Hard to believe but this was my first brand new lantern purchase. I wasn't expecting much and I wasn't disappointed Plus points: It looks pretty good (considering the cost) It's a brand new lantern for £19.99! You get a free shade. The top section of the hood is detachable. It came with a set of spares inuding a jet, 2x needles, a spare leather washer, a needle extractor, a pricker, a washer, a spanner, a mantle, a funnel and a meths bottle. It arrived in a box with an instruction manual. Negative points: The collar and frame we're attached at an angle so that had to be fixed. The bail fixing bolts were wonky and loose and had to be fixed. Many of the edges are very rough and I got a small cut! The surface finish is kind of satin rather than polished. The shade was slightly damaged on one side when it arrived. It feels cheap, probably because it is! Next I'll attempt to light it and post the results .
@ColinG Your new lantern does indeed look pretty good but as you already know looks can be very deceiving. I hope you go over this with a find tooth comb to make sure all is well. For the first firing I'd use the preheater cup, but this is all up to you as how to proceed. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Norman
So, after a massive flare up which was entirely my own stupid fault, it's now properly alight. It pulses a tiny bit and the fuel mixture needs adjustment but essentially I bought a pressure lantern and it works. I haven't found any leaks yet and the leather washer is as loose as (insert your own rude loose joke here). The frame is a little wonky but that's easily fixed. I didn't use the Sea Anchor globe in case if broke but everything seems OK so far. Pressure is holding steady at 1 bar, assuming that it what the numbers mean.
I adjusted the air/fuel mix and it's now burning really white and so bright you can barely look at it. I just went to check and they've run out, but if they have more they'd be a good lamp to start with I guess. You'd certainly learn how to fix small problems! It needs the leather pump washer either replacing or soaking in oil for a while as it's a bit reluctant to 'catch the pressure' on the pump stroke but apart from that it behaves like any other Chinese clone - just a little less well made.
Yes, cheap work horses these Sea Anchor. And with few improvements they run and burn like a charm. My secret: Stranded wire copper spiral in the vaporizer. Colin, would you sure the link to the seller?
It’s a worker and it has given you some fiddle/fettle experience with this breed. End result, it works well and looks good too. Cheers Pete
Well performed display of your new lantern. My Optimus 1550 is a bit harder to get going than my Chinamus 1551 gen.1.. Argh....it demands 2 spirit preheatings to work while chinamus starts easier and smell less. Regards Matti
anchorstorageltd on eBay This is the seller. They've run out of lanterns but may have some more coming in. You'd need to contact them.
Hi @ColinG I bought one about a week ago, but it cost me a bit more and no shade I had a few issues with the needle bending over every time I used the control tap. tried to straighten a few but quickly went through the lot. I have to be very slow on using the tap to avoid it happening. My pump washer was the same, very soft, and swapped it with the one in the spares kit supplied, a bit stiffer. There is a kind of spreader used in the petromax leather that seems to be missing with these lamps Had a few flare ups, some down to jet nipple being too loose, some down to not heating enough. It took 2 fills of the spirit cup to get mine lit, but after learning the lighting curve had it lit now a few times, it pulses if the pressure is a bit low, I find about 1 and half on the meter works. The Rapid heater on my one needs "running in" and using the wire cleaner supplied, I think, reams the jet out a little, I had to do this a few times to make it stay lit, again 1.5 on the meter works and keeps it going. it uses a lot of fuel though. My vapouriser lead washer is leaking a bit now, but one of the guys on here suggested a bit of Gas, not Water, PTFE tape around the thread should sort it. Hi @bp4willi Can you show me what you did to the vapouriser and the copper wire to make it run better? Thanks!!
Well, I haven't added wire to my Sea Anchor vaporiser yet, but I on the Anchors and others I wound copper wire round the pricker rod to increase the surface area which aids vaporisation of the fuel
Better than simple single copper is stranded wire, as from loudspeaker cables. Creates more surface for heat transfer. The copper spiral must not be tightly wound around the pricker rod, but must run along the inner surface of the vaporizer tube for good heat conduction. HowTo: Select a screwdriver of appropriate diameter, 1,5mm smaller than inner diameter of vaporizer tube, wind the wire around it to create the spiral, length can be from handwheel till lower end of the Preston loop in vaporizer, then remove screwdriver and push spiral into the vaporizer tube, ther should be enough space for pricker rod. Don't have picture at hand...
@plantpot That would probably be me. Gas tape is thicker and more resilient against gases and liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Have a look here: Thread seal tape - Wikipedia Henry.
We'll, someone has started selling Sea Anchor lanterns on eBay again but for double the price and with £10 postage. Not such a bargain any more! That's £50 for a very poorly made lantern that needs considerable amounts of tweeking before you can even make it work.
Any long term updates? The Sea Anchors can be bought here in the US for around $55usd shipped. I been thinking of buying one just to try out. Thanks,
Well, I lit mine about a week ago and it ran perfectly for a couple of hours. Granted I originally had to do a bit of finishing and fettling that should have been done before it left the factory but having done that it works just fine. It's really not the best made lantern in the world, but so long as you treat it properly, it just works.
Funny how I have a few Aida, Petromax and tons of Coleman lanterns, i always use the excuse of wanting to buy a "user" lantern to justify buying another lantern to mess with
Surprisingly, I've never seen a single Sea Anchor for sale here in Malaysia. I guess nobody uses pressure lamps here anymore. @a10egress , I'd buy two of them if I were you. I know the fun and excitement of 'messing' around with these. Something that you won't mind ruining.
Ive got the same brand and had been using it for 2 years, no problems with it yet except for the wonky frame. The globe is alright glass is really heat resistant.
Colin, I was reading your, Negative Points, description of the lamp and I couldn't help but think that what you described is essentially how I would describe an Australian Handi lantern. To me, Handi's feel cheap - because they are.
Ha ha! I reckon every country values other nations lanterns because they're 'different' and seem exotic! The truth is that all manufacturers work to a budget and cut corners to save money. Having said that, the pressings on the Sea Anchor were unfinished and razor sharp so obviously there is zero quality control involved! But they work and they work well!
If you believe there is zero quality control - I believe you - I would be well and truly hesitant in running a pressurised tank that originated from a factory with such low quality control. The very best manufacturers of yesteryear, with stringent quality control, had defective tanks that escaped proper scrutiny. I'm not talking in regards to stress cracks that appeared years afterwards I'm talking defects such as incomplete or poor soldering of the base plate.
This is no more than a difference in expectation between Occident and Orient. The Far Eastern mindset is to expect low prices but to have to do some initial fettling to achieve satisfactory working. In the West, we expect things to work straight out of the box and are prepared to pay a premium for that. In general, you get what you pay for - an immutable law of the Universe...
These lamps aren’t produced as cheap lanterns for the western markets, rather they’re affordable lamps for emerging eastern markets.
That's right - the problem comes when Del Boy-type 'entrepreneurs' buy them in at Eastern prices and then sell them here at Western prices. Or even worse, deliberately specify low quality to get the cheapest manufacturing price and then flog the stuff here at an inflated price to make a fast buck. None of this is to say all Far Eastern output is rubbish; it isn't - we're all probably using Chinese made computers and ancillaries right here and now...
