Bix burner woes....

[Spule 4]

All-

Keeping in mind I don't know a thing about gas firing....

I am trying to get my dad's Max up and going.

He was told to buy a bix burner for it. So far, I am having issues with the burner. They are as follows:

1. The fire seems to flash and dance around the burner, and more often than not, burn near the sides, base and away from the top matrix.

2. It will go out (you have to keep it low to prevent the flash-fires mentioned above) in a few minutes of burning, but attempting to re-fill it (filling it until it starts to release liquid butane) it does not seem empty and will only (again) burn for a few minutes.

Any guidance would be appreciated!

[Chris Cairns]

Garrett,

Firstly you do not say but if you are trying to use a Butane only gas in cold temperatures then you can have problems. A Butane/Propane mix is recommended for cold temperatures.

I have one Bix burner and have occasional problems filling the gas tank. The Ronson type refill valve seems to have a thicker valve stem than my other gas tanks so you need to play around with how you hold the gas can adapter against the valve stem to ensure you are getting the tank filled properly, otherwise it just releases the liquid gas too early. If your gas tank can be removed from the loco then you can give it a shake to confirm it is filled with liquid gas. Filling an empty gas tank at room temperature is best.

You should have got some instructions with the burner to explain how to set up the correct jet position for an efficient burn - if not they are available on the Mini Steam website - http://www.ministeam.com/acatalog/Bixse ... sition.pdf

One problem that seems to affect Bix burners more than other burners is getting that jet position right. If you have the jet too far out of the holder you will get a rather strange roaring sound from the burner which actually indicates that the gas is being burnt below the ceramic material leading to a catastrophic failure, see here - http://modeleng.proboards.com/index.cgi ... hread=2386

Your Dad's Max will be like my PPS De Winton in that you will need to remove the burner in order to set up the correct jet position. Once you have done that mark the gas jet holder with a suitable line, and after putting the burner under the boiler you can set the jet position to that marked line.

Another problem can be a blocked jet which seems to happen more than you would think. I think Bix use thread lock to hold the jet into the holder so you will need to grip the holder whilst removing the jet with a spanner. You then either blow air or use your gas can to push gas through the jet from the front end to the back to clear any blockage. Holding the jet up to a bright light source will show you if it is clear or not. Use a little thread lock or PTFE tape when you replace the jet.

I'm sure others will be able to post any other observations they have about Bix burners.

If you have not already seen it Kenneth (benchmark) did a good video review of the bix burners here - http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/archi ... 32939.html

Chris Cairns.

[Spule 4]

Thanks Chris, it is nice to get back to steam-stuff after the unfortunate rough start to this year.

Let me look into this when I have time (Sunday or maybe later tonite) but I am using isobutane/propane mix (it was about 70F yesterday also, but the tank did get cold) and look into the set up.

Ironically, dad got the burner from Ministeam, it is about 15 miles from his current house and would have been 5 or so from my childhood home (that would have been dangerous!!!)

[Superbiker_uk]

Hi Garrett,

Which BIX did you fit to your Max? I fitted the BIX001 2" diameter x 1" Deep Round Burner to mine and have not had any problems other than deciding to fit a water top up kit because the bix burner set up with a standard BIX013 Mamod & MSS Gas Unit, it gets through at least 2 boiler fills to one gas fill!! I only have to run the burner on a very low setting.