Is there an ideal butane flame colour?

D

DannyTheElfman

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Hey everyone,

I’ve been tinkering with my accucraft Countess today, trying to achieve a more stable and quiet flame.

I’ve cleaned the gas jet and used fresh ptfe tape to seal the connections.

I’ve noticed the collar that restricts air flow to the flame tube makes a big difference. And there is a noticeable difference in the colour of the flame depending on where the collar is placed.

When it is wide open, the flame is a very vivid blue. As I restrict the airflow, the flame becomes much paler, almost with a very faint hint of turquoise(maybe some copper oxide burning away).

Right now the collar is restricting about two thirds of the air holes. The flame is almost silent and very stable, exactly what I wanted. But it’s also very pale, only a hint of blue is visible.

Is this a problem? Does it matter what colour the flame is? Or is it not an issue as long as it’s boiling water?

Many thanks
Dan
 
Boiling water is good, you may find the quieter version could take longer to get steam up. Time it on different settings, certainly disregard one that takes longer to boil at the same gas release setting.
 
The collar is there to alter the fuel/air mix to best suit ambient air temperatures. The colder it gets the more you restrict the airflow to get a richer mixture - like a car's choke. This time of year about half covered would be the max' but not a hard and fast rule. Blue flame is good, at the other extreme orange/yellow is poor. Accucraft gas burners are notoriously noisey. Yes, the quieter the better. However, set the gas regulator (not steam) so that enough gas flows to ensure the right heat is produced to match the load and speed you are operating at - lack of steam, sluggish operation, is clue you are not feeding enough gas, the safety valve blowing off continuously, too much. All part of the fun of live steam operation. Play around or visit a local 16 mm NGM area group "steam up" Narrow Gauge Railways in your Garden - Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers
 
Dan, you mention trying to acheive a "more stable flame". If you find the flame is "spluttering", difficult to light (as Paul M notes) or even going out unexpectedly it might signal contamination of/in the gas tank. There are a number of sources for this contamination -

I have had to clean out, with cellulose thinners (as recommended by a now retired Accucraft service agent), a couple of Accucraft gas tanks as soldering flux residue, from the manufacturing process, was left inside it them (!) I also then flushed all their pipework and jet. N.B. Do not attempt to use a pin to clean a jet, soak in thinners or blast from point end with gas or air. Make sure any thinners has evaporated before using tank or other parts of this assembly.

The same service agent also told me to replace the supplied jets in Accucraft burner assemblies with Ronson #5 jets, you might need a thread adaptor. Reason - the broaching of the jet's hole can be somewhat "irregular" as installed.

Contamination from gas cannisters is not unheard of. Store your cannisters upside down and blast a small amount of gas out before connecting to tank (keep upside down) - good old gravity makes sure any crud exits first before you then connect to gas up.

Last tip - rolled up bit of blotting paper (?!) popped into gas jet body, catches most debris before it finds its way into jet nozzle and blocks it. That is all. Max
 
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