Hi All, I’m in the process of disassembling a 300X which I have received. I have taken off the top of the hood, but I can’t seem to remove the rest of the hood. Should it just lift off the rest of the lamp, I.e. Vapalux and Tilley style? Maybe the previous owner glued it down as it seems very difficult to remove, and I don’t want to force it off and potentially break something. Hope someone can be of help! Cheers
Most likely the vaporiser has rust on it and it's sticking in the spigot, give it some penetrating oil then gently try to turn and lift at the same time. Not an uncommon problem - good luck
It's very likely what @Keith Warby says in which case you may be able to carefully turn the hood after soaking the vaporiser/spigot joint with WD40 or something similar. You might try heating the spigot with a blow torch if you have one. On a related point, be very careful when you try to unscrew the air buttons. If the spigot is corroded onto the vaporiser the air buttons will very likely be hard to get off. I had one in this state and I decided to leave the burner in place and it works fine... it's just harder to clean the hood with it in place. If you try too much force you might end up unscrewing the air tubes instead.
Spot on Colin, if they won't turn easily - leave well alone, I've currently got about a dozen in various stages of soaking and heating that I'm in the process of doing but I've got plenty of time!!
Thanks both. I’ll leave it soaking in the hope that it frees them up. I’m tackling other bits while I can, like trying to undo the wretched nut that holds the pump leather on .....
You may have got a blown / pregnant vaporiser, this is bulge in the vaporiser making it almost impossible to remove it from the spigot. If you can remove the hex nuts and take the hood off you’ll get a better view of what’s happened.
Yup...I had one like this last year, the steel has ballooned through corrosion, new vaporizer and spigot I'm afraid. Definitely looks worth the effort.. Martin
Try filing it down around the top, you may get away with it, worst case scenario is you'll only need a vaporiser rather than a vaporiser and spigot. It's worked for me before with no issues and saves money.
Is the spigot what Base camp refers to as a “Mantle Support” - Vapalux,& Bialaddin Lantern Spares V29? I think I will cut the Vapouriser in half tomorrow so I can get the Priming spirit well and wick off. Either that or buy a new brass spirit well, which would look nice on the lamp. Is the chromed one I have on there at the moment original? Now I must try and remove the control cock. Is heat the best for removing it ? The spindle spins freely and appears slightly bent so the whole unit may need replacing.
@kw1998 once you have unscrewed the vaporiser from the control cock, you can use a long flat screwdriver to unscrew the 3 screws that hold the frame to the tank, manoeuvre it off around the control cock. You can then unscrew the control cock, it should unscrew by hand quite easily. To service the control cock you’ll need to remove the knob, this can be quite difficult, try and hold the spindle in a vice then the knob should unscrew anti clockwise wise. You may need to use some pliers wrapped in cloth, but be careful. You can then removed the nut from the spindle and replace the washer inside there. If the spindle is slightly bent it will straighten quite easily as it is only brass.
Thanks Gary, got everything off of the tank, and reassembled the NRV and Pump, and refitted the filler cap. I will try disassembling the control cock tomorrow when I can get to a vice. Yes I do have a Vapouriser, I may try and salvage one off something else.
I know you had a swollen vap tube and cutting it off is the only solution but as for penetrating oil consider this... WD40 is not a good penetrating oil, in fact its designed as a water repellent, (I am pretty sure is mainly a light paraffin and perfume mix) it does work to an extent but a made for purpose oil would be better to get hold of. Names escape me at the mo and all I can think of is Plusgas if they still exist! Even better if you have some acetone (nail polish remover) and auto transmission fluid, make you own. A mix of 50/50 in a jar or something, and shaken up before applying (because it does not mix well) is the greatest penetrating oil known to man!
It's looking good so far and everything is a learning curve! The Solar brand lantern I purchased recently had to be stripped right down almost to component parts but I got it working and I learned loads in the process!
Indeed, it’s definitely a learning curve but I’m thoroughly enjoying the process and glad that there are so many helpful people on this forum. It’s satisfying working through the problem and seeing the end result I’m definitely NOT addicted, that’s what I keep telling myself...... Thanks, I’ll give that a try first! I do have a spare vapouriser if needed.
@kw1998 IMPORTANT!!! I should mention that acetone will melt some plastics, so don't use it to try to remove your bakelite control tap knob, I have not used the 50/50 mix on anything other than metal to metal, rusted bolts etc. I think it would harm most plastics so use with caution Grip your bakelite knob using mole grips and cloth LIGHTLY. Just enough to grip without crushing, use a second small pair with a strip of leather or rubber to grip the brass shaft and give the knob a sharp twist, this should loosen it, it has done for all my lamps. Dont forget, lefty loosey... righty tighty.
Thanks all for the advice. Managed to disassemble the old vapouriser to get the spirit well off, and managed to get the knob off the control cock to replace the seal. Put a new wick in to replace the old(presumably asbestos) one. It’s coming along nicely.
You must be pleased with progress thus far. I am enjoying the journey with the posts and advice. Good work all!
Have you ordered the mantel support spigot? I've found a spare if you're interested PM me. I have a few bits just ask..no tops though lol. Martin
I have an enamel top hat but it is very poor quality, probably not what you would like but there are replacements on eBay in red, black or brass. You can find the rounded version with a center dome or the 'Chinaman's hat' style. (please excuse the slightly offensive name but I don't know what else to call it!)
Thanks for the offer Martin; I did manage to source one, albeit at a significantly lower cost than the aforementioned website!
Put it back together today to see all was working. I think I may paint it at some point. The original Red enamel hood was reinstated with the Brass screws looking a bit cleaner than they originally did: And the burner with the new spigot: I had a NOS Vapouriser lying around so .... All done:
And the money shot: There does seem to be a tiny dribble of a leak from the bottom of the fount so I shall inspect later and see if I need to get the solder out ...
Well done !.... That is a great save considering all the tricky fiddling about ? Did you manage to sort the leak out?
Cheers I will attempt the soldering at a later date .... Surprisingly the leak didn’t show up when I first pressure tested it ...
I had one the same that initially looked OK but when pressurized had so many stress fractures. I think someone had been a little aggressive stripping off the paint, using a wire wheel or emery cloth, I hope yours is OK. Martin
@kw1998 Well done on your fettle and it’s great to see the money shot as it’s confirms an operational fettle has been carried out. Hope you track down and repair the slight weep. If it’s a seam weep, you may have success with sealing it from the inside with a motor bike fuel tank sealant like Pour15. There is a member, @ColinG that has successfully experimented and confirmed that a 2-part epoxy thinned by mixing with denatured alcohol, ie. methylated spirits, is a viable and cost effect fount sealant that works. Cheers Pete
