I bought my Tilley lamp (X246B) before Christmas and had a problem with it burning outside the mantle. I did manage to solve this by heating and quenching the vapriser but having done so I figured I ought to get a spare just in case. I duly ordered a new vaporiser from Tilley. The new vaporiser turned up very quickly but, when I first tried it, the light was orange and the corona outside the mantle was worse than even when had I first bought the lamp. I fired off an email to Tilley and was thrilled that they immediately sent out another new vaporiser. I was less thrilled when this had the same issue. Long story short, I discussed the issue with the lovely ladies at Tilley, and pointed out that the needle was a couple of mm longer than the old, working one, and eventually got another vaporiser that does work. So, 8 weeks, plus several phone calls, later the problem has been resolved and I have a working vaporiser. All good then... However, in the mean time I also ordered a Korean vaporiser as I wasn't sure if I would ever get a working one from Tilley. This Korean vaporiser turned up today (about 6 weeks after ordering) and out of the packet it just works, first time. No trimming of the needle required. My conclusion is that the service from Tilley is wonderful but the product (in the case of the vaporiser) lets them down. The product from Korea (in my very limited sample of 1) is excellent and even comes with a spare needle and jet. So, it pains me to say it but, when I need another vaporiser, I'll be buying from Korea. Anyway, the obligatory photo of the brilliant white light... Cheers, /Phil.
That's interesting, I was looking today on a well known auction Site vaporisers are certainly getting expensive and I'm sure many people have found that lots of the used ones are not all that they could be, I took a look at the one advertised which is stainless steel with replaceable jet and wondered if it might be better to bite the bullet and buy one. cost of the item is not so bad but postage then doubles the price,. Is that the one you bought @Phil_R ? Also wondered if the postage would be on each one or if an order for 3 or 4 would incur one postage charge.
I'm glad to hear that you eventually got a working vapouriser from Tilley, in my opinion, they are not the company that they once were.
Hi rayw, yes, I bought the one with the spare jet and needle, sold by gksk2146-3 . Yes the postage makes it quite expensive and, while I don't know if the postage for one would cover the cost of posting multiple items, if it does I shall be buying several next time
@Phil_R I think it’s fine for you to identify the Korean seller of the vapouriser you bought that obviously works well. A member here was, recently, criticising a Korean seller of vapourisers saying, rather broadly, that he sells “...dodgy stuff...”, so if yours works well, it would be good to know who the seller is. Cheers Tony
@Phil_R Woops! I must have missed that reference to the seller (but I can’t see it in this thread). I’ve dealt with him over the years and have had excellent service and good quality items. Cheers Tony
I'm glad you've also had good experience of dealing with him Tony. I am hoping he's going to be my go to supplier.
I've had a recent purchase from this seller for a Vapalux/Bialaddin lantern and had a very poor experience. Which in truth is unusual. I have several of his Tilley vaporizers and all have worked flawlessly. I did contact the seller and he stated he was going to send me some new jets and prickers but these haven't shown up yet. I will be trying out another seller from Taiwan, philbeagle, who is a member of the CCSL, (Classic Camp Stoves and lanterns at Taiwan). He does have very good reviews about his vaporizers. Both of the sellers above make serviceable vaporizers. If interested I will be happy to keep all of you informed. Cheers, Norman
You did no mistake! You couldn't see that post, because it was not showing to the public until now (if you scroll up now, you will see it after refreshing the page). Certain words and links need approval before they show, and here I think it was the e-bay link that made it need moderator approval.
My own opinion is it's a usefull Service if other members can share actuall experiences in order to help or warn others, of course not everyone sees things in the same way, but generally it is pretty clear. Regarding the postage which drastically alters the actual cost of purchase, it would be much more Interesting If it could be broken down, recently I purchased a quantity of mantles from India together with another member on here, we split the costs down the middle and it worked out much better cost-wise for both of us.
I have both of the vapourisers , South Korean one ...and also the Taiwanese one ... they both reside in my box of knackered vapourisers of a bygone era ... I have had little luck with either of them and regret my purchases ... promises were made to send me parts ... alas no show ... an expensive mistake ... the Taiwanese one badly engineered .... good luck to you if it works ... lady luck avoided me ... .. hey ho life goes on ... the hail the wind and the rain ....
Ah, that makes sense. I only meant to put the name in and not the link. A senior moment... Yes, that's the one I bought David.
That’s interesting, again experience can help others. Quite honestly looking at the prices of Tilley items on a “well known auction site” I wonder that someone hasn’t started making similar ones in Europe makes me wonder how big the market is.
My favoured scenario would be that Tilley sort their manufacturer/supplier out and be my go to for ALL Tilley spares. As it is, I'll continue to support them by buying all other spares from them, as I've been delighted by their service and other parts purchased. It's just the vaporisers that I'll go elsewhere for.
Even if the prices are uncomfortably high, I'd do my bid and still make my purchases from them if I'm living in Britain. I think the current market for these things is simply not sufficient to keep anyone in business for long.
Yes it would be a gamble, the things would require some machining, I imagine they can source stainless tube, it wouldn't be easy to drill through that length in the lathe, as stainless tends to grab. @Phil_R yes that would be a good solution, I have heated and quenched them, soaked them in wheel cleaner and tried to clean them with brake cables, had some success but in reality theres only one complete solution .
They would not have to be stainless I think... The originals were drawn steel spun over at the end. I think the bits inside that retained springs and guided the pricker were stainless. The new ones have a small plate mig welded over the end. Often off-centre but I have found the "jet" wears quickly. A well executed equivalent that accepted widely available jet/needles should last the lifetime of the lantern
I was looking at the add for the one I saw, but looking more closely it seems to say stainless steel Vaporiser spring. The idea of renewable Jets which also allows cleaning of the tube is much better.
In my opinion, austenitic stainless steels(304, 316, etc) are not ideally suited as vaporizer materials. Mainly, its that their general thermal conductivities are much lower than that of brass. Its even significantly lower than that of either carbon or mild steels. Not so much on the cost in this case. If I were to make or buy one, these SS wouldn't be my choice for vaporizers that depend quite a lot on their thermal conductivities to work properly.
Hear hear Stainless has some good properties but in my opinion overrated It’s heat distribution is pants, that’s why it distorts so easily Nice to look at but an absolute pain to keep clean and you can mark it with your fingernail What’s the point if you are heating it beyond the colour range? Good point @MYN
