I wanted to own a German made Petromax, looked on e-bay and even wreck's are fetching daft prices, so I bought an ex army one from the German site. Reasonably tidy lamp with a few small issues to tweak up. Gave it a clean checked it was pressure tight and gave it a quick go, I know they are bright but I didn't expect that bright, I looked at it and couldn't see for ten minutes, I wonder of the jet is a bit worn and giving out too much paraffin. I noticed a couple of things which need looking at (valve spindle is bent) so I took it down again and managed to bust the mantle, cleaned out the vaporizer and fitted new foot valve seal, cleaned up the quick starter and added a new seal. Two things I noticed, The pump NRV is outside the tube and I can't see how it can be serviced. There is no spirit cup on this one, was it lost or do some of them not have one fitted. Ordered on from basecamp and dropped an old one it to test it Well enjoying pottering along and hope to have it in good working condition soon, anyone reccomnd a way of cleaning these pearl chrome finish models?
Those are well built lanterns and not all of them were fitted with meths cups. What is that object which is sitting on the tank in the second picture? The NRV., in those pumps are screwed into the bottom of the pump tube and they are removed with a notched tool. Restoration of a PETROMAX 829 Lantern
Hi Jeff Second picture is taken with the pump shaft removed to show the bottom of the pump tube. Not sure which object you mean. Henry I don't remove the valve, picture is not fantastic, but looking down the pump tube that's as it was when I stripped the pump out. There must be a NRV in there because it holds pressure when I pump it up and left it for about 45 mins I will try to get a better quality picture down the pump tube tomorrow.
Yes I'm afraid the focus has picked up the lamp fount rather than the bottom of the tube. I'll try again tomorrow.
I have a very similar lantern which I also imported from Germany ,, same size and spec with original German stamping and language instruction ... so after a couple of months I was tired of using the air pump which at best is a bad design .. I bought one of these ... improrted from Germany Petromax Air Pump Adapter Hk 500 / Hk 150 Ez | eBay Just epic best thing ever I can inflate the tank easily and takes only 3/4 pumps ... I have a tube like cylinder pump with a T handle grip ... the quality of my lamp is essence I would n'aer part with it ... I also have a Chinee 950 Anchor lamp ... very similar with an air adapter ... fantastic bright lanterns the both of em
Thanks @Alby , that's a good tip Do you mean similar pumps to the ones that are used for push bikes? With the gauge on? They're very efficient!
Yes I agree about the pump, it's a real pain in the preston ring to get it up to two bar. They sell those on base camp too, I'm seriously considering getting one. But you still need the NRV if you take it off
Fantastic lanterns, extremely versatile. Bundeswehr lanterns such as this was finished in a matte nickel finish and were not issued with an alcohol reservoir. The NRV is threaded into the bottom of the pump tube. A dash of wd40 plus a good size straight edge screwdriver will remove it. Any amount of takedown videos on youtube to guide you.
The lamp had a spare NRV iwith lead washer in the kit with it, and it has a slot across the top making it obvious how it assembles, maybe my eyey are worse than I thought but I can't see a slot or any other means of removal in the existing assembly. I'll try to examine and photograph it tommorow, hopefully it's just filled with gunk or a trick of the light.
The older Petromax NRV came with a head similar to that on the Primus. A special tool is needed to remove. The thread is identical however.
Ah now that is interesting, it would be interested to see the tool if anyone has one. I need to look at the new NRV I have because I wondered if I could get a stud extractor into the center hole, then using a "T" type tap wrench to extract the old valve.
@rayw There's a good example of a homemade tool about halfway down this page. Trouble with the Optimus 1350. If you type 'Primus NRV tool' in the search bar at top right of this page you'll find links to other posts where members have made their own version of the tool. The two main points are 1) the slot needs to be 5mm wide. 2) It's best if the stem is a comfortable fit in the pump tube. Consensus of opinion is that unless you're prepared to remortgage the farm, stay clear of shop bought tools, they're not all they're cracked up to be.
Since you got a spare valve: is it possible the head is twisted off of the pump valve? This would explain the picture we seem not to reconize. When there is no pump valve: the is a big hole at the end of the tube where the valve should be fitted. If the head is broken off you get a "falt" surface with the small (air) hole.
That is something I did not think of Today I took some pictures with a better camera which show more detail you can zoom right in as they are quite good resolution Now its possible to see what is in there this is what is confusing me End of the spare NRV looks like this
Looks like a broken NRV to me. Dose in WD40 and try a get a small straight edge screwdriver and try and entice it out.
Mystery Solved I spent time looking at drawings pictures and considering what people had shared with me here, so I tried a long screwdriver down the pump tube and the brass plate in the bottom moved slightly. So I made a hook from copper wire bent over slightly at the end, and Shure enough the hook took hold of the brass plate and pulled it out, all became clear. in the bottom of the tube covering up the NRV was a pump washer complete with retaining plate and backing plate, obviously it had become unscrewed and fallen off, then someone had taken out the pump shaft and seen the end assembly was missing so they had just put a new assembly onto the end and pushed it back in without checking the tube. so what I had been looking at was the back of the washer backing plate. Now I can see what I expected to see in the first place Thanks everone for your input
Good stuff. These really are a great lantern, if the 500hk is too bright or noisy, you can always set up the lantern to run on a 250 or 350 jet. There is also a cooking and heater attachment.
I did wonder if that would be possible, I may try that out. Next moves are to install the spirit cup when it arrives, set up the pricker travel as I think it's a problem. On Saturday I tried it with a anchor mantle, it warmed up but seemed a bit tempremental, so I rotated the valve to clear the jet, the lamp burped and burst the mantle wide open at the bottom. I suspect the needle is too far up and the foot valve is wide open while the needle is still in the jet, then at the moment when the needle clears the jet it allows a surge into the J tube. I will clean it up a bit but hope to use this one rather than display it.
@rayw - been there done that - sorry I didn't see your post earlier. It looks like a top lantern and not very used. It should give a long service. You might find that the NRV is non-servicable - it seems in the 60's they used a sealed version. I had to bin mine and buy a "new" one. Chris
Hi Chris The NRV in the picture above actually came with the lamp as a spare, I was going to bung it straight in but I think I will assess the old one first and keep the new one in reserve. I cleaned the surface down with brake cleaner but it easily marks, I'm going to give it a clean when I'm done and maybe try to wax it a little to see how that works. It's been interesting so far but I'm getting the feel for it now.
Concerting a 500cp into 350cp is posible but into 250cp is not possible due to the big differences. From what I have heard.
I’ve never understood the dislike of 500cp light output. I prefer good bright white light, and I always hang my lanterns high for illumination. Casual eye contact is thus avoided. Bright table lamps are best shaded. If one requires mood lighting, use a wickie. Cheers Tony
Works fine for me @WimVe As I mentioned before, you burn the mantle using 500hk hardware. Once all cooled, swap over to 250 and adjust the air gap. As regards mantles, I only use Petromax Helox. Top quality and safe. Needle adjustment is easy once you know how, plenty of videos on YT.
