Good morning, I am working on a tilley heater, with the pull off control knob, rather than one which screws off in a counterclockwise direction. In order to replace the washer inside the knurled knob (gland?) I pulled off the knob. Naturally, the little piece of metal (spring steel?) that was between the shaft and the knob disappeared across my garage. I am trying to find something to wedge between that knob and shaft, to prevent the knob from spinning on the shaft. I've tried copper wire from braided cord, toothpicks, and some pieces of plastic. Hopefully someone on this forum can help. Tom
hi @tomb and welcome! yes i know the spring clip you mean you say the knob just spins when you push it on? the end of the spindle should have a stepped cut-out that locates in a small rectangular recess in the plastic knob? the spring is just to hold it in position? sometimes the end of the spindle can shear off regards pb
My stem has not broken on the control, the stem coming out of the control is still intact. But, unlike yours, I don't have those indents in the end to engage the knob. Interestingly, my indents are most likely broken off. This afternoon, I found that the spring? steel was still inside the knob, which is the same knob you're showing me in your picture. I pulled the steel out of the knob, and tried to tighten it with pliers, but that did not make it tight enough to grab the stem. I think my problem is that my stem does not have the indents that yours has. I'm attaching photos of my knob, in which you can see the spring steel inside, and then, the spring steel which I removed. My feeling is that this thing is going to continue to spin, since I don't have the indents that your stem has. Thanks for your help. I'm uncertain how to proceed now that I see what you've shown me regarding those indents. Perhaps, I may try to re create them with my dremel? Thanks very very much, Tom
Hi Tom i would carefully try to file them back on, if you have a small file? it’s good that you have the spring/spacer/clip thing cheers
Thank you very much for the file recommendation. Much less drastic than the dremel! I'll try that. Thanks, Take care, Tom
Pretty sure i have what looks like an unused one but with the tip missing somewhere so not uncommon? i also recall at some point they replaced the spring clip thing with a piece of red plastic? dear me anyway Tom it would be great to see images of your heater at some point ?
I will post some pictures. I have 4 heaters. 1 small one, for which I also have the lantern head, plus three big ones, one of which, the one I've been playing with, is for parts. Im in New Jersey, and these things are hard to find in the US, or they cost a lot of money. Parts are expensive too, because they have to come from overseas. Unlike Coleman, which I can pick up at yard sales and flea markets, and use them for parts. Recently I picked up my two big heaters at a flea market in Pennsylvania, but like I said, one is for parts. I'm sending two photos of my small heater, and my large heater burning. Additionally, there's a video which I've texted around, but it seems like I'm unable to that here. I hope you enjoy the photos. Tom
