Optimus Never Runs Right

Hello everybody! I’ve tried everything to get this Optimus 1200 to run reliably. I bought tons of new parts and it broke right away. Sent it off for repair and it worked for 20 minutes until it’s started over burning real bad. J tube was too low. Fixed for about an hour or so. Then the fuel mixture screw got turned somehow. Worked for a whole tank of fuel. Now, it was burning fine but very sensitive to wind, and then started over burning. Plenty of pressure, J tube optimal, fuel screw optimal, fuel optimal, needle level optimal. I am about fed up with this lantern and it’s started me straying away from European lanterns, no matter how beautiful they are.

 

Hello Levi,

Picture number two appears to be over burning from either a worn or loose vaporizer jet; it’s also possible that the ceramic nozzle is loose. It’s a normal occurrence from the dissimilar materials.

 

Brand new tip nice and snugged. Burner cap is also snug

 

I see you made it here too Levi!
Is there an air tube restriction?

 

Man, made it here? I was here long long before CCF. Air tubes are clear. Not that there are any. J tube is clear. Pancho did a FFR on it

 

My experience is that NOS parts are the parts to look for. There are unfortunately differences. I'd at least go for NOS nipple and cleaning needle. The seals are OK to buy, they must not be NOS.

The 1200 version with Hipolito parts are known to be tricky. On one I fettled the Preston loop from a Optimus 200P did the trick.
Don’t let that fact kill Your love for Optimus and other european lanterns.

Regards Matti Kucer

 

Matti, where might I find NOS parts? I would imagine the could only be found in Europe. The part I got were from Fogas at first and I think the guy I sent it to got parts from Petromax USA or something. I still have a love for European designed lanterns because they are so cool. I also can’t seem to find them or if I do, they are expensive. If they aren’t expensive, they are damaged. Then I pay a bunch in parts and so on.

 

You can search for "Optimus reservdelar" at Tradera ᐈ Köp & sälj begagnat & second hand.
The sets are military surplus. A needle, nipple and pump leather are included in that little plastic bag. Goes for 200-400SEK plus freight.

 

How interesting. That stuff looks really cool. I didn’t find what I was looking for without it being a big lot of other stuff. An Optimus globe would be nice. The one I have doesn’t fit all that well, even though it was supposed to be made for it.

 

I'll second that comment. I havn't had a problem personally, but have spoken to a few who have had a problem with this version. There never seems to be an obvious reason. You could try using an Amish mix in it. I know others have had success with that.

 

Thanks Nils! That’s the easiest thing on the list. I guess I’ll go and try that tomorrow

 

What about the needle ? Believe it or not, a loose needle can cause the symptons your lantern is displaying.

 

Yep. Needle is just fine

 

Arg. Amish mix did nothing much.

 

You’ve got a good glow at the top; perhaps try changing the mantle. If it’s gotten flooded with soot from a bad start it takes a bit to burn off and glow.

 

I saw that the burner cap was super loose so I tightened it and it started burning way worse. This thing is not liking life

 

Hi Levi, I'd say you would need to almost start the tweaking all over again.
These are basically nice and great lanterns. I believe you'd get them running well eventually.
If its mine, I'd try to burn it without the mantle and see how long the flame could remain pale blue.
Most if not all my lanterns could sustain the pale blue flame indefinitely (even without the glass globe on, provided there's no wind gusts around).
If this test fails, and the flame eventually turns yellow or sooty, then the vaporizer is not receiving enough heat consistently or you are beginning to get fuel burning inside the J-tube.
On the latter, the remaining flame outside the burner cap would gradually turn from blue to yellow exactly like what's in your picture. That's because the flame outside the burner cap would become too feeble to heat the vaporizer sufficiently.

 

Nozzle is loose.
Mantle too small.
Such might happen, when gas mix is too fat at first mantle burn.

Increase the gap between jet and mixing tube to maximum should help a bit.
Paddle in tube must be vertical. Or you remove it.
All holes in ceramic burner must be open.
Best if you clean/smoothen the holes edges inside and outside.

Make sure 250cp jet and needle are ok. Not worn.

 

Push a thin stranded steel cable through the preston loop to make sure it is not blocked. The symptoms point to that as a possibility.
You can also check by blocking off the narrowed vertical section between the two ends of the loop from the top with a rod of the exact right diameter and then blowing with your mouth through the vaporiser, forcing air through the loop.

 

@Levi Tomey I had all these symptoms with an optimus 350/350 - Orange flames, soot, red-glowing J tube, tank heating up, difficult to light; The culprit was me unfortunately, I had managed to get the excentre pip where it engages with the rod that actuates a) the valve at the bottom of the vapouriser and b) the needle at the top, not in its right place, i.e not in its slot.

The annoying thing was that sometimes it would work and others not. I can see that in your picture (top) the valve wheel is at right angles. On my 4 x optimus lanterns (I do not have a 1200) pointer up is needle up and bottom valve shut. Pointer down is needle away from jet and bottom valve open (Normal running position). I believe that on some older lamps this is reversed.

Worth a look ?

C

 

In addition to the above test, you can use a small dab of muffler sealer paste (Holts Firegum or similar that looks like white tooth paste) on the screw threads of the ceramic burner cap to prevent it from coming loose.

The air gap between jet and J-tube should be as close as possible to 12mm or just shy of 1/2".

The mantle on the lantern is a bit on the small side.
A Coleman #99 mantle is the correct size. A Peerless 24A will be too long but you can shorten it by tying off the end inside with a spare piece of mantle string about 1/2" from the stitching and cutting off the excess.

 

Tried the mantle less test which resulted in big flames in a minute which I would expect because the generator which is above the flame wouldn’t get all that much heat. If I add more alcohol to the preheat cup to keep it hot, it works great. I dont have any 99 mantles. Only 1111 silkies and 21s and big lighthouse mantles. Also have to work on this Petromax clone that has a leak in the valve bung or something. It’s as tight as it can go while still being able to be put together. Ugh

 

Have you got a propane torch that you can keep the vaporizer heated with while it runs without the globe?

If that works then then it’s simply not getting enough heat transferred to the vaporizer and wants a bigger mantle. The 99 will work but the correct round mantles get the heat physically closer to the vaporizer.

 

Well I tried the big 500cp round mantle. Should’ve known it wouldn’t work

 

Woo hoo! Tied on the bottom half of a 1111 and she’s good!

 

There you go, now on to that clone.

 

That's good news!

 

Looks great Levi! I am happy you got it going!

 

Looks like you've got it great. Was that purely due to the mantle? In my opinion, the earlier symptoms don't indicate that as the main cause.
Anyway are you using the Coleman #1111? That's for a 500cp lantern.

 

Helllooo everybody. That clone is a no go man. It’s really poor quality. So, the valve doesn’t tighten so I guess it came from the factory with the threads soft soldered into the fount. When I first got it, I could just tighten the valve barely enough to where it wouldn’t leak but would still the lantern could go together. Well, now, if I snug it up, the lantern doesn’t fit together. I either have to solder it in or just scrap it and save the parts.
As for the Optimus, it stopped working again.... I believe it is because the mantle broke around the burner head and didn’t hold as much heat as before. I will just have to order the correct round mantles. Fingers crossed.
MYN, I do believe that the mantle wasn’t the only issue. I too the whole burner apart and cleaned it and put it back together with the correct measurements. The burner cap was SUPER loose, so I tightened it back up. I am indeed using a Coleman #1111 mantle because I only have 21 and 1111 mantles because everybody tells me that no lanterns actually need the 99 mantles. Well, the 335 maybe, but the only lantern I have that could take one is a 242 and 21s work just fine on it.