Some time ago I bought a mixed box of stuff which included a battered looking tilley heater, yesterday I decided to dig it out and give it a clean, I also tested the burner on another heater, but when I came to fit the wire mantle I noticed the ceramic tube was shorter than the more modern burner, I have a spare tube and that is the same length as the modern one. Can I ask if someone can help me understand if the different burners need different tubes?
Ray I have a box of Tilley and Kayen radiator parts: many different sizes of spigots and ceramic insulators, so it’s always a fiddle to get the right combo. I find the longer spigot and ceramic work with the cylindrical style of mantle; the shorter (57mm) with the golf ball. I’ve not fitted an asbestos one. In my NOS I have two lots of ceramic insulators: one lot pre-1961; the other post-1960. Both lots of ceramics are 37.5mm. The length of the spigot shown below, to which the ceramics fits perfectly, is 57mm. These fittings suit the later style of radiator burner. Pre-1961. Post-1960. Cheers Tony
Thanks for asking that question. @Tony Press Thanks. I was wondering myself why there are different sizes of ceramic tube. I just thought price cutting, as I haven't seen any in boxes before. By the way just a few spares hay.
Stand by for a retraction of some of what I said above…. I’m just testing a late Tilley burner with a new metal mantle… Edit: No retraction required. Just some careful fiddling. Tony
Some more details on the later Tilley burner, ceramic insulator, and mantle. [The reason I’m going into some detail in this thread is that I am putting a Tilley R1 together for a member here, and the original burner was wrecked, so I want to make sure the replacement burner I’m putting together is correct and functions properly]. 1. A NOS late Tilley R1 burner has the spigot and therefore ceramic insulator measurements I’ve given above. 2. Fitting an asbestos mantle (sprayed with hairspray, and handled with great care) shows that the top of the mantle extends above the top of the exposed length of the spigot. 3. When a new style round metal mantle is fitted, the top of the mantle sits at, or slightly below the top of the exposed part of the spigot. Care needs to be taken to ensure it sits square to the burner and vertical on the spigot. @rayw One thing I do know for certain is that if any of the spigot is exposed within the mantle, the spigot can sustain severe damage. The spigot on the original burner I was testing had a series of holes in it where it was exposed at the top because a short piece of ceramic had been fitted. The flame spreader disc that the spigot screws into had also suffered heat damage where it joined the spigot. Cheers Tony
Cheers @Tony Press That's great information. Armed with that I took another look, and threw in a new (old) one on the left. The burner on the left has a strange mantle and I found the brass spigot is shorter which accommodates the shorter ceramic tube perfectly (see below) the tube is up to the flame spreader disk and the nut nips the mantle to the bottom of the tube. As with the longer tubes on the other burner Is it the case that the very old style burner had a shorter ceramic tube and that had been fitted to my burner? Also in the top picture from my box of bits it seems the brass spigot tubes have different lengths of threads. Confusing isn't it.
Ray I won't be able to rat through my box of Tilley and Kayen radiator burners until the weekend (most likely), but I do know that there are a few variations of spigots on different (older) burners. I also have a few ceramic insulators that came as a short piece matched with a shorter ceramic addition in order to insulate all of the spigot. I, too, have noticed the different lengths of thread on some used spigots, and from observation I think that the shorter threaded end should be at the top (ie screwed into the burner). That is an interesting metal mantle you have on that old burner. Cheers Tony
