Need a little help with this old pot

[30Carbine]

the old one I started out with the pump knob screwed down to hold it down.
yes unleaded gas never tried anything else
yes put alcohol in cup and light when it's almost burned out open valve, stand back and wait it will make all kinds of noise at first scares the h--ll out of you the first time.

[Tristan]

Forrest and 30Carbine, thanks for the info.

- Tristan

[Florida_Orange]

I have a question. I have a Clayton & Lambert that I bought at a garage sale. It came with gasoline in it. No telling how old the gas was. Prior to reading this post I was fiddling around with it. I pressurized it and then opened the valve just a little and was sprayed in the face with gasoline. Thus I felt I should read up on it before accidentally igniting myself on fire. Following the directions in this post, I dumped out the old gas and cleaned it up a little. (perhaps the following isn't the right thing to do) but while trying to understand why it sprayed me in the face, I filled it with water, pressurized it and opened the valve. it sprayed a fine stream of water six feet into the air. I'm thinking that can't be what it's supposed to do....Is it?

[Le Loup Solitaire]

There is a current website that deals primarily with the collection, restoration and use of gasoline blowtorches and plumbers' units as well. Many brands and models are mentioned and the main thrust is safety as you can imagine. LLS

[denjhill]

I've been using the same furnace since about 1960. Always used regular gasoline. Not a problem. Added a Schrader valve (tire valve) so I can simply pressurize with my compressor line and do away with the hand pump. Blow out the innards and pipes once in awhile with compressed air to keep it clean. Simple tool that just keeps working. Use it now as a forge for heating steel.

[StuBach]

Well aware this post is very old but, similar to others, I have found myself in possession of one of these Clayton and Lambers and was lucky enough to get ahold of a gentleman on Youtube who has restored one and he created a phenomenal video for how to use one. Thought I would share with the group.

https://youtu.be/-Vvg5Q8rIN0

Here are the tips he gave me that seem to make sense though I'll be honest I am just sharing what he shared with me as to help others.

If these furnaces are in good condition then they are pretty much no problem to run. However…
If the tank bottom is rusted out, it could be a ticking bomb. If the rusted tank bottom blows while it’s running and full of fuel it could be fatal. In fact, Clayton and Lambert no longer makes liquid fueled appliances, they make swimming pools now. That’s because of a big lawsuit where one of these exploded and burned a guy almost to death. They lost the suit and shut their furnace business down.

So… for safety, you’ll need to...
1. check that the tank is really sound and not perfed with rust. Poke the bottom with a screwdriver to find soft or rotten spots.
2. you may be able to soak the existing leather pump cup in oil and renew it. But, if it has perished, you’ll need to make a new one.
3. Probably need a new pump gasket where it meets the tank.
4. should check the condition of the fuel filler gasket ( I think I recall that it’s lead, so probably is okay, but check anyway so you don’t get boom and so you can pump pressure into the tank)

To run it…
1. use Coleman fuel as your grandpas gasoline is pretty much nothing like todays crappy gasoline with its ethanol and all sorts of additives in it, I wouldn’t fill the tank very full until you’ve got it working better, always allow a good airspace so you can pressure it, maybe 2/3 full at most once you’ve got it working well. just an inch or so until you’ve verified it is okay

2. That coiled tube is your generator. There’s a braided wire cable inside it that can get clogged up with crappy gasoline. Coleman fuel will help clean that out. The generator needs to be preheated so it can get hot and turn liquid fuel into a vapor/gas. There should be a dish under the coil and that gets filled with Coleman fuel and lit to burn and preheat the coil generator. BUT, you’ll have a lot cleaner preheat if you use denatured alcohol instead of Coleman to preheat. Less soot and yellow flames. You can get denatured at Home Depot and other box home supply stores.

3. so put some fuel in the tank and pump some air into the tank with your pump. Put some denatured in the little dish and light it. Let it preheat the coil. When almost all the denatured has burned away, start opening the valve. Vaporized fuel should come out the little orifice, catch fire from the last of the preheat fuel and shoot flame up through the center of the coil. Don’t open the valve more than a couple of turns.

I like to use mineral oil like you get at the drug store for my leather pump cups. It’s a petroleum product, but you can eat it, so I reckon it’s safe for pump cups. It never goes rancid or gets gummy.

You do have a cup under your generator coil. Yours is just full of solder/lead and other garbage. Mine looked like yours when I got it, too.

I’d suggest lighting it outside with a fire extinguisher handy the first time around. Don’t fill the tank until you have it all figured out.

A squirt or two of carburetor cleaner in the Coleman fuel can help to melt out the old cruddy deposits from rancid gasoline.

Rinsing the tank with Coleman before you try to run it might be good, too. Just put some in and swish it around, then pour it out. Could keep your jet from clogging on tank debris.



Hopefully others will find this info and find it as helpful as I did.

Giving Credit where it is due: this info was from correspondence I had with BernieDawg from http://www.berniedawg.com based on a C&L restoration he did around the same time this post was originally started.

[mac1911]

Well aware this post is very old but, similar to others, I have found myself in possession of one of these Clayton and Lambers and was lucky enough to get ahold of a gentleman on Youtube who has restored one and he created a phenomenal video for how to use one. Thought I would share with the group.

https://youtu.be/-Vvg5Q8rIN0

Here are the tips he gave me that seem to make sense though I'll be honest I am just sharing what he shared with me as to help others.

If these furnaces are in good condition then they are pretty much no problem to run. However…
If the tank bottom is rusted out, it could be a ticking bomb. If the rusted tank bottom blows while it’s running and full of fuel it could be fatal. In fact, Clayton and Lambert no longer makes liquid fueled appliances, they make swimming pools now. That’s because of a big lawsuit where one of these exploded and burned a guy almost to death. They lost the suit and shut their furnace business down.

So… for safety, you’ll need to...
1. check that the tank is really sound and not perfed with rust. Poke the bottom with a screwdriver to find soft or rotten spots.
2. you may be able to soak the existing leather pump cup in oil and renew it. But, if it has perished, you’ll need to make a new one.
3. Probably need a new pump gasket where it meets the tank.
4. should check the condition of the fuel filler gasket ( I think I recall that it’s lead, so probably is okay, but check anyway so you don’t get boom and so you can pump pressure into the tank)

To run it…
1. use Coleman fuel as your grandpas gasoline is pretty much nothing like todays crappy gasoline with its ethanol and all sorts of additives in it, I wouldn’t fill the tank very full until you’ve got it working better, always allow a good airspace so you can pressure it, maybe 2/3 full at most once you’ve got it working well. just an inch or so until you’ve verified it is okay

2. That coiled tube is your generator. There’s a braided wire cable inside it that can get clogged up with crappy gasoline. Coleman fuel will help clean that out. The generator needs to be preheated so it can get hot and turn liquid fuel into a vapor/gas. There should be a dish under the coil and that gets filled with Coleman fuel and lit to burn and preheat the coil generator. BUT, you’ll have a lot cleaner preheat if you use denatured alcohol instead of Coleman to preheat. Less soot and yellow flames. You can get denatured at Home Depot and other box home supply stores.

3. so put some fuel in the tank and pump some air into the tank with your pump. Put some denatured in the little dish and light it. Let it preheat the coil. When almost all the denatured has burned away, start opening the valve. Vaporized fuel should come out the little orifice, catch fire from the last of the preheat fuel and shoot flame up through the center of the coil. Don’t open the valve more than a couple of turns.

I like to use mineral oil like you get at the drug store for my leather pump cups. It’s a petroleum product, but you can eat it, so I reckon it’s safe for pump cups. It never goes rancid or gets gummy.

You do have a cup under your generator coil. Yours is just full of solder/lead and other garbage. Mine looked like yours when I got it, too.

I’d suggest lighting it outside with a fire extinguisher handy the first time around. Don’t fill the tank until you have it all figured out.

A squirt or two of carburetor cleaner in the Coleman fuel can help to melt out the old cruddy deposits from rancid gasoline.

Rinsing the tank with Coleman before you try to run it might be good, too. Just put some in and swish it around, then pour it out. Could keep your jet from clogging on tank debris.



Hopefully others will find this info and find it as helpful as I did.

Giving Credit where it is due: this info was from correspondence I had with BernieDawg from http://www.berniedawg.com based on a C&L restoration he did around the same time this post was originally started.

BernieDawg help me get my Bell Systems Kerosene lineman stove going.

About a year ago a friend gave me a old pot and ladle. Now about a year later he stops by with this iron contraption. "I think this goes with that pot and laddle"
Its labeled on the outer shell Bell Sytems
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_System

Its a Kerosene burner Linemen used for soldering lead joints. With a little cleaning and new seals it fired up. Still needs a little refinement and maybe some paint.
I used a pressure tester to test the the tank and seals. I dont plan on a lot of use.
Wanted to see it work and at least put a stop to the corrosion.

https://youtu.be/-HvjWc_FSVg