Posted by rick on January 14, 2008, 7:11 pm
The old thread got a bit long, so I am finalizing things in a new one.
I hoped to have a more definite conclusion... I only have a solution, but no reason.
I am surrounded by burners and wicks, and have tried this in two different Dietz 39's
Dietz burners, be they screw in or twist lock, are less picky about wicks.
Kirkman brass screw in burner is also less picky about wicks.
Adlake 300 burners are very picky about wicks.
While there are dimensional differences between the Adlake, the Kirkman, the Dietz screw in, and the Dietz twist lock, there is no dimensional parameter that I found that seems to be the magic difference. In all cases, the dimensional differences, mostly the burner width and the height difference between the burner and wick riser tube, do not correlate to degree of flicker or wick sensitivity.
I did notice that the Adlake burner opening width is smaller than any of the other ones. This may have been done to compensate for whatever the real magic reason for flicker... a skinnier burner opening does reduce flicker in Adlake burners.
I bought lots of wicks. I am not positive, but I think that there are three different wick manufacturers amongst the wicks from the 5 different suppliers that I bought wicks from.
The way I measured them, they grouped into three distinct groups, measuring .065, 072, and .082 inches thick. The wicks in each group visually looked like the others from the same group.
A never-used Dietz wick found in what I believe was a never lit Dietz twist lock burner measured .085, for whatever that is worth. A used wick found in an old Dietz screw in burner measured roughly the same, but having been used, the measurement may not have been totally meaningful.
In all cases, the thicker the wick, the better they burned in the Adlake burners. There was a perceptable improvement in the Dietz and Kirkman burner as well, but I am really being critical here. In the Adlakes it was night and day.
Ironically, cost was inversely proportional to performance. The cheapest wicks turned out to be the thickest wicks, and they also worked the best.
Also, ironically, the wicks that came right from Adlake were the most expensive (by a large margin!) and also fell into the thinnest group.
Even the thicker .082" wicks flickered a little bit in the Adlake burners.
All I had to do to turn a really annoying flicker in to a nice steady burn was to squish the burner opening closed a bit, untill the wick filled most of the opening. I did not have to make it tight... just sorta close.
The thickest group of wicks only required a minor squishing of the burner opening.
If you squish it and it still flickers a bit on one end, then the opening has not been squished evenly. The sides want to be perfectly parallel.
If you are using the thicker wicks, the opening adjustment is minor, and less work to get right. The thinner wicks require more squishing, and it takes more care to keep the opening parallel.
I have to state that I do not believe that there is anything wrong with any of the wicks. It is simply a matter of compatiblility.
If your adlake burner burns nicely, don't screw with it. If it flickers, find the thickest wick you can and try that one. If it still flickers a bit, get a pair of pliers and start sqishing. Don't over squish it or it will be hard to make the wick move. You arn't trying to make a tight fit... just trying to reduce the air gap a bit.
The End.
Rick
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