I tried to fabricate a new pre-heater cup before but totally messed if up and very nearly had a fireball on my hands as a consequence. The first one I made I used regular tin/lead solder and it came apart as soon as the lantern got going. That was a disappointment but there was no danger as the joints only gave way after the lantern had been running for a while. The next one I tried using silver solder but I basically messed up. There were a number of places where the solder hadn't taken and when I lit it, burning meths/de-natured alcohol went everywhere! I was inside as well! Lesson learned - never experiment indoors! I managed to run out side with it and in the end, no harm was done - thankfully! This is the latest and final version. I used Welsh plugs or engine plugs I think they're called in the US - shout out to @Norman for the suggestion - and this time I drilled a hole with one of these.. If you haven't got one and you're into making your own stuff you'll thank me! They are so useful when drilling large diameter hols without juddering. This time I made sure the joint was well soldered and when I drilled the hole it was also a tight fit which helped. I wanted the cup to fit down over the jamb nut which meant finding some tube the right size. I also had to do some deforming at the back so the cup cleared the air tube. All in all my kero 220 and it's new pre-heater cup are performing perfectly!
PS... I made myself a 220 bent spanner to help with the disassembly... Without one of these or something similar I don't think you could actually remove the frame nut!
Nice job, Colin. Those brass plugs are called welch plugs not Welsh plugs. Core plug - Wikipedia Cheers Tony @ColinG
Great fettle Colin ! That spanner look to be the mutts I remember as an apprentice trying to replace rusted core plugs.. a right bugger to get them to seal properly ..
The spanner was made from one of those cheap and cheerful give-aways you get with washing machines and bicycles. Over the years I seem to have collected loads of them so I found one with the correct size spanner opening and hacked away at it till It did the job.
Real nice job there. Making oneself things that are totally missing always brings on a different level of satisfaction.
