Brass parts Crumbling

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Brass Parts crumbling.



I have a Army No. 12 stove. At first it worked well, but last night it was not a happy stove.

Pulling it to bits found the Gear jet and the jet have crumbled into a paste like substance.

This is a picture from the WWW.


They both have crumbled into a soft material. Think Solder paste.


The top part, on the RHS, with the jet is solid. But below that and the LHS parts have both suffered.

I have not seen this before.

Any ideas?

No, it has not melted.

 

[the artfull-codger]

It's probably dezincefied, happens in model steam engines when the fittings are made of brass instead of bronze,the zinc in the brass leaches out over time,if the female fitting it screws in to is ok just get another fitting.

 

[jerrytug]

What he said ^

 

[Paul.]

Its also possible that the parts are sintered rather than machined from solid material, Copper MIG tips are made the same way but don't have to last as long.

 

[garethp]

It's probably dezincefied, happens in model steam engines when the fittings are made of brass instead of bronze,the zinc in the brass leaches out over time,if the female fitting it screws in to is ok just get another fitting.

I thought for dezincfication to happen the parts needed to be hot and wet? Brass boiler fittings do suffer from it but I wouldnt have thought if it happened to brass parts in a burner then most old stoves would now have no tops left?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I thought for dezincfication to happen the parts needed to be hot and wet? Brass boiler fittings do suffer from it but I wouldnt have thought if it happened to brass parts in a burner then most old stoves would now have no tops left?

I thought that.
The other stove worked great, same bits etc.