Found in my shed(forgot about).

Can anyone give me advice on how to date?

 

Welcome Nigel. All Vapalux M320s I think all MOD surplus, one missing some bits. Probably 90's.
Why not get them going and keep them for use in the garden ? They are not difficult to service and use.
Chris

 

Welcome aboard!

This link shows relevant paperwork, but the library is only open to subscribers.

https://classicpressurelamps.com/threads/vapalux-m320-instructions.6870/

 

@Nigel Green

Just the other day, on another subject, I made a remark how I actually regretted that valuations are not to be given on this site. Simply because it could benefit some of our members in buying stuff they might regret later due to more money paid than neccesary.

No offence taken Nigel, but now I realise one reason not to give this info would be not to be flooded with just such requests, only serving someones wallet. And likely not to enthuse a future member with possible contributions for our benefit, which is mostly sharing experiences.

It seems CPL is found more and more for commercial purpose, and I must admit I actually do not feel like giving you any information at all if that is the case.
Information on your lamps is after all also to be found here in the Gallery, it just takes some time.
You want money, you earn it.

Mind, I am stating this on personal account, so info on age etc. might come forward anyway.
But also in the actual knowledge that anything you want to know for selling can be had just by watching the various Ebays if you are not xenophobic, or your national or local sites if selling abroad is a bridge too far for you.
It might take more time and effort, but there is your market, and there are the most relevant answers. Good luck, Mike

 

He only asked how to date.
No valuation is asked.
And for that it's the right place here!

Matthias

 

Nope, the text is changed. In the first posting value was asked for selling on.
Now it looks ok but it isn't. Like @M.Meijer descriped correct.

 

3 very nice lamps there, they are easy to get working and very reliable.
Excellent for barbecue evenings, or just sitting out on nice evenings, they even contribute to mosquito repelling.

 

Had the question been presented in its current form, I would have been more than happy to share what I know about these lamps.
But indeed, text has been errased, which is odd given the times texts were submitted.
Now Nigel looks rather odd if not bad at first glance and I think he has nothing to do with this.

 

This comment has nothing to do with Nigel’s request.

I support the rule of “no valuations”. I find that over at CCS where requests for valuations are permitted, they aren’t very useful at best (best for very expensive items), and second are very regionally biased, making them next to useless or potentially misleading.

Tony

 

My two bobs worth .....
I agree with Tony’s comment.
The value of a lamp is so subjective and greatly differs for one collector to another not forgetting the normal masses out there.
Just saying ......
Cheers
Pete

 

Date? - 2000 (+/-10 years)...

As for the editing, it looks like someone reported the post to the Moderation team who presumably removed the part asking for values a couple of hours after the original posting time. The post was originally timed at 1.56pm and edited by the Mods at 4.24pm GMT...

 

Tony,
I understand your reasoning and agree how valid this is for a local market. So with your knowledge you could give someone in Australia some idea, if you feel like responding: you do not have to but you could help someone locally.

But this is a worldwide site and I bet at least 95% of the members look at worldwide Ebay. In that sense, Ebay is common ground for most of us and hence some pricing.
I agree the information on a price is subject to many variables, so in the end one has to make up his or her mind anyway. Hence me wondering about allowing it, as it is no rocket science, but perhaps food for a discussion that might interest many.

But as above, I got seconds thoughts considering these questions just from today, basicly asked for monetary gain.
This is where I draw a line, and wanted to make this clear in the light of my remark to @David Shouksmith I made only yesterday where I suggested pricing should be allowed.

 

Well, the debate yesterday was around your assertion that there was a "fixed eBay buy it now price" for these lanterns. I suggested there wasn't any such thing.

Anyway, the value of these lanterns appears to be up to £395 - in exactly the same way as your broadband provider advertises your line speed as up to 128Mb/s i.e. somewhere between 0 and 128Mb/s depending on a range of factors. Thus, they can't determine exactly what the true line speed will be; neither can anyone here determine the value of a lantern. Hence there's no point in even trying (or asking)...

 

@M.Meijer

All I wish to add to this discussion is that I saw a pretty average lantern sell a little while ago on the Australian Bay of Evil for a very high price. There was nothing inherently unique about this item, and, in Australia, it would be common. A few days later the same model/period lantern was “passed in” for a starting price well below the price at which the previous lantern sold.

My conclusion is: speculating publicly on value (as opposed to scarceness or commonness) is a fraught and potentially misleading exercise.

Tony

 

It is liberating to be able to talk and discuss all manner of lamps and lighting without constantly debating how much was this or that or whathaveyou...

The whole world is obsessed with money and its nice to be able to come in here and escape all that....

Goodnight :-)

 

Amen to that.

Besides the value, I can imagine that people, not you, will start looking for the particular lantern while the auction is still running.
Most auction sites are known so it must be a very local and unkown site not to be found when searched for.

 

Hi Mike
That was a bit tense. Not sure of my actual wording which has been removed but think I might asked if they are of any value? NO INTENTION OF A VALUATION. Apologise.
They have been in my possession for approximately 30 years and forgot about. My thoughts in finding the lamps were to not waste them by disposing them in a skip, and was to gain an history to these type of lamps as I did use them when I was in the military while in a supporting role on a training unit. The value was not my focus, but thank you for pointing me towards markets which might be interested. I could always Google to gain info but thought talking with people who are enthusiast more informative and great to have some form of contact with people who are knowledgeable. Nigel

 

Hi rayw

They also were used to find some warmth in the winter periods when on trading support exercises. True about the mosquito problem, ha ha. The fun part was trying to light them.

 

Hi Chris

Thanks for that, about M320. Only known as tilley's and had no back ground to when the military started to use them. I remember first ever using them and blackening the glass, so having to start all again before it go dark.

 

@Nigel Green

Nigel, I agree my response was not a warm welcome, and I might have initiated anything but what you could have expected. For that I apologize.

The reason why I reacted the way I did was not to lecture you but to get an old topic to attention, and hence for discussion. The curious thing is how your text was changed, something you could not have done by yourself, and something I was and am not happy with as it reeks of censorship while you did nothing wrong.

But you are still with us by the looks of it - so welcome to this site! - and I am pleased to address your initial question in a Private Message, if there is anything to ad noteworthy.
I am glad you did not relegate your lamps to the skip, and I hope you will find further cause to enjoy them.

Regards, Mike

 

Hi Chris

What sites would you recommend for buying spare parts to complete or replace the on my lamps?

 

@Nigel Green

Welcome.

I’m sure Chris will chip in, but for seals, washers etc, I recommend The Fettlebox (link on home page; and is our site sponsor).

For parts I recommend The Base Camp, UK.

Cheers

Tony

 

As you can see I just gave them a clean with soapy warm water. Some parts have a bit of rust and two of the lamps still have the kerosene in, which might be best to get rid and put fresh in.

Can you recommend what I could use to clean the lamps, particularly the working parts before attempting to light. Also where to buy parts?

Dont get me wrong, i am no enthusiast but finding these lamps, triggered fond memories of my time in the mob and particularly on this training support unit. It would be great to spark them all up, pull up a few sandbags with my mates from the past.

 

Well, that's a whole new debate in itself, Mike.

Whilst I stand up for free speech and would defend anyone's right to it, there's a whole world of difference between "censorship" and the Mod/Admin team maintaining what is posted here within the forum rules (which we've all agreed to, and thus, by extension, tacitly accepted that whatever we post is subject to editing should it go beyond the bounds).

Surely you wouldn't like to see, for example, racist and homophobic posts appearing here the grounds of free speech...

 

Hi Nigel and Welcome!
Some nice lamps there and you may find if you drain the paraffin and compare the colour with new that there is not much difference?
Often moisture will accumulate in the fount/tank so a clean out/maintenance is always a good thing and won't harm.
If the old paraffin is murky then leave in a bottle to settle, it may be possible to reuse and/or mix with new fuel or use for cleaning or paint thinners/brush cleaning?
Good luck with everything!

 

One of my most reliable lanterns the 320. Enjoy!

 

I suppose you have more insight than me, then, David.
For me this is the very first time someone (innocently) asking about market value is "out of bounds', and if such a question is printed, it needs to be errased.

I thought we are bound not to GIVE this information - or answer these questions as a rule. Hence my reaction to you yourself when you inquired about a possible value for the lamp you contemplated selling.
Not to pester you, but me following this site's rules.

I seem to remember countles similar questions being posed here, thus visible and left to be read.
And all answered in a similar way, so why this censorship?
By the way, 'censorship' does not need any different interpretation David. It is a process that simply is part of any moderator's work, nothing more, and nothing sinister or totalitarian.

 

Those are some nice lamps you have there; the instruction sticker on the left is a first for me to see.

 

Off topic and not poster related (@Nigel Green ).

Now we are getting to the point of meaning of the words:
Innocent can not be: when we register we agree to have read and understand and follow the rules that come with this forum.

I haven't memorised them but "we don't give evaluations" means for me also: "please don't ask or hint to it".
Questions like is this rare? also include some kind of value. Don't mistake it with a reaction like: you have a rare lantern.
If people , members want to know something about value or rarity they can follow ebay (example).

If I want to know anything about value or rarity I ask members outside the public forum.
For me more kind of education and want to have, by the way.

 

This is our hobby and valuations hurt us all; anything is worth what someone is willing to pay. The auction site is just that, an auction; he with the most money (and sometimes smallest brain) walks away with the prize.

It’s never been about the money for me; it’s about taking something from another time and bringing it back to life after years or decades of misuse and sometimes abuse.