But right in most of the forums wheelhouse it seems I figure everyone needs at least one Tilley Lantern. So here's mine. I'm assuming this Is a late 50's X246? No obvious date stamp on the bottom... Appears to have a partial 2 stamp.. all new seals besides the one behind the control cock stem... What's the trick to removing the knob? Felt like it would break so I stopped. Thanks for looking.
The knob on that control cock is screwed onto the shaft. Therefore turn anticlockwise to unscrew. Cheers Tony
@Tony Press that's what I figured, but it appears to be locked on... I have a feeling it's going to twist the stem. Was a loctite applied to these?
In my opinion, that is a mid 1950's Tilley X-246 Guardsman lantern and perhaps you could oil the spindle, lay the lamp down so that the oil soaks into the threads which the knob screws onto and leave it for a day and then try tightening the knob a touch as that often frees the knob, sometimes the spindle needs to be held with one set of pliers while a second set is used to unscrew the knob, it's best to protect the spindle with a bit of leather.
Thanks @JEFF JOHNSON I don't mind giving it another go. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious Parts for these guys take awhile to make it out here in the sticks. Thanks for the help
It seems that I'd feel pretty awkward here if I do not actually own at least one Tilley lamp or lantern that was made in England.
You shouldn't! UK-lamps aren't really that big in the world. It would be more awkward if you didn't have a Petromax. That is probably a much more common lamp. Or for that, a Coleman.
@MYN One shouldn’t feel awkward. I note that none of the six items currently featuring in the list of “New Gallery Posts” is Tilley-related. @Toby Garner To add just a bit more information on what @JEFF JOHNSON has said: The style of X246 globe cage and bail that you have began in late 1954 if I recall correctly. The earliest date stamp on an X246 that appears here is October 1956. There’s no guarantee that all X246s sold after October 1956 were date stamped, but the data so far indicates that your lantern in squarely “mid-1950s”. Cheers Tony
I have just disassembled my first Tilley, like you I wasn't too sure how much force to use so I squirted WD40 on the stem and left it for a day. I then used long nose pliers with a rag around them to grip the stem and was able to use my fingers to unscrew the knob. PS how do you do the @name when replying?
@JohnH You start to type the @, and then the username for the person you want to alert. As you type, matching names will appear as suggestions, and when you see the user you want to address, just click on the name and the software will do the rest. As seen in the screenshot below from when I just had finished your name after the at-sign:
Top tip: - don't leave the pre-heater torch in the spirit(meths) jar as it will eventually dissolve. Nice example of a guardsman.
I was only lucky to have acquired at least a Tilley FL6 lamp from Hendon. Tilleys aren't common at all in my location despite it being formerly under the British Empire.
Thank you all for the suggestions and comments on the build date. Mid 50's is close enough for me @Carlsson I suppose I need a Petromax lantern now There's a couple hundred lamps/lanterns spread out all over my place and not a single Petro branded... I had an Aida that fought me head to toe... Maybe that put me off that style lantern. Altho it's the brightest lantern I own... When it works
From my experience, I quite agree with this. It seems to occur often to me that, these Petromax-styled lanterns are, 'pound-for-pound', the brightest of the lot. For example, from rough visual observation of the light, its quite often that the 350cp ones could actually match those from the 550cp Coleman 237s.
Well I figured if the professionals can do it I surely could... Or at least break it it all worked out. Thanks for the help everyone.
Toby On reassembly, I always use two O-rings for the gland nut. It means you don’t have to tighten it up as hard. [I may just have started a one v two O-ring war]. Cheers Tony
@Tony Press I had read of this debate regarding one or two O-rings, so I have assembled one lamp with one O-ring and the other with two. I will see if there is any leakage from the one O-ring assembly. As an aside I was always told as an apprentice that there should only be one seal used in any situation, two was considered a bodge to work around worn components.
None of my Tilleys have leaked at that point after fettling - one or two O-rings. Some Tilley instructions specify 2: https://classicpressurelamps.com/threads/tilley-x246b-instructions-1973.6869/ In the end, though the purpose of one or two is to get the seal, to maintain the seal, and to allow the control cock spindle to turn fairly easily without leaking. That can be achieved by either, or by using graphite, plumber’s thread tape, asbestos string, etc… I’m curious now, though, as to when Tilley went from square profile washers at that seal, to O-rings. Cheers Tony
I must say I've never heard that leaving the torch in the meths will dissolve it. The old ones were asbestos so they wouldn't disintegrate and the new ones are woven fibre glass... aren't they? Can someone confirm this?
Yes and also the aluminium tabs :-/ It’s a nice looking lantern there, Toby What are your thoughts on it in general ?
@podbros I really appreciate the simplicity of Tilley's in general. If parts were easier to get I would own more. I now have a heater and lantern... Might try to find me a lamp someday. This particular one seems to run great, but it doesn't have the candle power like my Coleman's... Maybe something not just right, but I have limited experience with them also. I'm not always after max brightness anyhow. I often run light defusers on my lanterns to cut down the light intensity.
