Taylors Heater fuel feed pipe blocked - how to clear the carbon?

[SteveTibbetts]

Im not getting parrafin through to the burner assembly on my Taylors. I've now established its a blockage in the fuel feed pipe, in what looks like a jet at the end.

Im guessing its a carbon build up, possibly from over-heating by using too much fuel for the pre-heat.

Any suggestions for clearing it? I tried a needle without success (when i was on the boat) and I'm thinking about chucking it in the dishwasher. anything household i can just soak it in to soften the carbon?


TIA

Steve

 

[ghostlymoron]

Best thing for removing carbon is a gas blowlamp. Don't know anything that dissolves it - I'm not a chemist.

 

[David2452]

Caustic soda in an ultrasonic cleaner, water in the cleaner and the caustic in a glass beaker immersed in the water. I use this method for properly removing carbon from heater evaporators

 

[kolster]

Is this the little balancing jet that's at the bottom of the burner assembly? It's there to stop the burner 'breathing', it's just screwed in and I would have thought that once unscrewed it would have been easy to clean with a wire or similar.

 

[JVL]

P

Im not getting parrafin through to the burner assembly on my Taylors. I've now established its a blockage in the fuel feed pipe, in what looks like a jet at the end.

Im guessing its a carbon build up, possibly from over-heating by using too much fuel for the pre-heat.

Any suggestions for clearing it? I tried a needle without success (when i was on the boat) and I'm thinking about chucking it in the dishwasher. anything household i can just soak it in to soften the carbon?

Remove the burner unit take it home, strip it down you will need a new jet and pricke needle and washer packing. Take the main burner body and blow through it if you can't soak it in ammonia that should loosen the carbon. Always try and run the burner hot it stops the carbon build up. When lighting give he burner a tap with the back edge of a knife the sparks are carbon. Any probs pm

John

TIA

Steve

 

[elton]

Caustic Soda. Recommended and widely used for clearing carbon build-up in 2-stroke motorcycle exhausts.

 

[BabaYaga]

its a blockage in the fuel feed pipe, in what looks like a jet at the end.

Im guessing its a carbon build up

Not quite clear where you suspect the blockage is, but if it is this part

http://yachtparts.shop033.com/p/5491354/taylors-paraffin-burner-main-needle-jet.html

perhaps you need one of these

http://yachtparts.shop033.com/p/5491356/taylors-paraffin-cooker-cleaning-needle.html

which is part of the burner assembly.

 

[JVL]

At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask ! If the o p would like to pm me ill send him the required parts for a charitable donation of his choice.

John

 

[Sailingsaves]

I have no idea about this problem, but I can tell you that Pound Shops sell Caustic Soda labelled as Drain Cleaner for... £1

Be careful with the stuff it is ... well... caustic.

And it really is good at unblocking drains. Haven't had to use rod cleaners since I found the pound shop.

 

[kolster]

Be careful with the stuff it is ... well... caustic.

And it really is good at unblocking drains.

And dissolving the cornea if you get it in your eyes.

 

[SteveTibbetts]

Thanks all, caustic soda it is then.

although it looks like its a jet that screws on i'm a bit wary of trying to unscrew as a replacement pipe is nearly £50 if i overdo the force. A £ per inch of pipe rate that even Yanmar couldnt manage!

 

[elton]

Caustic soda has the fascinating ability to extract fat from beneath the skin, and turn it into soap. Surprisingly quickly too!

 

[kolster]

From the Dow website http://www.dow.com/productsafety/finder/caustic.htm, they state the following,

"Consider the materials of construction carefully for caustic soda storage containers and processing equipment. Caustic soda solution reacts readily with metals such as aluminum, magnesium, zinc, tin, chromium, bronze, brass, copper, tantalum and galvanized (zinc-coated) materials."

Now I've no experience of using it and don't know how long it may take to attack the brass components, could be years, but it's something to be aware of.