Just been trying out my new Hipolito 350. It's Danish civil defence or something. Anyway it started first time. Each and was running nicely but after a while it started to pulse and yellow flame coming out of the top. Black mantle disease as well. It had plenty of pressure in it and I operated the pricker a good few times. I have never had any experience with this type of lamp before so looking forward to hearing some tips to get it working well.
Dear iwoo , to be honest these symptoms you describe can have many causes in a petromax-style lantern ... the information you give also needs to be more precise. Over on the pelam.de petromax forum there is an english language section .... there you can find detailed instruction (by a chap called Bommel ) upon the servicing .... and the tuning , indeed the fine tuning of a petromax lantern ... In my experience these lanterns burn splendidly when tuned...what i would suggest is for you to obtain all necessary replacement lead washers , , seals, replacement check-valve , pump valve insets , seal for the preheater torch if one is fitted ,etc. Following the procedure outlined by Mr Bommel shall put your lamp in order....and familiarise you with the idiosyncracies of such a lantern , if you lack a hipolito/p'max spanner with an air-gap gauge thereupon...you can use an AA battery which has the gauge quite closely.... (Also in my experience , rapid loss of pressure ....or insufficient fuel pressure at the jet!|Blocked fuelfilter from old fuel or rust particles| or a leaking jet , overrich-mixture , too many variables to advise , you can best familiarise yourself gently with this lanterns ways...) Good Luck , RxR
Thanks for the information. The lantern was unfired new stock and burned great first couple of hours.. I am off to visit Bommel.
Since the lamp was unfired and thus untested and has stood for some decades, a good start would be to check and/or replace the fuel cap rubber seal and all other rubber seals or pips since they may have become hardened. Oil the pump leather well. Then check that the jet and upper vaporiser are tight, as well as the ceramic burner cap. Also check that the air gap between the top of the jet and the J-tube is approx. 14.2mm. Use a good quality large 500cp mantle. Please post photographs of the lamp showing the mantle and also of the lamp in action. These will assist us in making a better diagnosis of the problem.
Right I have had a bit fettle, The pricker was u/s and not sticking through the jet, this was easily replaced by the spares that came with lamp, also the air gap was miles out (on the large size) so I have readjusted the air gap, just need to fit the new mantle and give it a go.
Gave it a go and it appears to flaming outside the mantle, is it just a case of adjusting the air screw or is there another trick?
Mine was behaving very well for some years but then started to blacken the mantle and show signs of rich running. Eventually I proved it was down to a bad leak between nipple and burner - like this.... I preheated it - ran until it started to misbehave and then shut down using the valve and quickly removed the hood by using welding gloves. I lit the vapours which were remaining. All that flame is spare fuel burning. Picture is taken with main orifice closed by pricker... Tighten the nipple was all that was needed.
While hot give the jet a extra "twist" to fasten it extra. Seal between vaporizer and jet is leaking. But the valve is not a on/off valve.
@JonD , your Hipolito does not have a fuel valve, only a pricker control. The pricker is not intended to block the jet, it will only restrict it somewhat. The flames you got were not residual vapour but fuel under pressure from the fount. In any event, the cure was to tighten the jet.
It can be time to remind of the use of copper slip on the nipple/jet’s threads that help to seal the threads and it will be much easier to remove the nipple/jet at a later date. I usually do this on every nipple/jet on all new aquired lanterns and stoves I get and also on all other joints after work on the items. Michael
I have read about an adjusting screw for the air on this lantern, which direction do you have to turn the screw (when viewed looking at the screw head) to increase/decrease the air?
Either way. It is connected to a paddle in the air tube so screw slot horizontal restricts flow and vertical is full open. Adjust it with the lantern running and just rotate untill you get the best light. ::Neil::
Correct and be precise: look at the reflected light. Looking directly into the light will not do the trick ;-)
Finally got round to fettling this lamp, turned out that the pricker wire was sticking out too far (courtesy of Bommel) so needed to be adjusted down, lamp is running white and bright now, my paddle has to be vertical to get the best light. Thanks for the help
