bunsen burners not staying alight

[NicD]

Hi, I have some bunsen burners that won't stay alight, any ideas on repairing them or do they just go straight into the bin and get replacement ones.
Thanks in advance

[RosalieL]

It depends why they won't stay alight. There's a gas tool kit you can get which has different sized wires on it. If you pull the bunsen apart and wash them in warm water then poke through the gas hole with the wire sometimes that is enough to clean it out and get it working properly again. I generally give it a bit of a go and if it doesn't fix it then a new one is sent out. A new one only costs around $25 so you have to weigh up your time, effort and resources to fix it vs the cost of a new one. If you have the time to problem-solve and your budget is tight then do what you can You can also use the flame from another bunsen to try to clear whatever is blocking it. If you do pull them apart, make sure you keep all the bits together for each bunsen because they don't always match up nicely with different parts even if they all look the same.

[RosalieL]

if you search "cleaning bunsen burners" there's a thread with a few ideas in it as well.

[Marama T]

Also, Bunsen burners can go in the metal recycling bin at your local tip, rather than in the bin.

[mtg]

Just found this thread. My newer bunsen's wont stay lit when we turn the collars. They turn into flame throwers then go out. If we turn the collar very slowly they work ok sometimes. I have replaced them all through the supplier, double checked they are for LPG (they are the red based ones) and now try and use my ancient ones if the teachers stop hiding them in the back room. Do I need to buy very expensive ones? Will they work? My old ones, lots of different sorts, micro, glass blowing, standard with 1 hole, with 2 holes etc were fine.

[RosalieL]

Do they stay lit if the collar isn't completely open? Our newer ones need to be only about 3/4 open and they stay lit fine but if they are fully open then they'll go out. It's a matter of teaching the students (and teachers!) that as long as the blue flame is steady, that's open far enough. Once it starts roaring, you've gone too far.