SEL Burner Restoration

flywheel61 · SEL Burner Restoration

Not much of a restoration job, but one of the wick holders was missing out of ther burner.

Thanks to Rog, I got the idea to use a cut down rifle cartridge as a substitute,

All I did was drill an appropriate hole in the base of the cartridge and insert a new wick. As the cartridge was not as tight a fit as the original wick holder, I had to solder it in place

As this is going to make insertion of new wick material more difficult I have ordered the correct part (amongst other stuff) from barry1946, which I will get in due course when he gets back on deck.

Cheers

Chris

Steve_S

That's great Chris. I had the same problem with a missing wick holder on a SEL burner and I ended up making one from brass tube with a flat disc silver soldered over the end. Your solution is much simpler!

Mamodman123

Nice Job Chris!

Could do with a few of them burners

flywheel61

I was lucky that each of my engines had the necessary burner. I've seen a couple on ebay but the price is just as dear, if not dearer than the Mamod wick ones.

Cheers

Chris

Mamodman123

CCairns

A very good subsitute Chris.

Interesting to note that these wick holders, as well as having the hole for the wick, also have 4 small holes in a circle outside of the wick. I assume this is to do with controlling the flame rate, etc. but do wonder if that is the cause of the occasional fireballs that have been discussed on this forum with these burners (just watched MTA's video of his fireball).

My fireball happened because the burner came with the wick holder mounted upside down, and not having another one to refer to, it took 2 fireballs before I decided to try the holder the other way round, and have had no problems since.

flywheel61

It's also possible that the fireball is caused by overfilling the burner. If I remember correctly, the advice you gave was for around 10ml metho (s) in a two wick burner. When I first filled mine up I filled it too full and as the whole thing heated up the metho expanded and leaked out around where the wick holders 'plug' in, thus causing an uncontrolable amount of flame .

The other possibility is the wick burners becoming loose over time from the constant removal to refill the burner and for wick replacement, leaving too much gap between the holder and the hole in the burner. That's why I decided to solder the substitute in. It doesn't have the four holes, becasue of the tapered part on the cartirdge means that they can't be dirlled, but the flame height seems to be about the same as the other wick. the oly difference seems to be that the non -ceramic wick on this holder seems to char more easily.

Cheers

Chris

steamcollector

Interesting solution flywheel. I have a similar Sel burner to repair, when I get around to it, but shotgun cartridges are not readily available round here. ( This is not Dodge City... Dodgey City maybe ) Was thinking maybe I could make a replacement on my little lathe.
Here is a photo of the burner without the wick support alongside a good one from another engine.

I can use the other one as a template but I notice that there is an insert there to hold the wick, which seems to have three pinholes in it, presumably as a breather. Does anyone know if this kind of material is available? I could always make something out of brass I suppose.

Regards

Will

Steve_S

I think the three pin holes are there to act as breathers as you suggest. The one I made, mentioned above, doesn't have the three holes but it's used on a two wick burner and the other one has the holes. I think they probably are necessary on a single wick version.

Wallace

Hi Steamcollector and welcome to the forums (not sure if I've said that before).

Any chance you have a nearby gunshop or shooting range? They should be able to give you a few suitable cartridges.

I have no idea on the size you need, but if you know of any carpenters or builders you might be able to source some .22 cal cartridges or .38 cal power shot cartridges

flywheel61

I think it's punched brass anyway, barry1946 has made them in the past for members, and is making me a couple as spares for me, when he gets back on deck. I don't know how much he is charging but it would be sensible to get them done at the same time if you find you can't do yourself.

The main problem/s with the rifle cartridge I used, is, because it is soldered in, it will be harder to put in new wick when necessary. believe me, it's much easier when you got two ends to work from. Also I wasn't able to drill the small air holes, which a couple of others have suggested is essential on a single wick burner, because of the shape of the end of the cartridge.

Cheers

Chris

steamcollector

Feel free to have a laugh at my expense.

As promised I decided to have a go at making one of these on my lathe this week. I used a piece of brass cut from an old toilet roll holder and drilled it to make a tube, then turned the outer part to make the correct shape. All went very well so I decided to give it a good polish on my electric polishing mop and the thing came up really shiny.

"Right" I thought, "I'm definitely going show this on the MamodForums" big grin on my face

"I'll just give it a final polish" and guess what? The damn thing flew straight across the garage never-to-be-seen-again.

My garage is a bit like the Bermuda triangle, there are loads of things in there that just seem to disappear. I was wondering if that could somehow explain the disappearance of Lord Lucan and Shergar (must admit there is a funny smell). No-one would ever find them in there.

If some day it turns up (the burner part, not shergar) then I'll show a piccy here.

Doh!

Regards

Will (dipstick)

Les Marsh

I shouldn't laugh really, but I have done the same sort of thing on many occassions.

Steve_S

Oh yes! I have a garage like that too. Very occasionally things surface months or years later... but mostly they're gone for good to some parallel universe.

MooseMan

I don't have a garage but I have instead the Basement That Eats Grub Screws (BTAGS)......they HAVE to be somewhere.

Maybe the Cardiff Dimensional Rift runs through my house.....better call Torchwood.

Les Marsh

oldstuff

Ah yes, the Black Hole phenomenon. I have this gap under my bench that I should
seal up. But I don't do it...I must like cursing and swearing on my hands and knees
with the flashlight too much.

steamcollector

hmmm ....... it seems I'm not alone

Maybe one day I will find all the bits and can build a whole new engine and call it a MamSelBow perhaps.

Stilldrillin

I have an inspection pit in my workshop (ex garage).

Dropped "things" (anything) can be seen to go between the covering boards, without touching.

BUT they are not there on the floor of the 8`x 3` pit when I get down there!

A 10mm spark plug from my Honda has been "in there" for some 25yrs!

MooseMan