Cleaning an old gas stove.

[Asa Samuel]

Hey,

I bought an old campingaz stove at a car boot t'other day for £2 that is a little bit rusty but still has about half the cannister left and turning the control knob I could gear the gas was still coming out of the right bit so I went ahead and bought it.

I took it home and tried lighting it once it was dark so I could see the flames and what was happening was the flame adjustment was basically either off or on a simmering flame size - even turning the knob all the way up the flames were still the same size - so my two thoughts are either that the fuel line is clogged up and therefore gas can't get through or a less likely explanation is that the cannister has lost pressure and can only just pump out the gas.

The problem is, like I said earlier there is about half the gas left in the cannister but it's a piercing stove so I can't take the stove apart to clean is until the cannister is empty and then if I try cleaning/fixing it and it doesn't work I won't know until I've spent more money on another cannister which if it doesn't work I will have to waste all that gas too!

In summary my questions are: Is there a safe way to take the cannister off without gas leaking everywhere, and if not should I release the gas or burn it?
Will having such a long burn damage the stove?
Are there any other explanations for why the flame size is so small and won't adjust higher?
How should I go about cleaning the fuel line?

Sorry for all the questions, but answers are much appreciated
Asa.

 

[Teepee]

One thing you could do is unscrew the burner head, and soaking it in some rust remover acid(phosporic acid) or oven cleaner or brick acid or cillit bang or hob cleaner/grease buster spray.

I have cleaned a few burner heads in phosphoric acic and cillit bang and it has worked well. The burner heads clog with soot and burnt food, and this needs to be removed.

 

[Asa Samuel]

I unscrewed the burner head and it doesn't appear to be clogged at all, just a little surface rust.

There was a pin-sized hole just below the burner head so I will try pricking that will a needle and seeing if there is anything clogging the hole.

 

[Asa Samuel]

The hole wasn't clogged. It is in the middle of a nut, I don't know whether there is any adjustment to be made there?

Also, on the burner head right next to the pin sized hole there are two big holes which looks like a load of gas would escape from, is this normal?

It's looking like I'll have to empty the cannister and get in to the thing!

 

[Teepee]

The two holes are the air inlets for premixing the gas with the air.

There will likely be nothing wrong with the burner below the combustion zone, especially as you have tried a pin.

The problem is usually in the burner head, and to service this you don't have to chuck your can of gas away.

Its best to eliminate things, before going for the valve assembly.

 

[rik_uk3]

The small hole on top of the nut is where the case enters the burner, if that is clear then your problem is in the control valve. I would take the stove to the bottom of your garden and turn it on until the tank is empty then you can really strip the stove to fettle it.

 

[Asa Samuel]

Well I unscrewed the whole lot and poured the gas out (literally) but there's no way I can get in to the valve, there is a pin that holds the valve in place and it's completely rusted up so I can't remove it.

Oh well, I'll just have to fork out on a new stove

Thanks for your replies guys,

Asa