Reflex lighting

[Maurice55]

Hi, on the "heating cost" thread, I noticed a few of you mentioning Reflex heaters. While I was using mine (free electricity here at the moment) I never found a really easy way to light it in the morning as we never kept it on at night. Has somebody got a good tip as we are planning a little Chrismas cruise and most certainly will need it !!
Thanks in advance.
Maurice

 

[NornaBiron]

we just let a small amount of fuel in then hold a gas match to it until it catches, works every time.

 

[oldvarnish]

I've got a bulkhead mounted Refleks, and it's tricky to light.You have to drop a match through a small hole in the top and hope it falls in the fuel. Often, it blows out before it gets there. Sometimes I start it with a drop of meths which catches more easily.
Very good once it gets going, though.

 

[Maurice55]

Hi, thank you both.
Like Oldvarnish, I have used meth and even then I found that until it was properly hot, the flame would tend to "plop" on and off and often plop itself out.
I will have to keep trying.
Although not easy in mine, I certainly will try the gas match direct or even maybe one of those mini gas blow lamps.

 

[BigART]

We turn on the fuel regulator, allow a small pool of diesel to build up at the bottom, put a few drops of diesel on a fragment of loo paper (a few square cms), light and drop in. Works every time and the loo paper chars to nothing and doesn't seem to build up.

 

[estarzinger]

Reflex heaters. I never found a really easy way to light it in the morning as we never kept it on at night. Has somebody got a good tip

There are two neat ways to light Reflek heaters.

One, which we use, is to have a small metal 'oiling can'. Fill it with methylated spirits. Squirt just a little so a drop is at the tip of the spout, Light that drop with a lighter and then squirt a couple times into the reflek - it will be like a flame thrower - squirts of burning meths.

The second approach, which we have seen aboard a couple of the Antarctic charter boats, is to use a propane weed burner. This is gadget with a small propane (camping size) cylinder with a long thin screw-on stainless pipe. You light the tip of the pipe (its then designed to burn the grass and weeds out of your sidewalk) and stick it in the reflek and heat it all up and light the diesel. You can also heat up the chimney, which helps the draft develop. This works really well, but you have to carry a store on the camping gas cylinders.

Throwing matches (or other burning bits) in to light the reflek is a bit trick/fussy and leaves carbon residue in the burner pot, which builds up surprisingly quickly.

 

[swanny]

I used to light mine using bottles of I think oil or lighter fluid. It came in plastic bottles with a flint lighter contraption on the top and a wheel you turned to spark the flint and ignite a wick which protruded out of the top. Ok, just a like a cigarette lighter! I first would squeeze some fluid out of the upturned bottle down into the bottom of the oven then strike the flint igniting the wick and squeeze again to drop a lit blob of fluid into the oven to ignite the pool already down there. I would then open the diesel valve and almost close the hot plate, leaving a small gap to encourage a bit of draft. Never failed to light. I shut the hot plate after only 30 seconds. Perfect. Left it on all night whenever onboard/alongside/at anchor. I'll hunt out a bottle of this fluid as I know I have some still in the garage!

 

[Jassira]

We turn on the fuel regulator, allow a small pool of diesel to build up at the bottom, put a few drops of diesel on a fragment of loo paper (a few square cms), light and drop in. Works every time and the loo paper chars to nothing and doesn't seem to build up.

I use a similar method but use either a snippet of cloth, which tends to end up as ash in bottom, or break a small piece off a fire lighter block, hadn't thought of toilet paper, I'll give it a go

 

[JerryHawkins]

Our method

to get the Refleks going is to use fire lighters. These are 'bricks' which you break off (like a bar of chocolate) which are a solid waxy substance impregnated with something flamable. Just let the initial small pool of diesel appear, then pop in a lit firelighter chunk, close the lid and wait. After a few minutes the firelighter has heated up the diesel enough for it to burn on its own. You only need a small chunk of firelighter. Works for us.

Seems Tesco sell them, see: http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=261204354

 

[oldvarnish]

All the above suggestions assume a floor-mounted Refleks. Mine is a bulkhead mount and the only obvious access is through a small hole at the top of the stove no bigger than your little finger - unless I'm missing something.
Anyone else with the bulkhead version?

 

[Maurice55]

Thank you again, this is great.
I have tried most suggestions with reasonable succes but always the problem seemed that I had to wait for total warming up of the stove and leaving a bit of a gap at the top until proper draught established.
The weed burner sounds like the perfect solution and I might work around the idea to use the gas cannisters I already have on board. I will try first with a mini blow torch as I already said, because on the 66 I can heat up the underside of the burning cup through the vent slots. By the way would that be a solution for Oldvarnish? I don't know what the wall mounted one looks like as, so far, I can't find any pictures.....