Hi all, This is my example of the "The Thomas Mfg. Co." Kersosafe M-1004 lantern. This one with a probable original mica and an original generator without a pricker. No hole in the cage base for a pricker operator rod to pass through, so probably made between 1915 to 1920. This lamp came with a cracked font (ten hair thin cracks) and was also missing the very special air-inlet tube buttons. Otherwise all was there, but in a used and dirty condition. the plating (nickel or chrome) was bad and flaking. I had to make an epoxy cure (Restom) of the font and also a thorough clean up. The generator was bent and I removed the carbonated filling (asbestos?), and replaced it with new asbestos stuffing. Thanks to Neil MacRae I got close up shots and measurements of the air tube buttons. I had a sheet of 1, 2 mm steel plate in my shed for making a try. Tiny things and a lot work to be done in my workshop, but finally I managed to fix two buttons. Assembled the lamp and fired her up with a positive result. A good and steady twin burner kerosene lantern at 300 CP. /Conny The making of the air-inlet tube buttons….. …… before…. 1915/1916 patent images...…. ads and specifications … (courtesy, Neil, Matt and Jeff) ….. I like the collarless lanterns; here are four of mine ….
That is a beautiful lamp, very elegant and tasteful. Well done with the fettle, it is nice to see it running. I to am a fan of collarless lamps, but perhaps i need to learn more about them, I recently bought a primus thinking it was a collarless beauty only to eventually realise the collar was just missing.
Conny, Glad to find your write up. Your lantern came out beautifully! I just got this Kerosafe today. It looks to be fairly complete except for one air tube cap and the chimney. It also holds pressure and everything on it turns. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately someone painted the whole thing black. I’m not sure what I’m going to find under the paint. Hopefully I can get this thing apart. It would be cool to see this thing running again.
I just saw these additional posts of my 2020 Kersosafe thread …. David - well making air inlet steel buttons is a bit tricky and time consuming, but I can make a try. Will need a couple of weeks though as I had some other projects ongoing. Why three ! /Conny
Well, two for me and one for Jay. But no hurry - I've had the lantern for years (probably in the first 4-5 lanterns I ever acquired) and not managed to get anywhere near fettling it. But it's definitely one I'd like to see running...
I would like to see a close-up of the collars set in the mica around the air tubes. How are they attached and what are they made of. Thanks for any help you can give. Mike
The ones on my example are made of aluminium and are fixed in like grommets / eyelets in a tarpaulin. 7/8" (22mm) internal diameter.
