Aaaaargh! Why did I join this forum?

Having posted pictures of my very first pressure lamp recently (a Tilley X246B Mk1) which I vowed would be the only lamp I'd need, I now find myself posting pictures of two more lamps acquired today at a local antique fair. The one on the left is a completely un-fired X246B Mk2, complete with its original mantle, no pre-heat torch, but hey, at £25, who can complain.

The right hand lamp is a Vapalux 300X. It is totally complete, no dents and an undamaged glass. There is enough muck on it to plant spuds and the cage needs pulling back to vertical. For this little gem, I shelled out the princely sum of £15.

Now as a newbie to the esoteric world of pressure lamps, I know nothing of this lamp's date, history, use etc. so I would much welcome any information you knowledgeable folk could impart.

 

The Vapalux was a bargain!
The glass often costs more than that.
The knob which is on the pricker control unscrews anti clockwise and they can be difficult to unscrew.

300X

 

The Vapalux was a nice find for the price. Jeff is right, the glass usually costs more than what you paid for the lantern! Great lantern! Should clean up real nice.

 

Your Vapalux is possibly a very early Bialaddin. Brass tank with pressure tit and that multi hole hood are from about 1945-1946 ish so could actually be either. That is a very nice find indeed and is a far better made lamp that the overpriced showy Tilley. The Vapalux was a true bargain. The Tilley is a lamp. ::Neil::

 

Thanks for the replies. Any idea which seals I should order from the Fettlebox?

 

Hi...... Good find that 300 .. Fettlebox has the seals ,, check though the size of the font tank filler cap .. they are either 1" or 1 1/4 " .. order the right size ,, its actually stated on the fettlebox site the correct size for your lamp ...I feel that yours is the larger measurement
... good luck m8tey

Alb

 

Your Tilley will have 3 or 4 numbers and 2 letters stamped on the base plate. No one knows for certain what the letters signify, so ignore them. The first 1 or 2 numbers indicate the month and the second 2 indicate the year e.g. 1073XA is October 1973.

Henry.

 

Great find that Vapalux 300. I’ll certainly would have snapped that one up, no sweat.
It looks like you’re afflicted by the lamp bug .... resistance is futile, you just gotta indulge and enjoy yourself.
Cheers
Pete

 

A fiver says you'll have 10 more by the end of the year!

One word of advice... the paint on the Bialaddin is a pain to remove if you decide to respray it. Goodness knows what it was made from but it's a bugger to get off and even when you've got rid of it it leaves a sticky residue.

 

@ColinG that’s interesting about the paint being a bugger to remove. I haven’t started on mine yet but I’m interested in what you used to remove the old paint successfully. Knowing this could save me some work.
Cheers Pete

 

I think you’ve got 2 very nice lamps there, well done.
Cheers Malcolm

 

@AussiePete I used a water based alkaline paint stripper which needs to be left to work for a while. You do need to be careful as it can discolour the brass but this is easily remedied using the secret GSR formula! (wallpaper paste, citric acid powder and water - brilliant stuff!). The deep burgundy paint is certainly weird stuff and collects in gooey globs on the soft copper wire brush I use to help the paint come away. It's also a messy old business so don't wear your Sunday best and I'd definitely don a pair of rubber gloves. There is a close-ish match for the burgundy paint called claret wine but the manufacturer escapes me at the moment.

 

Just three lamps? Not a chance! The 300x is a cracking lamp, I’ve just got two here to fettle. Good build quality.
I bought the box sets of washers from Fettlebox, thinking they’d last me a fair while. Not a chance, I’ve had to replenish Tilley washers...

Stevie

 

Thanks @ColinG Whats this GSR?
I see it's a combination of wallpaper paste, citric acid powder and water, however what are the proportions to the mix.
I assume that the wallpaper paste allows the citric acid to remain in one spot instead of running off, is this the case?
Cheers
Pete

 

Ha ha ha... it's certainly useful stuff and I've used it many times!

Here's the link... but shhh... keep it to yourself!

Colin

 

Thanks @ColinG
Cheers
Pete

 

Fortunately I am not given to jealousy, but looking at your £15.00 acquisition I am leaning towards some serious envy as it seems in a very, very good original condition.

I would never, ever consider respraying that Vapalux. With all due respect, I have never seen a resprayed lamp looking in balance with the age of such lamps, or indeed with the other parts. Particularly the bling lamps (with brass parts polished like they never were) are to my mind a perversion of what these lamps were meant to be. Or allowed to be after 73 years in this case.

For what I know, no Bialaddin was ever marketed with a 300 model tank, nor with such a flat top. In this condition it not only represents a vintage lamp with character and dignity, it must be very unique indeed.

Congratulations, Mike

 

Thanks Mike. I'm not usually very lucky at car boot sales but the gods were kind to me that day.

It's always a tough decision to know how far to go with the restoration of old objects, and this applies particularly to me as a clock repairer and restorer. However I took the decision to strip the tank paint and re-finish it with the Claret wine colour recommended on here. My decision was partly because I was anxious to assess the state of the tank at the soldered joints (it is fine) and partly because, for me, the paint had deteriorated badly and was flaking in parts. No etch primer in 1946! Oh and Mrs R100 announced that "it will look great when it is restored".

I will post pictures when the job is done.

 

I am really sorry to read this, as the original and unique integrity of the lamp is not there anymore.
Ever seen a 73 year (or thereabouts) old lady with a facelift?
It is very noticable, I can tell you, and it cannot be undone.

To have the paint removed to check its structural condition does not make sense.
Because, how can you tell? By far most leaks - I suppose that's what you were after - never show to the eye. There are better and much more conclusive methods, and probabely all are to be found on this or the other (stove) site.

I appreciate forthcoming pictures, but unless the new paint work is done by a highly skilled artisan respecting the age of the lamp, my fear is the paint job will look out of balance.
Then what: tackle the rest? That usually is an endless road to nowhere.

I am stressing originality as I do believe these lamps , if untouched, are rare by now. And they do gain recognition, even in the Middle - and Far East, and thus value.
But the lamp is yours, and it is your prerogative to do whatever pleases you.
In that sense I hope it will work out alright for you.
After all, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Regards,
Mike

 

I’m with you on this Mike, something can only be original once. The condition tells the history.
Having said this, I have some “remains” of old Tilleys that will no doubt get a paint when they get built up as non original lamps. Hope this makes sense!

Stevie

 

A really nice find @R100
Since its such a rare item, do take as many pictures as you could, of the original lamp before stripping the paint.
I'd leave the paint as it is but the decision is yours to make.

Old paints might contain lead in the form of chromates or oxides along with other health-hazardous compounds, so take all the necessary precautions.
There are a fair number of choices when it comes to stripping paints. Alkaline/caustics water-based types would work on most older coatings. They are water-rinseable. However, they have little effect on many modern 2-component curing paints such as epoxies, isocyanate-cured polyurethanes and some acrylics.
You could also use organic solvent-based strippers such as methylene chloride ones. They are powerful but be aware of the VOCs.

 

Thanks for the observations and advice. In some ways I am reminded of the much fabled one hundred year old broom, totally original in every way except for three new heads and a new shaft. That is not to say I do not respect your approach, I most sincerely do, but I hope you in turn will respect mine. My requirement is for a fully functioning, good looking lamp and with luck that is exactly what I shall have in a few days.

As for paint stripper, having looked at a few I splashed out the princely sum of £4.99 at Screwfix for their basic but virtually odourless product and it worked very well.

 

Of course I respect your decision, Mr? I just used your lamp as a hopefully clear illustration on what choices one could make, and which consequences any choice might have.
This would be rather irrelevant on say a Tilley X246 from 1976 that is likely never to attain special status - well, not this century I reckon.
That same X246 could be however someone's pride and joy, painted pink or given more 'character' with a hammer.
The way I see this Classic Pressure Lamp -site, all are welcome, if not interesting.
I hope I have not put you off, and am interested to see your lamp as you want it to be when it is ready.

Regards, Mike

P.S. Is your alias inspired by the book 'Slide Rule' by N.Shute?

 

Mike, of course you have not put me off. No offence was taken as I'm sure none was intended. My alias is an allusion to a BMW R100RS motorcycle I once owned.

 

Neville Shute was a great author. Have you read 'Round the Bend' ?

 

I thought it might have been the R100 airship

 

I couldn't fit it in my garage.

 

What, the baloon or the bimmer?

 

Several years ago my garage was gloriously cluttered with the BMW plus seven vintage motorcycles. Sadly, health forced me to sell them. Now it seems lamps are scratching the collecting itch!

 

The debate over preservation versus restoration is always contentious. However of those preservation is perhaps the more important. None of our lamps were sold in bare metal. They were all protected with lacquer, paint or plated. When that original finish is compromised there is a problem on how best to preserve and sometimes the best way is to replace the finish. It may not be original but the lamp is more likely to survive and that should be the primary aim so sometimes preservation will mean a degree of restoration. If that restoration is just the finish then perhaps that is the least important part of the lamp and often such finish restoration means the lamp enjoys a new life displayed in a warm and dry living area and that is a further aid to preservation. ::Neil::

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