gas soldering iron doesnt work?

[steveo3002]

had a nice gas soldering iron a few years , all of a sudden it doesnt work

i can fill with gas an hear it hissing out , i can see the spark ignitor when i click it , but the gas wont light

if i try and light with a lighter it will flare but not stay alight

any ideas please

 

[xmetal]

I had this on one of mine. It turned out to be an iffy can of butane in that case. Gas irons can be a bit temperamental when they haven't been used for a while though.

 

[steveo3002]

i did wonder but its a can i have been using before...does it go off in the can? thinking not?

 

[voipio]

Is there a gas flow control that could be turned down a bit to stop it flaring? It could be that a rubber seal in the flow control valve has started to perish.

 

[xmetal]

i did wonder but its a can i have been using before...does it go off in the can? thinking not?

The gas from the can in question had an oily smell to it compared to other makes. I don't think it goes off in the can. I use Swan brand these days and that seems to work ok.

 

[123hotchef]

it sounds like a o ring has perrished or split

 

[Blobber]

I think the tip has some sort of catalyst if thats correct wording, doesnt last forever and you have to change the tip

 

[steveo3002]

I think the tip has some sort of catalyst if thats correct wording, doesnt last forever and you have to change the tip

yeah rings a bell...when i was working you could see a glow not a flame inside

wonder if ive lost a bit changing the tips ? can see new tips for sale but not any catalyst sort of thing

 

[steveo3002]

fresh can of gas got it going again , didnt realise it went stale

 

[Seadog]

On the extremely rare occasion that I need to use one of my gas irons ( I've 3 ) they are filled from a tin of gas that must be 15 years old.

 

[steveo3002]

^ mine was most likley that old , i wrote to portasol ( thumbs up for having customer service ) and they suggested to try a fresh can and a few other ideas

 

[voipio]

The butane gas shouldn't go stale. Sometimes a fresh fill can result in an initial excess gas flow, which normally settles down after the valve has been open for a short while.