Browsing through popular YouTube rebuild/restauration videos I stumbled upon one Tilley Lamp restoration. It reminded me of fishing days/nights with my Dad (back in the UK). Being in Finland I didn't know they were called 'voimavalolyhty' well eventually I got my hands on one. No idea the make or age I haven't found any date/ number and I have the box. it arrived yesterday and I just opened it. Researching these lamps this forum always popped up so I decided to join and hopefully gain some knowledge about these lamps and cookers. First thing the pump needs servicing (needs new washer kit) as the first thing I tried was the pump and it was loose and lifeless. So this is the first post, any insight would be great. I thought of repainting the top/lid as there is a peace of enameling come off so I need to fix it with plastic padding and paint it black or change it to Tilley Orange/ Red or Green as black seems a bit lifeless. Idea is to fish with my daughters and have the lamp with us. Off to look through the archives to find a similar lamp so i can order the correct washer kit.
Hi Paul, A very warm welcome to the forum and the world of pressure lamps. What you have there is a speculum plated Tilley X246B, and a decent example at that. If you read through the many posts in the Fettling forum you will find hundreds of tips and advice as to how to proceed. If you look under the tank base you will likely find a four digit number. The first two digits represent the month of manufacture, the second two the year. e.g. 1165 represents November 1965. Don't bother trying to repaint the hood. They are vitreous enamelled and there is not a paint on earth which will endure. All lamp tops lose enamel, it is unavoidable over time. One thing to check with late Tilleys is that it has not been previously over pressurised. there should be a good clearance from the lowest part of the tank bottom to the level of the footrim. Excess pressure causes the tank bottom to bulge downwards and fractures the soldered seam between the bottom and sides rendering the tank unusable. All the seals you need are available from the Fettlebox on here (advertisement on the home page). Best of luck with your fettle and if you get stuck, just ask.
Hi Paul and welcome along. Everything R100 mentions above will get you going. One word of warning though, they have a tendency to breed! Good luck with your fettle and be sure to put up some photos once you get the lamp fired up.
Thanks R100 all valuable info. I'll just give the lamp a good clean and service. Fettlebox reopens in March so I'll have to wait until then. Hopefully the Royal Mail is better than the mail here as things seem to take forever to arrive. I'm excited to see if the lamp has 0566 on the bottom as it's my birthday. Try and get in the man cave tonight. Oh BTW my parents live on one of the peaks in Lincolnshire... haven't been back home in 2 years due to having both my hips replaced on the same day and this bloody pandemic. BigStevie thanks for the warning... I already have an alert for listings on the Finnish version of eBay :-)
Hi @Paul Hitchman. As the others say you have a nice lantern and it will clean up well. Start with soap and water. I think you will be surprised how nice it is under the grime. Chris
Hi Paul and welcome. I have just got one Tilley, the very common X246B (but I like it), the Gold and Black is a very good looking lamp in my opinion. It was given to me by a neighbour, so I recently serviced it, quite successfully, considering Vapalux/Bialaddin are my thing. Good luck with Your project, and You'll find the Tilley quite straightforward.
You will find the seal in the pump NRV (non return valve) and also in the control cock, is shaped so that it sits in the spring. The corresponding part from Fettlebox is the earlier style i.e. a plain disc which sits in a brass cup. Without the cup, it won't work in your lamp.
i went in the garage and took it apart. got a rag and rubbed the lantern. No genie came out but i found some numbers. Very hard to detect. Could it be A573-8 whatever it doesn't look like a date stamp. Also opinions did I get shafted here. The bottom looks bulged to me. Seals don't look compromised although the photo of one half it does look like it's flared open. Oh well you live and learn. I guess I could turn it into a LED conversion :-)
Cheers Jeff... what do you think of the bulge? Is this a dud? Better not try and fix it if it's not busted. I'm sure i'll rupture the solder if I hit it with a sledge hammer.
Don't give up on your lantern just yet, it is not necessarilly a dud. As long as your lantern is still sitting on the rim and not the bulge, there's a good chance it's quite safe to use provided you don't overpressure it, after all, it's nowhere near as bad as the one shown in the images towards the bottom of this topic. Dished Tilley X246A Repaired? Although not helped by poor design, I think the most common cause of base plate failure is 'operator malfunction'. Over time, carbon builds up inside the vapouriser, eventually to the extent that it severely restricts the fuel flow thus causing the lantern to dim. The operator thinks the lamp has dimmed because of loss of pressure and pumps in more air which makes no difference so pumps in even more air - something's got to give. The current vapouriser in your lantern may well still be serviceable so see how your lantern performs before rushing out to buy a replacement. Normally, with 1.5 pints of paraffin in the tank and the pump in good working order, no more than a total of 100 pump strokes will have your lantern working at maximum brightness. With your lantern, I'd recommend no more than 80 pump strokes, you'll find it'll be bright enough. Of course you'll need to pump in more air occasionally - just don't overdo it.
Henry, thank you very much. I must say this forum is a brilliant community. I've learnt so much in one day. I'm off to see what a vaporiser is :-) P.S. if you wonder why my flag changes from Finnish to UK it's because I use NordVPN so I can watch British nETFLIX and Amazon Prime.
@Paul Hitchman Welcome from Queensland Australia. You have a good first project with your Tilley X246B. Looking at your pictures, and if the lamp doesn’t wobble on its base when sitting then I’d reckon that it’s going to be OK. The heat generated on the black enamel hood is so high in temperature that there is no commercially available paint that will withstand it for more than an hour or 2. So it’s best to leave it as it is, besides, it looks reasonably good anyway. I’ve attached, or tried to attach, an exploded view of the Tilley 246B Cheers Pete
Welcome to CPL @Paul Hitchman The leather pump bucket may have dried out and just needs oiling and a gentle massage.
Neste Valopetroli 10 l | Motonet Oy the dictionary calls valopetrooli (kerosene) so I guess this is OK? Parafiiniöljy 1l | Motonet Oy They have paraffin oil but this is for treating wood and is 3x more expensive/l
Cleaned up and ready for service pack. Seems the leather pump seal (even though I oiled it) doesn't pump all that well...
That's looking very smart. Freshly oiled or not, there may be a tiny split in the leather or it's simply past its best. I'm sure the new leather in the service pack will have the pump working efficiently.
The valopetroli looks most promising. It is certainly the only one Neste make that does. The latter is a red herring.. Names and variations of "paraffin" acrosss the world seem quite difficult to pin down sometimes. Kerosene is US english (mainly)
OK guys. It's been a while BUT I put lamp oil in the Tilley (after putting in a new service kit from Fettlebox) the first pump was near impossible to get the plunger down. So much in fact that the lamp oil just came back through the piping and spilt over the bench. What's going on? What did I do wrong here? Can't for the life of me see how I put the washers in wrong. Any advice from the more experienced members would be appreciated. Paul
For the first few lights don't put too much fuel in the tank and be careful not to over fill it. Also is the spring in the NRV too stiff and strong? If it is that would explain the problem you have pumping air in. So we know what's happening could you tell us the exact method you used to light it?
If fuel is coming up the pump tube then the non-return valve at the bottom of the tube is not doing its job. There are two types of seals found in the various pumps of the X246 range, one is is a flat disc and sits in a brass carrier, the other is square(ish) and has rubber locating stud under it, in which the spring is located on assembly. You probably have (need) the later types with the stud on the seal. The Fettlebox kits only have the earlier flat type (which they do say on the web page for the kit). All the other seals are good ! It is not unheard of to find the earlier brass carrier in these later pumps as people retrofit these onto the newer design (me included) The same seal is used in the control cock so as well, with the same options, so if true you have two issues. Having typed this I note that Henry Plews posted pictures (above) with a similar explanation. Also this diagram may be helpful What do I call this part?: Tilley Have a look and if you wish I have a couple of spare seals with the studs I can post to you - PM me with a postal address. Chris