cleaning/fixing bunsens

[RosalieM]

Hi everyone,
I know people have given lots of helpful hints on how to fix/clean bunsens. Unfortunately, I am a 'see it, do it and learn' type of person rather than a 'read it and learn', so I am wondering if anyone knows of how I can go about learning how to get our bunsens working again. I have quite a supply of 'not working' ones which I raid when another one comes back not working - I just replace it with one I already have waiting to be repaired and hope it works better than the one being brought back... Not the best solution, I know!! Which is why I would like to do something about my skills shortage. Anyway, any info/suggestions will be gratefully accepted!
Rosalie

[dime]

Well, they are a really simple machine. If you can unscrew the the barrel, all you have is the hole where the gas comes out. This is the bit that gets blocked up. Run it under the hot tap to get rid of any wax etc. and brush if necessary. Get a narrow needle/piece of wire (a piece of the multi-stranded wire, plastic covered stuff - stripped of the coating) and poke into the hole to clear it. Re-assemble the barrel and test. If the hole is too big (ie the flame is too tall) there's not anything to be done, but file it in the circular file (garbage bin). Give me a ring if you want and I can talk you through it or explain myself better. Cheers

[matchstick]

sounds like your head teacher needs to spend money next year and buy new ones.
M

[birdie]

Hi Rosalie,
Remember the DET "WORKING IN SCIENCE" Book. It is wonderful. Has a DVD of just about everything we do in the lab.,so you can SEE how to do everything. Non DET schools are also able to purchase this at about $225. Wonderful investment.
Gail

[Ocker]

I have a set of cleaning tips for the jet, Butinstead of them see your music dept and get them to save any broken Guitar strings they are real handy also for cleaning Burette tips

[RosalieM]

Thanks for all your answers. I guess I was just a bit hesitant to go ahead and pull them apart... but I guess if they aren't working then I can't really 'break' them any more than they already are! I have put 10 new bunsens on the order for next term which I am hoping will go through (we only have 2 labs). We got some new ones before I came here but they are NG instead of LPG. They still work, but you don't get the beautiful point in the flame to find the hottest part, and the flame goes quite high. Works for most things. I don't know if the person before me ordered the wrong ones, or the wrong ones just turned up. They were still in the box when I arrived. I would still like to have the 'not-working' ones working as spares for when the current working ones fail. I will be brave and give it a go!!

[smiley]

Another trick for when the tips are filled with gunge, like wax or something simple & safe-ish, like salt, is unscrew the barrel, place the tip of the jet in a bunsen flame (holding the bunsen from the bottom), blow down the rubber tubing, and once the tip is clear of the wax you'll get a cross-jet of air cutting into your bunsen flame, and your tip is all good. If your bunsen is old, it helps to put on a new piece of tubing first!

[Robdean]

I bought a tip cleaning set from Q Stores thinking that at last I had a solution but alas even the smallest wire is too thick to fit into the hole of the bunsen. Perhaps the plumber who initially showed me them had an impirical set??? So for me it's abck to the stripped electrical wire, hot water etc!