It’s funny how some things turn out. I bought this lantern without a bail or glass because the hood was in better shape than any other hoods that I have. It has sat on the shelf for a couple of years gathering dust, until the other day when I decided to have a good look at it. To my very enjoyable surprise the tank is copper as well as the hoods on the air buttons. Details: Manufacture – Kopsen (Sydney) The bail is not original to this lantern but comes from a donor Kopsen AP2 . The paint work appears to be original as the shadow of the oval decal can be seen on the side and bottom of the fount. However, it may have been sprayed with a clear lacquer at some point. The air buttons are brass with copper caps The hood is light green with white speckles (inside and out) The burner has no markings. In the last photo looking up the spigot you can see the ends of the air tubes forming a distinct triangle. The upper insect screen is steel. It was originally copper plated but most of the plating is now missing. The lower insect screen is steel. The globe retaining wire is brass. The vapouriser is Kayen (diamond knurling on the screw). It is stamped G 6 just above the brass mounting. The vapouriser measured 7-1/8 inches that caused a problem I will explain later. The control cock and pump assemblies are brass.
Testing the burner, I’m happy with the blue flame. Testing the vapouriser, A bright light with no halo around the mantle. I’m happy that the lantern will work but it will be a shelf queen for now. As mentioned the vapouriser measured 7-1/8 inches, but the cleaning needle measured 7-1/16 inches long. Too short to operate correctly. So I braised a 2mm brass rod on the end ferrule and cut it to length.
Excellent Kopsen Kayen, with what look like all Kayen fittings. Nice job on the pricker, too. Cheers Tony
An excellent Kopsen almost identical to the one I have. A nice speckled green hood in good condition. Thanks for the detailed breakdown.