Please read this important notice about fuel gel. 

After the UK ban on solid fuel tablets, the model steam industry were quick to develop an alternative fuel source known as fuel gel. Steamers soon realised that the gel was not comparable to solid fuel tablets – it doesn’t produce the same amount of heat, it’s more expensive, a tray full of gel burns away extremely fast in comparison, and it’s messy. 

We recently received a returned Wilesco engine that was thought by the customer to be faulty, but upon testing the engine we discovered that the boiler just wasn’t getting hot enough while running on fuel gel. It wouldn’t even power the whistle, let alone the engine. We placed a Bix gas burner under the boiler and the engine came to life within seconds.

So does this mean that fuel gel is useless for powering model steam engines? Well, we sell a lot of it, with many repeat customers choosing to run their engines on it. But after testing the aforementioned Wilesco engine, which was one of their smaller engines (a D7, please see the video of the actual engine below), we have decided to create this store notice warning our customers that gel fuel may not be sufficient for powering model steam engines. 

So what’s the answer? Gas!

The good news is that Bix burners have been tried and tested for over two decades, and we can confirm that they outperform gel and solid fuel in every aspect. Once you try it you’ll wonder why you took so long to make the switch. 

We highly recommend switching to gas power. Although buying a gas kit may be more expensive than buying a bottle of gel, over time you will save money, because the cost of gel really adds up over time. A Bix gas conversion really is a worthy investment. 

We offer Bix kits for all Wilesco engines at discounted prices when bought with the engine. Or you can choose your own gas tank, pipe length and burner size to create your own kit. Please go to the Bix section by clicking here.