Oil running out of the canister.

Hey all,

Im new to your forum and the Tiki scene itself. I bought some tiki torches over last weekend because I wanted to start enjoying being outside again on the more nicer days without being attacked by 50000000 mosquitoes.. So I bought 4 of them down at the local Home Depot and also bought a jug of Tiki brand Bite Fighter fuel to fill them with.. Out of the 4 torches I'm having problems with only one of them.

I've spent the last 3 days searching the web trying to find a solution (including here) trying to find similar problem I've been having but with no luck.. So I'm hoping maybe someone here may have had the same problem and has just never posted about it in a FAQ post or may just know the solution..

So heres my problem.. The one Tiki fuel canister keeps leaking all over the top even when its not lit.. When it is lit it just seems to suffocate like its getting too much fuel and it seems to run even faster all over the top.. I was able to watch it run down from the wick when I had it lit.. An when its not the fuel just seems to be traveling up the wick and running all over the top and down the bamboo posts it sit in.. None of my other torches are doing this and these are the first torches I've ever had.. Any ideas why this is happening?? My only guess at the moment is a bad wick but am not sure...

[ Edited by: Sparky83 2011-07-08 11:29 ]

Uhhhhh... You could exchange it. Probably the easiest fix.
Aloha,
:tiki:

Could be your wick is extended too far out the top of the torch...The heat from the flame is drawing the fuel up the wick and the exposed, non-burning, part of the wick is allowing the fuel to run down the sides of the pot before it get to the flame...I would try pushing the wick back into the pot leaving just enough exposed to burn...

On 2011-07-08 13:28, Aquatic Safarinaut wrote:
Could be your wick is extended too far out the top of the torch...The heat from the flame is drawing the fuel up the wick and the exposed, non-burning, part of the wick is allowing the fuel to run down the sides of the pot before it get to the flame...I would try pushing the wick back into the pot leaving just enough exposed to burn...

Id thought that same thing too... because the instructions that came with it said no taller than 3/4" but I did them all at 1/2"... when I had only one doing it I figured I might have mis-measured.. so tried pushing it down further but even with the shorter wick it still does it...

huh...then my next "guess" is that for whatever reason slight pressure is building up in the pot and causing the fluid wick faster than it is burning. Is or has the the sun been warming the torch pot? Is there a vent hole on the torch lid? If so, is it clear?

This is fun :)

On 2011-07-08 20:19, Aquatic Safarinaut wrote:
huh...then my next "guess" is that for whatever reason slight pressure is building up in the pot and causing the fluid wick faster than it is burning. Is or has the the sun been warming the torch pot? Is there a vent hole on the torch lid? If so, is it clear?

This is fun :)

The first 2 days it was out in the sun.. 3rd day I put it in the shed where the sun couldn't be on it and still did it.. (made a mess of my sheds floor too :( ) The sun was another of the possibilities I'd thought of..

Vent hole no... it just one of them removable black thin walled canisters.. but does have 2 pieces... the part that holds the wick and shields the fuel canister unscrews from fuel canister for easy filling... The 2nd day I'd actually tried leaving the top partially loose.. but same effect happened...

[ Edited by: Sparky83 2011-07-09 07:46 ]

I give....run it over with your car...

If you are not going to exchange it, (easiest fix IMHO), pull the wick out and roll it like a dreadlock or putty, with your palm. I'm guessing the wick is scrunched in "fat" position, and heat is causing air pressure within the canister. Rolling the wick, will thin it out, and allow the needed air to pass between wick and lid it slides into. If that doesn't doit, seriously take it back for exchange.

On 2011-07-09 15:17, Tom Slick wrote:
If you are not going to exchange it, (easiest fix IMHO), pull the wick out and roll it like a dreadlock or putty, with your palm. I'm guessing the wick is scrunched in "fat" position, and heat is causing air pressure within the canister. Rolling the wick, will thin it out, and allow the needed air to pass between wick and lid it slides into. If that doesn't doit, seriously take it back for exchange.

It's not that I don't want to take it back... I'm just trying to exhaust all possibilities first is all... I'm just one of those kind of people that instead of going "ehh its broke" I want to know why it's broke.. or whats causing it to act that way..

But think you may be right here... When I pulled the top back off today I noticed the wick seemed to be coming unraveled inside the canister... I pulled the others tops off and theyre all still tightly bound. Same with outside the canisters.. The others look "wet" in the wicks but were still tightly bound.. Where this 4th one looks like its fattening out..

It is clearly cursed.

Sorry I didnt get back sooner. Work got hectic and forgot about ya. Wanted to tell Tom Slick thanks for the help and that his suggestion worked. Since I re-wrapped/re-braided the wick it hasnt been running over since. Now ill know if it ever happens again ill know why.

[ Edited by: Sparky83 2011-07-29 14:04 ]

glad it worked out for you. :D