While I'm here I have a related question... I have quite a few old hurricane lamps where the wicks won't move up or down using the knob on the burner. Two things seem to happen. One is that the wick sticks to the inside of the burner when not used for a long time and the other is the spiked wheel chews a hole in the wick. Is there a way to prevent this? Is it better to store lamps with some fuel in and the wick in place, or should I empty them, take the wick out and dry it? Whenever I've taken a wick out it rarely seems to go back in again and work. Any advice would be much appreciated.
I've worked on some very old lanterns that had the original wick in them and a few have been slightly stuck but tugging on one end and turning the wheel, they all came loose quickly. The fuel used over there may be thicker and over time create a ways or varnished attachment. I'd try a hair dryer first to see if heat helps. If not, wetting the wick with a solvent, denatured alcohol or mineral spirits, should help to dissolve the bond. Carburetor cleaner works well to remove fuel varnish so you could also try that.
I've never had a wick get caught like that until recently. Al_as_needed also had this happen on one of his lanterns. Look inside the wick channel. You may see a corner of the metal making up the chute that is bent inward into the channel and if so, that will catch on the wick and keep it from moving. It will also tear the wick. I think that happens from having a wick "glued" onto the metal and by strongly forcing the wick to move, it actually bend the metal into the channel causing the wick "hook." If so, simply bend the hook back down so it is below the flat metal surface of the channel. Any tool that reaches the hook will work. I use a long, sharp pointed O-Ring removal tool to do the job.
It also pays to clean the burner to remove all varnish and whatever else is in the wick channel off of the metal. Do do without damaging the cogs or bending the cog axle. Once the channel is clean and free of hooks, the wick should move up and down quite easily.
Depends on how long of a storage period. Store them with the fuel in place to keep the tank from rusting if you are talking about a year or so. If longer, I'd dump the fuel and rinse out the tank with soapy water, rionse well with water and then dry the inside using 3 doses of acetone, about 1 ounce well swished around inside the tank each time to absorb the water. After the third acetone rinse, I dry the tank using a hair dryer and a shop vacuum hose inserted in the burner cup (pulls the fumes out created by the hair dryer. For long, long term storage, I'd spray the inside with WD-40 and then remembers to rinse the tank before next use with fuel if the WD-40 is still wet. With any storage, keep them in a dry, heated place to prevent moisture and temperature changes from corroding the lantern.
If and when you remove a wet wick, it will not go back in easily. When wet, it swells. If you want to reuse a wick, thoroughly dry the wick first and then use the tape method. If still thick after drying, you may want to iron it. Wicks are cheap so I never reuse one that was removed from a lantern. Wicks are meant to fit the wick channel tightly for safety reasons. If they swell or stay swelled after drying out, they may be tight in the wick channel. Using the tape leader greatly helps get a used wick back into a channel. I use the old wick from a lantern after the lantern burner has been cleaned (externally) to clean out the inner channel. I put the old wick back in and then put a solvent on the wick. Then, moving it up and down in the channel rubs off the dirt and varnish. I then toss the old wick away and put a new one in for actual use.
Kerosene type fuels last a long time, don't foul, in a lantern. I've noticed that there is some evaporation in that the globe of a stored lantern needs inside cleaning before use to get the brightest light. I suspect that is due to the lighter components of the fuel evaporating from the wick and carrying with it some of the heavier components which deposit on the inside of the glass globe.
I think I covered all of you questions. If I missed something, need a better explanation or have another question, please ask again.
