Forums > Technical Discussion > petrol/gasoline...continued!!

Posted: 19th Apr 2005
paraffin should last quite long enough.

troubleshooting options:

1. soak for longer

2. let the flames develop a little before you start to spin.

3. if that doesn't work, add more wick. about half a metre per burner is a sensible minimum; I've got 80cm of 10cm wick on mine, and it lasts more than long enough

how much wick are you using? how old is it?

e

ture na sig

Posted: 19th Apr 2005
something else to consider is what type of wicks you have.

In my experience, the cylindrical tube core wicks don't burn for very long no matter which fuel is being used. Cathedral fold wicks should burn longer than the tube core wicks and monkey fist wicks will burn the longest with the same fuels.

Parafin (or lamp oil) certainly has a longer burn time than white gas which is what I frequently spin with. I can spin for about 3 minutes with catherdral fold wicks using white gas, and for about 5 minutes with the same wicks using parafin.

Another thing to consider is how tightly put together your wicks are. I've found that really tightly folded catherdral wicks will not burn quite as long as ones that are a tad bit loser. If you made your wicks yourself, you might want to look at that as well.

Posted: 19th Apr 2005
just one question though.

Why is this thread called Petrol/Gasolene continued? *Hissssss*

Fair luna bright, fair luna moon
it shines at night but fades too soon
fair luna moon, fair luna bright
forever we dance
we dance under starlight

Posted: 20th Apr 2005
good question im not sure what i was thinking when i labelled it. why the big hisss?? if it means that much to u i'll change it???
thanx v much for suggestions, i think you's are right it is my wicks, i'll try the cathedral stuff and let ya know how it goes!!

Posted: 8th May 2005
I spin with 4" tube core wicks, from here, and they'll give me a good 3-5 minutes of bright, and hot, enough flame. I use kerosene, aka paraffin, normally let them soak for 3-3 minutes before lighting.

Never had a problem with it, even if it does smell pretty skanky.

"beg beg grovel beg grovel"
"master"
--FSA

"There was an arse there, i couldn't help myself"
--Rougie

Posted: 8th May 2005

Written by: shaz21

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good question im not sure what i was thinking when i labelled it. why the big hisss?? if it means that much to u i'll change it???
thanx v much for suggestions, i think you's are right it is my wicks, i'll try the cathedral stuff and let ya know how it goes!!

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The hissing is down to using petrol being incredibly dangerous, I think. We don't want to encourage that sort of thing

"Take that, math!"

Posted: 28th May 2005
I kind of invented my very own brand of hybrid wicks, and I almost always spin with kero. Since I started using the wicks I have now, which I built myself using a cathedral fold (with several layers of denim from an old pair of jeans I had laying around in between each fold) I can spin for what feels like forever before my wicks start to die. They hold so much kero it's freaking rediculous, and there have been more than a few times that I gave out before my wicks did. That's not to say they'll burn for hours on end or anything, but they do seem to go the distance.

So you may want to try a hybrid combination (kevlar with cloth worked in) for your wicks. They require a little more care than straight kevlar wicks, but they burn much much longer, and much brighter at that I've found. Plus there are ways to build your wicks where the cloth isn't exposed giving all the advantages of hybrids, without having to tear them apart every few weeks/months to replace the cloth (as it will burn out long before the kevlar does).

And really, wicks (be they tube core or cathedral) are so easy to build I have no idea why anyone would want to buy them pre-made. It's what? $10 of kevlar (tops) plus $2 or $3 at homedepot (*hides from Malcom*).

Jesus helps me trick people.