The never-ending project to fill my hole in the ocean while bailing it out

Preparing for Sailing Season '06
Reconditioning the Kenyon 126 Marine Stove

Description

Last summer during my Maine cruise I had problems with the left burner on my Kenyon Marine model 126 pressurized alcohol stove, the one I use most frequently for percolating coffee after moving it out onto the starboard-side cockpit seat for lighting (whew, that initial flare-up needs to happen outside).  Apparently the gallon of denatured alcohol I'd bought the year before had gone bad:  when I last filled the tank just before the problem began, I noted that it'd turned "tea-colored," probably rust I now surmise.  (Mar. 28, 2006)

I replaced the gallon of alcohol at a hardware store up in Boothbay Harbor and dumped the old supply.  The problem persisted, so I fell back on using the right burner and planned to look into it over the winter.  Yesterday the time had arrived.

COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS BOOK IN PDF FORMAT

Kenyon Marine has been fantastic with customer support.  When I first called them in 2003 for instructions (after scaring myself half to death on first trying to light the stove, with its flare-up -- fortunately I'd first removed it from the boat and had a garden hose at-the-ready!), not only did they send directions and a schematic (see link at left) but provided free-of-charge a new air-pump washer, "the first thing to go," I was told.  I've stored it somewhere for safe-keeping -- I've come across it a number of times -- but haven't been able to find it in the boxes of "winter storage" while searching for it.  But that isn't my problem now anyway.

I disassembled the entire unit down to its smallest parts, both burners right down to the tank, cleaned every tiny piece with acetone -- removed a layer of what appeared to be rust from many of them -- then reassembled it.  Still the burners didn't work correctly, but I had rearranged the holes in the burner flange, lining them up.  This morning I put them back to roughly where I'd found them:  slightly off-center.  The stove now works!

The stove reassembled and working almost like new!  (I finally found the new air-pump rubber washer/gasket and replaced it too.)