Hello there folks, I've had my 505 for quite some time now. This 505 came from Australia. The lantern is in very good shape but the Mica globe was in very bad shape. I finally got around to working or fettling this lantern. All parts were present including the inner hood burner assembly. Disaster stuck with my wife thought the inner hood was junk and tossed it into the rubbish bin. I started looking to see if anyone on CPL had a missing inner hood and found a thread where the gent used a Petromax 250 inner hood with very good results. I found a Petromax 250 inner hood and gave it a try, but it didn't work very well. There was a hallow outside the mantle. I let it run from several hours with no change. Now it was time to do some experimenting to see what I might be able to do to get this 505 up and running. I have several Britelyt 350-500CP inner hoods and decided to try this out. The results were very good indeed. As can be seen the Britelyt inner hood is a bit too large for the 505. Now it was time to do some altering on the Britelyt inner hood. I used some tin snips to rough it out and then did all of the finishing work with my Dremel Tool. I'm not going to show the altered inner hood because it is very ugly but at least it work. The glass globe comes from a Ditmar 501 and fits quite well. I also had some problems with the NRV due to the PIP getting snagged by some burrs in the lower tube of the NRV. I used my Dremel Tool to remove these burrs. The NRV now works as it should. To remove the NRV I use a new type of NRV Tool. It will work on most if not all European stoves and lanterns. I also tried this Tool out on a couple of my Coleman Lanterns with good results. With this tool it keeps the NRV aligned properly which helps to stop any cross threading from happening. Cheers, Norman
Norman You did a very good job getting this lantern ship-shape. It’s good to see it now on the Gallery. Cheers Tony
What a long journey for such an old lantern! From Austria via Australia to USA! Great that you could fix it up again! Ditmar Lanterns are reliable runners.
@leo, Yes this lantern made a very long journey. I'm glad it is in my collection. It's running quite well but if I can find a parts Ditmar with the inner hood I will use it instead of what I have on it now. It is always good to keep it original. I figure sooner or later I will find a Ditmar for parts. There's a 506 on the bay but the seller wants way too much for the very poor shape it's in. @JEFF JOHNSON, Thanks for the compliment. @Tony Press, Thank you for your kind compliment. Maybe it should have stayed in Australia because it would most likely still be complete but I'm glad it came my way. Cheers, Norman
Don't give up the search. I have a Sears lantern made by, I think Preway or Prentiss Wabers, in the 1940's. Heavy monster, overbuilt and missing the collar. I've had it for probably 20 years now and just last year I finally found a collar. It's complete now but it took some time to find. just keep looking!!
Hi there all, I finally found a replacement inner hood for my Ditmar 505. It's running very well. Had a little hallow at first but as the mantle burned a bit the hallow disappeared. Cheers, Norman
@tretrop I purchased this NRV tool from ebay seller, simonchantwus_gmail, and it has been a very good tool to have. It will work for most European lanterns and stoves. If you are working on a Coleman stove or lantern the Coleman NRV tool works the best. Here is the link for his NRV tool. Check Valve removal Tool Petromax Vapalux Optimus Primus Multipurpose wrench | eBay If you are wanting to know if I would recommend this tool all I can say is yes. Cheers, Norman
I have one of there nrv tools too. Very well made. It’s a bit longer than most others, which is great for some of the longer pump tubes I’ve come across.
Good work Norman but, sorry, I had a good laugh when I read about your wife throwing out a vital part of your lamp thinking it was junk.
Hi Jean, I am pleased to have my 505 complete now. At the time I was more then upset but there was nothing I could do. I am pleased you had a good laugh, because laughter is very good medicine. Here's something else that may make you laugh. My youngest daughter is as pretty as the day is long, but she is as dumb as a box of rocks. She borrowed my wife's car and when she got home around midnight she couldn't figure out how to turn the headlights off which I had a hard time with since she turned the headlights on when it was getting dark. She must be having short term memory loss. She got out of the car locked the doors and proceeded to her room. She thought the lights would go out automatically and in fact the lights did go out automatically but it took a few hours. In the morning she couldn't figure out why the car wouldn't start. It was any easy fix but I decided to wear one of my politically incorrect shirt to liven up the mood. And for some reason she didn't appreciate what was on the shirt. Personally I thought it was very amusing but then I'm amused easily. By the way Jean, when is your husband going to make that tree house for you? Have a wonderful day Jean. Cheers, Norman
Don’t take offence Norman but is it a case of “like Mother, like daughter”? The tree house is apparently in the same place it was last time I mentioned it - bottom of the list. There’s a good chance the tree or I will die of old age before the bottom of that list is reached. I should employ the help of ColinG, he would soon rig one up for me.
Well said Jean and no I didn't take any offense to your statement, because I figure if the shoe fits wear it. Jean let's not have any of that talk because it's nice to know there's a gal out there that can understand this hobby or my wife would call it an obsession. As for, @ColinG, I wouldn't try to volunteer him but I do know he is quite handy with tools. Cheers, Norman
Actually @Jean J and @Norman ... you new I made a tree-house for my daughter a few years back, right?
