With a mantle in place I’m not sure how much I can do. As I wrote earlier I swabbed each of the three inlet tubes with a cotton bud from the outside of the hood. I also ensured that the injector tube was tight. I wonder if it would be advisable to blow some quick bursts of air through the injector tube with an air compressor fitted with the appropriate air nozzle.
I’ve just sacrificed the mantle to have a better look at the burner. The difference between this (2015) burner and the other (2006) one is that it seems the newer one’s appendages are all welded in place. It’s impossible to break it down into parts after it’s been removed from the hood—at least I can’t get anything to budge without the use of tools. There are no blockages in it whatsoever. My newbie guess is that this burner is just pure rubbish and should be replaced with an older one. Does that sound about right? If so, should I be looking for a brass one, or one like my older one?
Well… My first rule of Tilley burners is to NOT take them apart, because the threads get corrupted when the burner has been used a lot, and they don’t go back together very well. So I cleaned the burners thoroughly and make sure there’s are no spider webs and wasp nests in them. Then make sure all the parts are tight. Tony
If you think it’s faulty then there is a chap on fleabay (juliands) selling new Tilley burners , a reproduction of the old shape.. folks say they work well perhaps they can recommend? Have you tried them at all Tony? @Tony Press they are very reasonably priced
I took the burner out to the garage and thoroughly brushed it out through all orifices with a pipe cleaner, then blasted it for a solid 5 minutes with compressed air. There is no doubt that it’s clean and free of debris. I then tested it with a known good lamp and vapouriser and immediately I had a wildly erratic burn. One quick turn of the control knob was then all it took to start the best pyrotechnics show my den has ever seen. As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing more that can be done except to rule the burner out of the equation by disposing of it. I’ve heard of the improved burners made by a fellow called Julian (is it Shaw, perhaps?) referenced in one of Broadlander’s YouTube videos and considered whether I should give one of those a try. This is truly one of the strangest things I’ve seen, as there is clearly nothing “wrong” with the dangerously faulty part.
Yes, I bought one or two to see how they work and they work very well. They are obviously a replacement for, rather than a copy of, the old style larger Tilley burner. They have an advantage of sorts over the current Tilley burner by being larger and heavier and my impression is that the thermal mass, while requiring a bit more preheating, makes them more reliable than the lighter current Tilley burner, Tony
