffled by this. The pressure isn't dropping off?

The taylors manual suggests soaking in ammonia (whic I have interpreted as bathroom cleaner!) but that has not done much.

This means household ammonia, which doesn't seem to be readily available on the highstreet. I order it online from the Boots website.

Does any one have any other suggestions or should I spend almost 300 on two new blakes burners which teh man from base camp is less than complementary about!

Burners can almost always be rescued, and it is true that the new two leg are cr*p compared with the old four leg. I use 20 ml meths and a five min burn to preheat them. Also I put two wicks in each burner. Sounds pedantically precise - however, I use a syringe to take the meths from a jar so that I never need to bring the jar close to the burner, and a kitchen timer to remind me to light the burner if I get distracted while the meths is burning.

...the correct procedre for changing the graphite washer...

There's not much to this apart from (a) you need the brass washer before the graphite washer otherwise the graphite washer gets chewed up by the spindle threads and the bits bung up your burner. (b) it's pretty hard to use anything other than a brand new graphite washer any damage makes it hard to fit.

Rescuing a defunct burner: In my experience the only "difficult" failure is when the seat against which the needle valve closes gets damaged and the burner won't shut off properly. (I guess caused by cranking it shut too forcibly, perhaps trapping a bit of graphite washer. I have solved this by inserting a drill -guided by the packing screw- and running it gently backwards to repolish the valve seat.)

Most annoying reassembly problem: If you get the cleaning needle in "a tooth too soon" then it bottoms out before the burner is closed off completely, causing leakage. If you get the cleanig needle in "a tooth too late" the burner works but can never be brought up to full flame because the cleaning needle comes up before the valve is fully open.

I'm assuming that you have the manual which explains how the burner is made, and how to take it to bits. Dry it and hoover it out after service so you don't introduce extraneous cr*p after service. I find it's worth having a spare serviced burner so that , if you have a problem, you can simply switch and take a problem burner home for service.

MY STOVE RUNS FINE IF YOU NEVER CLEAN OR SERVICE IT - but it does get disgusting.

 

[firstascent2002]

thanks for all the pots. No one ever seems to be able to explain why the burner fades away. It is not a pressure problem as the other burner is working fine. I have even changed the supply line to that burner in a hope that it might be a blockage between the t junction and the burner.

I'm going to get some household ammonia this weekend

J

 

[Amulet]

I'm going to get some household ammonia this weekend

NB - the reason I ordered it online from Boots was that the shops don't stock it. Don't bet on picking it up on the high street.

 

[Cuan]

A bit off topic I suppose, but as there are a number of Taylors afficionados on this thread - I use meths for pre-heating, but like the idea of using a small gas blow torch at sea - how long should i use it for to pre heat the burner?

 

[dutyhog]

No one ever seems to be able to explain why the burner fades away.

When mine starts to fade I use the pricker to clean carbon from the jet, and it speeds up again. One of the hints is to tap the burner now and again, and especially just before turning off, to dislodge and burn off carbon that could fall back into the burner. Also I prick the jet just before turning off.
Gordon

 

[vyv_cox]

When mine starts to fade I use the pricker to clean carbon from the jet, and it speeds up again. One of the hints is to tap the burner now and again, and especially just before turning off, to dislodge and burn off carbon that could fall back into the burner. Also I prick the jet just before turning off.
Gordon

After many years of service one of my four-leg burners had failed completely. After fitting its replacement I cut the old one open, to find it almost totally blocked with carbon. I guess the regular tapping, if done from new, might prevent this. I also suppose that the ammonia treatment is intended to loosen/remove this deposit, although carbon is always reckoned to have no solvents.

 

[Amulet]

A bit off topic I suppose, but as there are a number of Taylors afficionados on this thread - I use meths for pre-heating, but like the idea of using a small gas blow torch at sea - how long should i use it for to pre heat the burner?

I use meths too. One reason for having a paraffin stove is to avoid the risk of a gas explosion. In a previous forum discussion, the conclusion was there there is enough gas in a blowtorch bottle to cause a serious bang, so I thought it a bit counter-productive to carry a gas torch.

It is worth noting, that, in exchange for the avoidance of explosion, you get a system which makes it really easy to set your boat on fire!

I believe some people use solid fuel camping stove tablets - cut up I assume. Never tried them, but it could be a safer solution as it avoids meths spillage.

 

[iacle]

What's wrong with the 2 leg burners ? I ask because I'm having problems stopping mine leaking at the supply pipe connection, and I've stripped the burners down regularly in the 10 years I've had the cooker, and not had much problem with leaks, but it's not that long since I fitted the 2 leg burners, and this is probably the first time I've had them apart. I've fitted new jointing washers and been careful not to over tighten the connecting nut. I've had a new supply tank made, and this holds it's pressure indefinitely, which could be exasperating the problem. Any suggestions ?

Thanks, Ian