Morning all, firstly I apologise for adding the CS56 on this site as its not officially a lamp but however it's still a Tilley. I picked it up a few years ago at Ardingley antiques fair for £5 and subsequently put it on the shelf in the back of the garage, Subsequently after the painting of the house has now been completed I thought I'd have a play yesterday, with nothing more than a wipe down this is how it came out . The question I have is it's sitting on a BR March 1961 tank ! , now did Tilley do a line of stoves for British Rail or has it been re-tanked at some time in its life ?? I replaced the seals and de-coked the vaporiser and gave it a pump to see if I could get a jet of fuel, forgetting that the needle aperture is much larger than a normal vaporiser I enjoyed the first taste of paraffin this lockdown. So below is the money shot of both vehicles up and running for you, hope you enjoy - more to follow now the painting has finished
The CS56 is perfectly fine here. It operates on the same principle as the Tilley lamps and lanterns. Cheers Tony
I may be wrong, I’m sure I’ll be corrected. I believe Tilley sold just the top parts of the stove (vaporiser, burner, frame etc) so that you could covert an existing Tilley lamp into the stove. This could have happened to yours with someone using the BR stamped tank.
@Keith Warby I do like that Tilley CS56 stove. I’ve yet to see one in the wild. I’ll keep on dreaming. Cheers Pete
You could be right @Gary Waller Burner part number 1562 includes all you would need if you have a lantern. For £5 you say !!! Maybe but unlikely. I'm just repeating your question so someone else will answer.
Yeah £5, how could I argue. It was in with a pile of old scrap things, I nearly walked straight past it as it was upside down in a box. There's still some bargains to be had out there if you're prepared to spend the time and put in the legwork. Looking forward to when the sales start again, there must still be 1000's of gems still out there.
Shhh, I think you've got away with it... That's an absolute bargain at that price! I'd say neither - I'm not aware there was any special tank for the CS56 and I imagine Tilley simply used the current lantern tank or whatever was left over from previous lantern production. They're both running well...
Don't think I've ever come across a 1560 vaporiser in the wild, thankfully mine seems to be working okay at present ( hope this isn't a case of me and my big mouth). I'm surprised there isn't one being reproduced in Taiwan or somewhere, maybe somebody will pick this up and run with it. I wonder how many people have got a stove on the shelf that's needing a vaporiser?
I'd guess, very few, Keith - I don't suppose there are many who use their CS56 frequently enough. Luckily I've a spare vapouriser for mine when the one currently fitted clogs up...
There aren’t many of those stoves “in the wild” either. The jet in the 1560 vapouriser is 0.31 mm (approx.) as opposed to the 606 and 169 vapouriser jets at 0.20mm. Making new 1560 vapourisers and needles would be a task. In a pinch you could cut down a 606 vapouriser, enlarge the jet, and rethread the cut down vapouriser to and old brass 606 nut. Tilley No. 1560 Vapouriser (NOS) Cheers Tony
@Tony Press I wonder what the jet size would be on a worn out vapouriser. When it no longer produces light in a lamp, perhaps it’s just right for adapting to stove use.
@Matthew92 It’s not that hard to get the jet the right size: hard wire of the correct diameter, shaped at the tip (inserted from below); the right size acupuncture needle; or even a 0.32mm drill piece (which I have a few of). Making a pricker is harder. Tony
I had the 1560 jet orifice at 0.23mm Tony when I constructed a short vapouriser for a Tilley CS56, featured on CCS HERE. Stove vapouriser jet orifice left, lantern right ... ... and corresponding pricker wire tips, stove top. Correct fuelling on that jet size.
@presscall I visually compared the jet in my NOS 1560 vapouriser to a NOS 606 vapouriser. Noticing the difference I then set about trying to get a reasonably accurate measure here: Tilley No. 1560 Vapouriser (NOS) I can go and measure again if I’m deluding myself... Cheers Tony
@Keith Warby Nice to see a CS56 and to see it running! A real bargain at £5, I reckon it must have found you...
I’d not level that at you Tony. My post on the Tilley vap’s a long time ago ... when dimensions were smaller?!!! John
John I actually think the world was a bigger place then. I’ll see if I can get a more accurate diameter measure. Cheers Tony @presscall
@Tony Press I’ve an unused 1560 vapouriser and have mic’d it up. First I tested my assertion that the jet orifice was 0.23mm by attempting to pass a pricker of that (measured) size through it. Wrong, it’s a fraction smaller and the pricker wouldn’t fit. Of course, the vapouriser’s own pricker is a clearance fit and the tip measured 0.19mm. Jet 0.2mm I suppose. Evidently the used example from the stove I was working on when I measured the jet as 0.23mm was slightly worn. I adopted that size for vapouriser I constructed, without producing too rich a fuel/air ratio. John
CS56 was sold as a complete stove but Tilley also sold a conversion kit to fit any X246 tank. ::Neil::
As I see it, if you have the conversion unit, how are you going to cook a meal when it's dark? Use the lantern and you've got nothing to cook on, or use the stove and you can't see what you're doing. It simply doesn't make any sense to me... The two piece Sportsman's kit available in the U.S. seems the sensible answer. But if you can afford that, then you could easily afford a lantern and a stove. And if you were short of cash, what were you doing buying a CS56 at twice the price of an equivalent Primus stove?
@David Shouksmith I’ve always enjoyed your impeccable logic and capacity to ask awkward questions David.
Thanks Tony. 1. Nonsense. In any case, how long does it take to pump up your stove? 2. I'll give them that one; 3. Nonsense, there's probably nothing in it; 4. Nonsense - a 1 pint stove has a bigger fuel capacity and, anyway, the CS56 wastes fuel keeping the vapouriser hot; 5. Now they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel; 6. More bottom of barrel scraping! Now, imagine paying twice the Primus price for a CS56 and probably regular vapouriser replacements into the bargain. For further proof, think of any day at any Newark Meet since 2005. Ask yourself how many folk are using Primus type stoves - most people. How many are using a CS56? - nobody (except, perhaps, the odd person for the novelty of it). It would have been much the same at any campsite throughout the land when they were in production. Finally, if the CS56 was so good, why did Tilley supersede it with the P100? - essentially a Primus burner on a Tilley tank and a much better idea. Having said all that, they're a very clever design, though over-complicated. The flame pattern is very pretty and the three columns of flamelets are intriguing. I like mine but it wouldn't be my stove of choice. I rest my case m'lud...
@David Shouksmith I think I might get mine out tomorrow and boil the kettle on it just for the hell of it.
