Hi, A family member bought these for me from a local antique shop and when my other half went up to visit brought them back on the weekend. Am I right in thinking that I am missing the top piece of the hood and the middle 'ring' thing (can't describe it any other way!) on the pork pie? As for the Vapalux, I'm a bit stumped. It has a slotted collar and the font looks like it's off a 300 or 300x but the hood looks like it is off a later model plus it has hexaganol nuts, which I thought were only on the early models. Can anyone help?!
The Tilley hood is just missing the top disc and that can be replaced with a reproduction one or a brass ashtray with a hole drilled in it and then fitted upside down. Vapalux/Bialaddin lanterns often turn up with parts from different periods fitted to them, that hood is a much more modern example and an aluminium meths disc has also been fitted, the links below show relevant information. X246 300
Your Vapalux looks to me like a classic military bitza- a 300 tank with the early slotted frame but the hood is probably off a 305 and the spirit dish, the pump top and the pricker control off an M1 or possibly a late M305. Hexagon air buttons are pre 1949, but you may have older air buttons on a newer burner- the earlier ones have a knurled ring round the mixing dome like the older Tilleys. Also, it looks like the pork pie has been fitted with a Guardsman pump.
Hi All, thanks for your comments and passing on your knowledge! Didn't realise that the Vapalux was such a mis-mash of stuff and as for the pump for the Tilley - never crossed my mind!
In my opinion, the Guardsman lantern pump is a better pump than the actual pork pie lantern pump, because the flange is broader and therefor one can get a better grip of it to tighten or loosen the pump.
That'll be correct - they were serviced/refurbished in batches of maybe 50 or so lanterns. Since W&B got the basic design correct in the early '40s, all parts are, more-or-less, interchangeable and work together. Thus 'bitzas' are more common than lanterns with all their original parts - particularly so since the military were W&B's major customers and the domestic market was small in comparison...
So basically a military 'bitzas' is eesentially a cobbled together lamp?! In which case do folks generally leave it 'as is' or return it to what it would have orginally been?
I reckon you should wait until you find a reasonably priced brass hood and a brass pre-heating cup - it'll look great.
These are fine lanterns, congratulations on your acquisition. To me, finding the parts is half the fun, And the missing hood disc can be replaced with a reproduction one. I found that the closest to the original was from a Korean purveyor on the bay of evil, a better example to the ones available from “Juliands”. Cheers Pete
Yes and no. In my mind, 'cobbled together' seems to suggest some sort of malicious or ignorant deceit. This wouldn't have been the case when they were serviced by Pte. Tommy Atkins - all he'd want to do would be to produce reliable lanterns which worked well, thus not incurring the wrath of the sergeant-major or the opprobrium of his fellow squaddies. I'd venture to suggest that they are 'variously and randomly re-assembled' lanterns rather than cobbled together...
Here's my favourite military bitza which I found, many years ago, in an outdoor-type shop in Barnard Castle. It had been bought by the proprietor in a batch of military surplus lanterns when one of the supply depots closed down - the one in Oxfordshire IIRC (Bicester?). Anyway:- From the bottom:- The tank has been crudely repainted olive-drab although it's original olive-drab underneath. Presumably the repaint was to cover platoon or whatever markings. The collar is from a Bialaddin 305 in original olive drab and marked 1952. The globe is unmarked, thin and flimsy with glass runs and blemishes - presumably war-time. Anyone ever seen one with that lighting port? - bet you haven't. I've seen the same idea on some Eastern European/German lanterns but I can't remember which make. The piece de resistance for me is the totally mint, unlit, hood with the blue enamel cap, dated 1945 - I bet there aren't many of those about either. I'm almost certain it's from a Vapalux 300X with the cream tank. Some 'bitzas' are a bit special - don't look down on them...
Sorry, was just wondering what the convention was with them. I don't have as much knowledge as most folks on here so find identifying the lanterns a bit tricky if they don't look exactly like what is listed in my Tilley or Vapalux book.
@daesm My “convention” is to keep them with the parts they came with, unless obviously wrong, broken, or of inferior quality (eg throw away a Tilley X246B pump on earlier models). If I want a ‘museum piece’ then I will source the original parts. In your case you have two very good lanterns. If I were you I would just source missing parts and get them going. David Shouksmith I love that globe on your lantern. I’ve never seen such an arrangement. Cheers Tony
Your Tilley is the second or third version of the 246 "Pork Pie" named so because of the shape of the tank I have straightened the upright supports of the hood by removing the burner assy and placing the brass top over an old piston or similar size piece of metal tube/pipe and pulling down to remove kinks and gentle tapping with a small nylon hammer to straighten (do not force brass burner nuts or remove tube from centre of burner if they are very corroded or out of shape as they are extremely difficult to reassemble successfully in working order) (these are to blame for me now having well over 100 lamps)
