Hi all, I've just received a supposedly new old stock blue flame heater from ebay which turns out to be used although in good condition but the main problem is the wick carrier is seized and the square part of the back of the control knob that helps turn the shaft has also been snapped off, i've managed to get the knob to turn a little either way but the wick carrier and wick won't move at all, i've lubricated with WD40 in the hope that it would free up but no joy, the seller has offered a partial refund or a full refund with return postage but hasn't offered to cover my postage costs as i arranged a courier for collection, if i can free up the mechanism without damaging it, replace the control knob and get a decent partial refund it may be worth keeping, if not it will have to go back, Any ideas appreciated, Thanks.
The WD40 can be used for many things but is originally a water displacing product hence the name WD. I should advice you to try another product that is more of a ”rust remover” like 5-56 or whatever you have on your market. There are many products used in the industry and they rarely use WD40. At my work we use a product called Rocol which is the most use one even that we have 5-56. The only use of WD40 here is to lubricate packing material. Michael
Thanks Michael, I can't actually see any rust anywhere and it is in good condition but something must be seized/corroded for the wick carrier to not be able to move, i'll try some GT85 which is probably similar but its all i have at present.
@MG Funnily enough, I had an Aladdin Blue Flame 32 given to me the other day which had exactly the same problem. The control shaft for the wick was seized and the bakelite control knob broken off. I discovered that the problem was the shaft was bent out of alignment - like on your 37 it sticks out at an angle and is quite vulnerable to taking knocks. The wick wouldn't move at all but with some judicious wiggling and a pair of mole grips I managed to straighten the shaft. It now moves so easily that I don't need the control knob. I have the instructions for the 32 and can upload them if that helps. Interestingly, the person that gave me the heater assured me that he'd had it from new and had never used it but the burner showed obvious signs of use. I wonder if they were test fired at the factory?
@Trojandog Thanks for that, i have got the shaft to turn approximately 45 degrees each way and it engages with the wick cleaner and moves it say 5mm each way but that's it, i'll have another look with the knob off just in case you are right as it could very well be the problem, I've had a few new ones and they have been unfired so if they do test at the factory there is usually no trace of it in my experience.
If paraffin dried around the wick it may be stuck to the tube in which it sits. Alcohol or other solvent like carb cleaner may help to free it, assisted by a very thin flexible metal blade or strip to free the sticky parts from the side wall.
Another good idea, thanks Phil, i'm going to see how much of a partial refund is offered first as to be honest i wouldn't have bought it if i'd known it was secondhand and inoperative.
I've straightened the shaft somewhat but i don't think that's the problem and i have used a knife to run down the inside of the wick but as the wick carrier will move maybe 5-10mm either way i don't think its gummed up, i wish it was though as without damaging the wick/carrier to remove it i'm not sure what else i can do, the shafts mounting point near the cog that raises the carrier moves around a bit too which probably doesn't help either.
Strange you should say that MG, my late Mother-in-Law had one from new, never used it until years later. She couldn't get it to wotk. The wick raising mechanism was seized! After some struggle I did manage to get the whole assembly out and discovered the manufacturing tolerances were tight, and the wick carrier not perfectly circular - hence the seizing. Time spent with a small file and easing the rough spots helped a lot and it now performs OK. Luckily the knob didn't break. Still have the original box too!
@Derek Strange you should say that too Derek, i was about to give up as i couldn't see how to remove the carrier, i was going to try and remove the small nut at the end of the shaft to see if i could pull it out and disengage the cog but i didn't have anything small enough or any pliers that would grip it so near to the point of putting it onto the to do pile i got a large screw driver and started levering between the tank and outside of the carrier and eventually i managed to release it, so it seems i had the same problem as you did, it works fine now although unlike @Trojandog 's i can't raise or lower it without the knob fitted, i may remove it and see if anything needs filing down etc in case it decides it wants to do it again, Thanks for the advice gents
In the process of doing a series 37 up. Same problem encountered with the stuck wick and cog wheel slipping on the ladder. Filled tank up and had a go 2 hours later thinking the paraffin would free the wick, no joy, even tried a thin craft knife between the wick and air tube Ended up gently prying the wick locks from the carrier and pulled the wick out from the tank. New wick ordered as old wick was in bad shape afterwards. At least they're still available. Where there's a will there's a way.
Please can anyone help I have a Aladdin 37 and put a new wick in filled the tank but it will not suck up the wick, can anyone advise
Hi, I bought a series 32 a few weeks ago with a siezed wick. To get it out, I had to remove the burner basket and cut the old wick vertically in 4 places so that I could pull it away from the centre tube far enough to get a good grip with pliers on the wick. After much soaking in red diesel I was able to pull the wick up whilst turning the knob and eventually was able to get the old wick out complete with the carrier. I cleaned up the tube and burner basket with fine wet & dry paper soaked in WD 40 as a lubricant since there were som odd brown stains where the wick clips had rusted badly and stuck to the tube. I fitted a new wick but it was not soaking up the fuel. The tails were down in the fuel well, but I had noticed that when trying to get the wick, out the liquid stayed in the well and did not run into the fount. With the fount drained and removed from the frame I was able to look down the filler cap and saw a black mass on the centre tube about 3mm diameter near the base of the fount. Probing with a 1/16" welding rod removed it and fuel then passed from the fount to the wick well. After more searching I could not find any more feed holes. This is about a 2mm diameter hole but seems to feed a rectangular hole in the base of the wick well. I rinsed the fount and center tube out well. The black stuff is either rust pareticles from a storage tank or bits of other rubbish that has got into the fount. Although not so critical as pressure lamps or stoves, maybe it wouldbe a good idea to use a fitler funnel to fill the base. Although fuel feeds freely now, the burner seems to suffer from fuel starvation and after a few minutes with a lovely blue flame, it starts to die off. Winding the wick up shows a red edge to the wick so it seems to be getting up to the burner ring on the chimney. I suspect that the fuel supply is still not adequate for some reason or the wick is now faulty after removing and re-fitting it several times. It may need a new one! I use C2 kerosene (central heating oil) in my other (Valor) Heater and that is fine but this one stinks when it is running. It is no better on C1 (domestic) Kero either. The Valor one has a much higher flame spreader above the burner basket, and I can get a substanial blue flame from about 6mm to 9mm with no yellow showing. The Aladdin is very critical on wick adjustment to get a blue flame, and as I said it dies off quite quickly. I have a number of Aladdin lamps which all seem to have a much longer flame spreaders above the wick, and although these are mantle lamps, the principle is the same, so I wonder if the wrong basket or flame spreader part is fitted. Can someone measure the height of the flame spreader and basket and let me know please? This is still under investigation so please let me know if you have similar issues or can help. Most of the story so far is here: Aladdin series 32 heater
