Hello, I’m new to all this malarkey but after not really having a clue who’d have thought getting a Tilley up and running would be so rewarding!! I got these for £25 from a car boot sale last year and they’ve been left until the recent ‘find something to do’ situation. The one lit initially leaked under pressure but after poking around on YouTube & finding the fettlebox on this site i ended up getting a washer kit & giving it a general once over & bugger me it now works and doesn’t leak!! I’m waiting on a new kit to have a go at the other one. Confirmation on models would be appreciated? & Any ideas on the small lantern thing? How does it work/light. It has no pump or control valve so I presumed it would be a wick type set up but the the small hole in on the lantern body seems too narrow for any sort of wick? In the ‘fuel’ reservoir inside the bottom part has a disc type pot thing and a spring.? Any pointers would be great. Thanks. Stuart.
Acetylene lantern. Water reservoir in the top, rotating knob controlling a water drip into the calcium carbide container below, generating acetylene gas which burns with a bright white light.
Just search for "carbide" or "carbide lamp", and you will see that there already are much posted about acetylene lamps: Carbide lamps
@Stuart Batin Calcium carbide. Fizzes when water drips on it, flammable acetylene gas given off. Lantern on a similar pattern to yours, box-like with a reflector. This is German constructed mostly of bakelite, WWII era.
Thank you for your help. That's great. I shall have a search and look at other posts and I shall try and give it a clean and then have a go at trying to get it up and running. thanks again.
Welcome aboard! The Tilley lantern with the gold coloured tank is model X-246-A and the other Tilley is an X-246-B, both lanterns will have date stamps on the bottom of the tanks.
Hi Stuart and welcome to the forum. You’ve got a good start to your collection (they will breed!) and as you mentioned, very rewarding when they pop into life.
I’m sure they will breed!! During the longest days of the year I’m wishing it would hurry up and get a bit darker..!! I’m either turning into a warewolf or starting to get the CPL bug!! Once again thanks all. Lovely looking at all the lamps being posted on here.
Welcome love your Tilleys, and yes they will multiple, wait and see what happens if you take your eyes off them they will grow enjoy. Also there is plenty of people that will help you on this forum.
