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hello everyone in am having some difficulty with my new petzl carbide set up. every time i move or bump the generator it causes my flam to flare up really bad. Now i am not sure weather it is because i am not filling it up all the way or there is something Else at work here but if anyone has any suggestions or knows how to fix it i would be glad to hear about them...

killian,
What grade carbide are you using? This behavior usually results from one of two things on my Petzl:

-Partly clogged gas line, bumping temporarily loosens the clog causing a flare up.
-Blocked water flow, bumping increases water flow which results in a flare up.

That being said I've never found a great solution. Using larger pieces of carbide helps some. Some people put the carbide in a cotton sock which helps reduce clogging and distribute the water. A friend of mine also drilled the little holes in the yellow slide in the petzl generator a bit larger, apparently it helped. Anyway, maybe someone else here has some better tricks...

James

I am using miners grade carbide. do you think that it has something to do with like 8 year old carbide?

killian
if you have Petzl Ariane generator, you should make a few innovations in it: leave old sponge filter and add new hand made filter. You make it from high density sponge. It diameter should be about 10 millimeters greater then inside diameter of Ariane and height about 50 millimeters. I use this patent about ten years, working great.

killian wrote:I am using miners grade carbide. do you think that it has something to do with like 8 year old carbide?

yes, "nut grade" carbide should be used in the ARIANE...

As long as the carbide hasn't reacted (turned to whitish powder) the age shouldn't matter. I have and sometimes use some miners grade and it is a pain. I've been meaning to try the sock trick but haven't gotten around to it...

James

I've never seen anyone use a sock before. But, I've seen lots of people use pantyhose.

What is the difference between the two types of carbide?

Sounds good bisiu i will be shore to try that. Thanks

killian wrote:What is the difference between the two types of carbide?

Both have the same chemical composition. The only difference is that nut grade carbide comes in bigger pieces than mining grade.

For some reason Nut grade is very hard to get in the US. I mainly use carbide on foreign trips now because you can get Nut grade (or larger) dirt cheap in many 3rd world hardware stores.

James

I know they sell Nut or Miners grade carbide at inner mountain outfitters in GA or from them on-line but the hazmat shipping fees are outrageous....

I once heard of this flame-out referred to as the “F-word Click Syndromeâ€