Hi i just found two pressure lamps in a shop nearby, anyone know what they are and might be worth? The green might be a radius 1020? Currently priced at 20 pounds each, is any of them rare or worth to collect? Currently i have an optimus 930 and i think they are quite fun and interesting to have and use
We aren't allowed to give valuations but I would think that are worth at least 4 times that each. It's a no brained. Martin
Yes, that is correct. In my opinion, the lantern with the red top is an Optimus and the lantern with the green top is a Primus and the price which you mentioned is very reasonable, in fact the glasses are worth that, of course the decision is yours.
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Well the one with the red top is a Radius 103 from the 1950s and the green top is a Primus 1020 and I can't see enough details to say more than it could be from the late 30s to the early 50s. They both look to be in good condition and have the glass. The 1020 is like a lot of them and has lost a bit of the enamel on the top. The price is quite good for today's market. Maybe you could get a discount for both.
If restoring what can one do about the green enamel, grind it off and apply new paint or leave as is? The red seems perfectly fine so would not touch that, thanks for all the answers!
The hoods were enamelled and repainting them in a suitable colour, you'll quickly realise the paint won't hold up and will burn off, leaving you with a nasty mess. The 1020 is one of the most common lanterns and I reckon you can find a hood with a better finish. Just my $0.02. But I'd still buy them at that price! That's a great bargain. Oh, & welcome to the forum!
Looks like someone has put a fairly standard Kosmos wick burner on some sort of metal container. Not anything I would consider buying at any price unless your into wick lamps.
Others have said it too, but removing enamel from hoods and painting them won't work. It's been tried so many times before and even if the paint says it can withstand space shuttle re-entry it won't last 2 minutes before it burns off and leaves you with a charred mess to clean up. The only surface treatments that last are enamel, chrome, nickel or bare brass, although that will blacken over time.
I saw that Singer in the background too, my parents have bought a number of those over the years and I've seen a lot of others. That is bar far one of the best I've seen with the decals intact. Would be a good investment if the price is right, but they're rather heavy.
Hehe i have limited storage so not gonna get a swewing machine this time looks to be in good condition though.
So did you get them? If you already had an Optimus, picking up a Radius and a Primus makes total sense. The Swedish trifecta.
The store is closed till next weekend if they are still there i will buy them, i would go today but had some car trouble so had to ditch that plan.
My mother had a Singer. They bought it in 1927 or 28. I remember her talking about when she got it. Mom's was electric but she told me her model was also the last of the "foot operated" types; Singer was going over to full electric, I guess.
My aunt (who was a seamstress) bought her Singer mid 1950s. It was still foot operated but had an electric motor attached. The reasoning was it was still possible to work when the elecra system failed. At the same time my mother bought (if memory serves me right) an ELNA, a Swiss? made portable green (mean) machine. It cost half of the Singer, but mom was not using it professionally.
As i like to explore abandoned places like farms and such ive seen the singer brand stuffed away in the barn more than once, maybe not the condition of this one but still a interesting finds
Update: I returned today and bought the red radius 119 for 17 pounds, i left the green for now but i could get it for the same price, got 3 pressure lamps now. How hard would it be to get a new top for the green primus?
I've no idea but I suspect not too difficult in Sweden. The question is, why would you want one? - it looks perfectly serviceable to me. In any case, you'd probably pay £17 for the glass globe alone...
Go back and take the Primus too! If only just to be able to compare and appreciate the different engineering solutions. Primus lamps are on different evolutionary branch of the pressure lamp family tree
