Found a Tilley FL10 in Pretoria, South Africa

Hi gents,

Found this lantern about a month ago at a local market - complete ex flute, burner and globe. the rest is in pretty much good condition.

if my memory does not let me down this is number 3 reported?

I will take pictures tomorrow and post.

Cheers

Jacques

 

Oh, and tank cap missing!

 

FL10? - a sort of lovechild between a do-nut and an FL6...

FL10 | Classic Pressure Lamps & Heaters

 

David

More a love child between a Tilley donut and a SL1.

Cheers

Tony

 

Can't argue the point Tony, having never got within 10,000 miles of an FL10 but the external appearance of the lower half seems more FL6 from here.

The FL10 doesn't have a moveable mirror, does it? In that case it would be an SL10, possibly. Dunno...

 

David

The SL1 version most often seen in Australia does not have an adjustable reflector.


[From here: Ballarat / Staffordshire Reef Lampers Gathering #3]

In the post you linked to above, @Anthony comments on the beam cast by the FL10. He’d be the best judge of its husbandry.


Cheers

Tony

 

Husbandry? - I was thinking of its ancestry!

 

Well, yes, ancestry.

Cheers

Tony

 

It does not.
The reflector does focus the beam almost like an SL1 but does not have a glass reflector.
Itching to see these pictures @Jacques Van Der Rijst .
Keep a look out for a Big Bertha too ...why not ?

You would be right David.
I still have not done a detailed comparison between the FL10 and the FL6 cases.
I should do that.

 

I'm happy to do that for you, Anthony - you'll have to send me your FL10 first...

 

Thanks David, it's on its way.

 

Hi gents,

Some photos as promised. Taken with a FL6 for comparison.

My biggest challenge will be finding a tank cap - if anybody can help that will be great.

Cheers

Jacques

 

Looks like we have number 3.
Well done.
Interesting to see the IL33 chain lugs on the tank.

 

Thanks Anthony,

Yeah the chain lugs also a bit odd to me and the fact that the tank has not been painted.

 

Looks like some thing here.. ??

 

Hope you find that tank cap Jacques, would it just be like any other Tilley donut cap?

 

You could do one of these to go on with.

 

That's a strange beastie, the like of which I've never seen.

I presume an ordinary do-nut filler cap would do in lieu until the correct item turns up - embedded with some hen's teeth in unicorn poop. What a pity the former owner removed it and failed to put it back...

 

@Anthony

What does the FL10 filler cap look like?

Tony

 

Yes Jean, but which one ??


This is the one that came with my 10.
Whether it be original is anyones guess.

 

@Anthony - it reads F365 on the bottom there nothing at the top though

 

@Jean J - thanks Jean with luck and the help from very knowledgeable guys on the forum here I might just get this going some day
@Anthony - thanks for sharing as much info as you can I really appreciate that

 

the top arrow was the mouse.

 

my bad..

 

According to Jim Dick's book, the FL10 was around in 1938 and was still catalogued immediately after the war so there's a good chance that more than one type would be correct. Looking at a donut which looks to have the same fuel feed/control cock as Jacques' FL10, the filler cap which bears the most resemblence is second from the right in the image posted by Anthony but at the end of the day, any of them will be better than the one that isn't there.

Referring to Anthony's post about the altered Tilley pump, pressurising a donut tank with a built-in pump is akin to suffering a serious case of haemorroids. Far better to do away with the pump tube altogether, solder in a disc of suitable thickness, drill a hole in the centre and stick one of these in -
4pcs 1/4 NPT MPT Brass Air Compressor Tank Fill Valve-Schrader Adapter Fitting
or, subject to availability, the valve from a knackered bicycle inner tube.

 

Hi Henry,

Thank you kindly for your info and advice. Just wondering what other tank caps might fit the donut and would also be suitable to convert?

Cheers

 

Bialaddin, Vapolux maybe? Seems to have the same thread by the look of things..

 

Unfortunately not. At 1 inch, the diameter is the same but the thread is very different. The thread on the Bialaddin is B.S.B. = 26 t.p.i., the Tilley is a special, according to my thread gauge the pitch is 19 t.p.i.
19 t.p.i. is correct for 3/8" British Standard Pipe which in reality is just 16.66 mm, a far cry from 1".

 

Ok, thanks Henry that really helps. I am going to try and have a cap made...if I can get that right that the rest should be quite easy. Hopefully..

 

A great find!