@BigStevie One is a #12, so will look into that one. I have just put em away for now as all the wicks are a bit seized, so they will keep for another fettling time!
A good haul and the short black one is from the WW2., period and the tank is made from steel. Those chimneys which have the large bulge are Aladdin chimneys, but they were not produced for long. The gallery which is on the centre draught lamp is a modern one. During WW2., Aladdin UK., must have had a large stock of centre draught tanks and with the advent of the side draught model 14/Super Aladdin burner those tanks became obsolete, so they converted the inside of those tanks so that a side draught burner would work and the tanks would not leak. Hence converted centre draught tanks turn up fitted with side draught burners, but still have the air holes in the foot, the last Aladdin centre draught burner was the model 12 and the model numbers or the name will be on the winder knob.
Probably be a good idea to soak the seized parts with penetrating oil (not WD40) which will have a chance to do its stuff while you're getting round to fettling them...
@David Shouksmith, yes, have done, except one which was ok, and I am warming up now! I'll post a pic when it's full on. Luckily I had a mantle on hand, and the trimmer arrived in the post yesterday.
Notice the crack on the top of the chimney? Plus You can see my ugly mug in the mirror. Very pleased with this lamp!
I find that if the wicks are stuck a soak in water is enough to free them. The flame spreaders very often get stuck too and I just give them a few seconds warm up over the gas stove. It is surprisingly easy to heat the inner wick tube too much and melt the solder so easy does it here.
Dammit, I really wish I could learn the technique (= magic) needed to get an Aladdin wickie to work. I only managed to get my latest burning brightly for maybe 20 minutes before it developed black spots and started to dim. Pressure lanterns I understand but wickies might as well operate on voodoo as far as I can see... and I really have tried! This is as far as I got it it didn't last.
I find that I can never have an Aladdin lamp at 100% for very long. As you say, it starts to flame through the mantle and develop black spots. I usually leave them at about 80% at the most, if I'm using them for any length of time. They really do need 5 to 10 minutes warming up first before they are stable.
My first ever lighting of one got black spots because I noticed flames coming out of the chimney. I had it too high, so I turned it right down and the black spots went after 15 mins. I gradually turned it up to a very stable bright light and ran it for a couple of hours no problem. Its just a case of finding the right setting I reckon. Also 10 minutes minimum warm up helps.
Ahhh, good point, Stevie but the recent one had fresh paraffin, not heating kero. That could be why it didn't work before though.
Nice haul there, the one burning looks like a Aladdin 23, think it is called the students lamp. I have one and found it to be rather cranky to run. Despite trimming with the wick trimmer still developed spurs of flame causing black spots on the mantle. Only run it at 50 to 80 percent of its output for this reason.
Does anyone think it may be down to using ordinary paraffin ? (Not heating kero). The American Youtubers seem to use a clear lamp oil of some kind. @Walkop yes I use a wick trimmer and it's about 80%, but bright enough!
I have never used a "lamp oil" as such, I have only ever used Kerosene. I suspect there are dozens of different types with some being better than others for the various lamp systems. I see "lamp oil" as being a product to eliminate the smell of kerosene and it is the efficiency of the light that pays the price. Aladdins are not like pressure lanterns or lamps. They will not give 300cp no matter how high you turn them up. I agree with Nils` 80% but if I was leaving the room for more than 5 minutes I would turn them down to about 50%. These can be about the safest lamp ever made or the most dangerous lamp ever made. The deciding factor is the users expectations.
I wasn't really interested in them until I got one. I love my pressure Lamps. But, I'll say this.....For a non pressure wick lamp, they give out a helluva lot of heat and power. It's all in the design, rather like a Rocket Stove You can make out of a log. The Chimney creates the pull for a lot of airflow, thus the high output. As @JEFF JOHNSON says. they can consume as much paraffin as a Tilley.
Aladdin are tricky beasts. Mine have stable , bright light for 1-2h then they burn uneven, develoo black spots and must be dimmed. So meanhile i rather use 10'''kosmos and 20''' ideal burnees indoor. Much morw relaxed licht with continuous light output
Aladdinlamps.com have some very good instructional videos on their website explaining everything you need to know on setting up and using an Aladdin mantle lamp.at the top of the home page click on learning and resource centre then go down to instructional videos. Hope this is useful. Regards Ian.
