Hi All, I recently acquired what I believe to be a Vapalux 300 with an intact glass with the hole in. However, looking in Ian Ashton's book and a previous comment by Mackburner I'm a bit confused! Am I right in thinking that this glass does not belong with this lamp since the lamp does not have a slotted collar? The lamp has the hexaganol nuts so I assume that dates it to around 1944. I'v just given it a quick clean with autosol to see what state it is in and wash the globe but otherwise it is untouched. Can anyone enlighten me?
The globe with a lighting hole has to go with a slotted collar. If you use it on a solid collar the pre heat flame drags air through the hole and blows the alcohol flame away from the vaporiser which make the lantern harder to light. ::Neil::
Oki doki - I know the globe with the lighting hole is hard to come by - mine is stamped 'Pyrex, Made in England' but doesn't bear the Vapalux name. Is it a non-original one do you think? So, I haev the wrong globe for the lantern - typical!
I don't recall seeing any of them marked as Vapalux. Not an easy glass to find so well worth keeping safe until you find the right lamp for it. You can keep it in the 300 though. Just cover the hole when pre heating. ::Neil::
Managed to pick up what I think is a Bialaddin 305 in a rather tatty state from a local bric and brac store for a tenner but the glass was intact so can use that
Well worth that for the glass alone and it will be the correct globe which will make the lamp behave better when lighting. ::Neil::
Here she is after a quick fettle. One question - I unscrewed the non-return valve but it refused to come out - I tried a bit of wire to tease it out but to no avail. Any ideas how I get it out? Also I cannot remove the control cock knob depsite using Gt85 etc on it - again any ideas how to get it off? Thanks all
It sounds as if the N.R.V. washer has deformed and is sticking in the threads. If you're sure the N.R.V. is fully unscrewed, just keep working it with the wire. To remove the control knob, hold the spindle with one pair of pliers and use another pair to turn the knob anticlockwise. Use a piece of chamois leather or thick cloth to prevent leaving teeth marks in the brass / reduce the risk of shattering the Bakelite knob. If you're worried about the latter but need to replace the gland washer on the needle control spindle, an alternative method is to undo the gland nut and slide it back towards the knob, twist a length of P.T.F.E. tape into a string, wrap it around the spindle a few times and tighten the gland nut. Henry.
Those NRVs can be a trial. My first tool would be a surgical clamp. They are slim and long enough to fit into the tube and grip the fitting. They are kinda like a very long nose plier and are really an essential tool for reaching down pump tubes. I have also successfully shoved them out by poking a screwdriver through the filler cap and pushing on the end of the PRV. Actually easier with that big filler cap because you can probably see the NRV inside the tank. You might need to bend the end of the screwdriver but then you will have a tool for future use. ::Neil::
Your lantern looks like is running very well. Why bother trying to do anything with these parts? As they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" I guess I missed something but I never fiddle with a part unless it's giving me trouble.
Thanks everyone - yes, it appears to be wroking well so I'll leave it as it is but I've made a mental note about the PTFE tape trick!
I know Macburner is extremely knowledgeable on these matters but from what I can see the Vapalux / Bialaddin range of lamps evolved gradually rather than by major step changes, is it not possible that they produced the new collar and made some lamps fitted with lighting glass holes before they realised the pre heat flame was being affected? Or even despite knowing the problem they had lighting hole glasses left in stock and used them up in early production? W&B appear to be the sort of firm that would avoid scrapping material at all costs. It is also possible that people fitted lighting hole glasses later as it makes lighting the lamps easier, my Grandad used to have a very old Vapalux 300 (or possibly E41) and I can remember him not being happy when his last lighting hole glass cracked and he had to fit a standard glass. I have 3 glasses with lighting holes, one fitted to a very early 300 with slotted collar, the other 2 are current awaiting their lamps, think one maybe marked Vapalux I will check tomorrow.
The old-type glasses frequently broke when they were drilled and were thus expensive to produce. The new glasses were made about 1/4" shorter so all that needed to be done was to lift them up slightly and the spirit can spout or match went through the gap at the bottom. This also resulted in a draught-free prime when the globe was lowered. Not difficult in any sense. The lighting glasses with the hole were always slightly susceptible to draughts, especially during priming. With these lanterns you need to have a gentle 'curtain' of incoming air right around the priming flame to keep it around the vapouriser and burner. This is achieved by having either a row of slots in the collar OR a row of holes in the preheater plate - not both and not neither. So if you have the single triangular hole in the collar, you need the large 'plate' preheater with the ring of holes. If you have the collar with the ring of slots then you need the small, dish-type preheater. That seems perfectly logical to me...
Seems entirely logical to me too. Until you look in the reference gallery at Vapalux E41 and 300. Of the eight lanterns with the single triangular hole in the collar, six have the small, dish type preheater. They could have been swapped around, of course, both collar and pre-heater - but since neither part is easily lost or broken, it does point away. Looking at the Vapalux 300x and Bialaddin 300x - the triangle and plate type pre-heater is increasingly prevalent. For example, all the 21 versions of Bialaddin have both these parts - which tends to run undermine the suggestion that parts have been swapped around on the majority wholesale on the earlier models but not on the later. It more looks as though development of the lanterns was a gradual process with the occasional renumbering of an evolved lamp when Willis & Bates or Aladdin felt so inclined. Sitting on the fence with the hole-in-glass question (a commonly replaced part due to breakage) I am quite content to accept that it goes better with the earlier, multi-hole collar. But how close together the two changes were made, is a more open matter. I don't suppose anyone would claim that not even one mongrel lantern left the works.
Yes far too many 300's with triangular hole in collar and small dish pre heater cups out there. Of course all are lovely lamps.
Again only guesswork by me but I have a suspicion the changes to hood, pre heater and possibly glass may be connected with making the lamps more insect proof for the x (export) model, the small holes in the hood and pre heater plate along with the lack of hole in the glass would all help keep insects away from the flame. I am interested in understanding the evolution of these lamps and some of the oft quoted facts do not ring true for many of the lamps we are restoring. The design has altered over many years and that process has been dictated by operational environment, cost and possibly even fashion but the basic components (post Vapalux E41) have remained unaltered which is testament to the soundness of the basic design.
