Hi all, I am refurbishing this old lantern. Just about to take it apart, replace seals and give her a clean and grease. I'm not sure exactly which model it is, and date of origin. Hoping if one of you could help please, I can then order an appropriate glass!
Judging by the clip handle attachment, that's a mid-late '50s Tilley X246 Guardsman - but usually at this point, someone else comes along and points out my dating error. They can also tell you about the hood which I think is one of the earlier ones without a flared upper rim. I think it probably needs a Tilley 171 'deep-dish' globe but these are getting rare (and more expensive). A later 171 will fit and work OK but they don't look quite right IMHO. Meanwhile, welcome to the forums and here's a little music while we're waiting for Neil or Tony Press to add their two penn'orth:-
Hi and welcome from the Highlands! Your Guardsman is a good strong old lamp and should come back to life easily. Have a look on YouTube for ‘broadlanders’ (aka Jeremy on this site) videos, they’ll give you a good step by step insight in what to do. As David mentioned, a later 171 globe will do the job fine. Happy fettling, Stevie
That is model X246 Guardsman from Oct 1957 to late 1961. It should have a date stamp in the base plate. "Strong" is not how I would describe these. This is the first tank that Tilley made with an inverted base plate and whilst they are perhaps better than the X246B tank are still more prone to dish down and tear the solder seam than earlier tanks. ::Neil::
Wow! Thank you for the quick, informative, and friendly replies! I'l go order a glass now! Looking forward to breathing some life into this old beastie. There is no pressure build up on pumping. I am hoping once all the seals are installed that will change tho?
@John Craig Welcome from Queensland Australia. It looks like you have been covered by the previous respondents. Just adding, check that the burner’s air tubes are clear of insect detritus and stuff. Spiders and wasps seems to like the air cavities for their domiciles. Further when you have the mantle installed and seals replaced, give her a good preheat before lighting. After you have this beastie running..... you need to get another lantern to keep this one company. I have found that these lanterns need to be in a crowd of lanterns, it makes them happier and as such they perform better .... Enjoy Pete
Thank you for all the warm welcomes and replies. And to AussiePete, haha, indeed! I have a Northstar, and about to get a 2nd. But I do like the idea of these older characterful lanterns. Combined with the world of enthusiasts I have discovered, it may well be yet another lovely distraction from the sometimes not so nice world at the moment!
Hi all, just been finally trying to fire the lamp up. I suspect the base is losing pressure. The mantle is only partially flaring, and the pump is not really showing any pressure pushing back. Can any of you give me some input please? I've replaced all the seals, and everything looked ok. The base has some dents, suspecting I need a new base? Best regards :-)
Is the pump leather in good condition and is it well oiled, how long are you preheating the lantern for, they are meant to be preheated indoors.
Does the pump travel without any real effort? If so, the pump cup leather is likely to need attention. If it is present and not fallen apart, try soaking in oil (any oil will do) and then spreading it a little.
Pump travels quite easily. It's a new leather cup, I worked oil into it, but I will revisit and saturate. Thanks!
AussiePete is trying to encourage you to get more lamps John but, believe me, you won’t need it. It just somehow happens to most of us.
Yes, linseed oil will play hell with the leather pump. @Henry Plews Henry's 100 % correct on that! Been there, done that!
I have just found two identical ones thanks to BigStevie who alerted me of a Gumtree sale near me. The enamelled tops have essentially rusted away. I’ll post a photo shortly.
