Preamble Nearly 2 years ago, from the Bay of evil, I purchased this Bialaddin 315 lantern. The lantern was found in a tidy and original condition however, on a closer inspection the fount’s paint had some concerning deterioration emanating from surface corrosion on the founts brass. Date of Manufacture Bialaddin 315 lanterns were manufactured between the years 1958 through to 1965. The date of the lantern was determined from the dot code displayed on the fount’s base. It’s believed, that the dot code, displayed, represents both the year and month of manufacture. The large dots above the “MADE IN ENGLAND’ represent the year and the smaller dots below represent the month of manufacture. 3 large dots = 1963 4 small dots = April This lantern was manufactured in April 1963. The Fettle The lantern was dismantled into its various components and cleaned. Excepting the glass globe and fount, all parts were immersed into vinegar bath for about 1 hour, removed, rinsed and brass brushed clean. The generator was dismantled and heat / quenched three times removing built up carbon deposits. The parts were then rinsed in clean water and put into a sonic cleaner to remove any residual rubbish and dirt from inside of the generator, burner and other related parts. The Fount (Tank) As mentioned earlier, the lantern's fount paint had concerning deterioration leading to surface corrosion on the founts brass. The fount's original paint was stripped, and subsequently I carefully removed all visible corrosion with 0000 grade steel wool and prepared it for painting. I was successful in finding an automobile acrylic spray paint that was a very close match to the original colour. After cleaning the fount’s surface from all contamination with a solvent, Shellite, the priming coats were applied. After suitable drying time the final colour coats were applied. To help preserve the finish, 2 coats of clear acrylic paint were applied. NRV (Non-Return Valve) The sealing pip in the NRV was still pliable and did not need to be replaced. Jet Pricker The jet’s pricker mechanism, was found to be fully operational including the pricker wire. Pump Leather The original pump’s leather was very dry, however, it looked to be in good condition. It was successfully re-oiled by soaking the leather in Neatsfoots oil overnight. The various components were gathered together for final assembly. Assembly The 315 lantern’s parts were reassembled into a lantern. The Money Shot After filling the fount to its correct level with clean kerosene, the assembled 315 lantern was preheated using methylated spirits in the preheat pan and lit. After the methylated spirits was almost consumed, about 12 or so pumps of air were applied until the mantle was lit and glowing. Pumping a further 60 strokes on a near full tank of kerosene, the lit lantern settled down and ran flawlessly for over an hour. After the hour’s test run the lantern was turned off by releasing the fount’s air pressure by undoing the small air bleed on the filler cap. Summary In this fettled Bialaddin 315 lantern excepting the seals, all the original parts were reused, including the generator. The refurbished Bialaddin 315 lantern lit and ran flawlessly, with a pleasant hiss, for its 1-hour test. This was a relatively easy fettle and I had a lot of satisfaction resurrecting and seeing this old performer strutting its stuff again. Thank you for looking. Cheers Pete
@AussiePete Okay, Pete, that did it! No more am I going to post my restorations! You make my attempts look feeble, to say the least... Beautiful job, Pete! Keep'en coming!...
You basicly provided a concise but pleasant to read instruction on how to restore a Willis and Bates lamp, Pete. Nice illustrations too (I like your work space) so well done.
Excellent job, @AussiePete and very detailed! The 315 is my favourite Bialaddin and you've done it proud!
