Just scanning the ads on an auction site and noticed a seller in Taiwan selling modern vaporisers for Tilley and Bialaddin lamps. He claims they are easily serviceable and solve the problem of clogging etc. Would love to hear from anyone who has bought and tried them, are they any good, worth the money etc.
If you search on this site you will find people who have had success, and failure. This one sums it up tho: Vaporiser Woes
There are a couple of sellers both in the Far East and I think quality control is the main issue as it's just one guy in a small workshop making them himself. When they work they're a great idea as the jets are replaceable as are the pricker needles.
Thanks for the link. I think I’ll stick with Tilley for the Tilley lamps and take my chances but I need one or two for the Bialaddin’s I’m working on so maybe I’ll try the guy in the link. I’m a newbie to these pressure lamps but in my opinion it’s the vaporisers that let these lamps down. There’s got to be a better simpler way of vaporising the fuel, something you can service properly and be able to see what your doing maybe along the lines of those for sale in the link but better engineered.
I think the story was the vaporiser was a service item and designed to be swapped when it starts to fail, probably quite cheap then, now the demand is not so high and so it's not worth mass production, looking at lamp prices this year on auction sites makes me wonder if a small market may exist if someone could knock them out with decent quality control.
True. That said, I’ve never (yet) had to consign a Tilley, Vapalux or Bialaddin vapouriser to the scrap heap. They can be fickle in some cases when it comes to pricking them effectively, the pricker operating cam wearing or more usually a variable quality ebay-sourced vapouriser seal being too thick, both causes resulting in the pricker not engaging properly with the jet orifice. The cam issue can be rectified with a shim insert, a dodgy seal replaced. Sometimes the pricker point wears and a new pricker wire puts things right. I suspect a number of vapourisers have been prematurely written off. It’s actually a testimony to a relatively unsophisticated design that they last as long as they do. There’s part of the charm of the Tilley, Vapalux and Bialaddin lamps in my opinion and replacing an original vapouriser with one with a removable jet nipple would be like replacing a vintage bike engine with a modern transplant just because it starts on the button.
I think that the engineering used in the orginals does not lend itself to small batch manufacture. if you look at the "modern" tilley vapourisers the traditionally spun over end (where the jet is) is now a tig welded disc. Apart from the distortion of the weld effect on the jet there is the issue of centering it. Don't forget that the originals were a product of a skilled pre-cnc industrial age with incredibly cheap labour, aided by production volumes that we cannot imagine. The more modern revised design from taiwan/korea should in theory be as good as or better as they contain serviceable/replaceable parts, using proven technology similar to Petromax type vapoursers (without the preston loop) I have had to give up on a few vapoursiers, but so far I have had one too rusty outside (burst risk) one with the needle rusted solid inside, and one where a previous person had been "at the jet" with god knows what. I have had 1 NOS v40 and some modern Tilley ones fail out of the box.
I am struggling at the moment with two vaporisers which seem to have enlarged jets, tried one having cleaned it by heating and plunging into water, it burned orange with flame outside the mantle, so I tried another one taken from an old tilley I have and that was the same, this had me wondering, but eventually I tried a third vaporiser with the same burner and this time it works. Only option I see is replacement of the bad ones, although I do intend to make some efforts to see if I can repair them. A screw in jet nipple would keep many of these lamps alive much longer.
@WimVe I’ve found that reproduction/replacement vapourisers for Tilley lamps that are have the cylindrical tube made of brass, tend to swell inside the spigot after a long burn. I’ve not had that problem with any other Tilley vapouriser or replacement vapouriser. These days I tend to accumulate old Tilley vapourisers, clean them and se if they work. Cheers Tony
I have but only because the orifice had become enlarged and my attempts to narrow it down by peining failed. I definitely agree with those two statements, I've saved many more vapourisers than I've thrown away simply by installing a new pricker.
The fact that W&B sold replacement prickers would tend to support that. Did Tilley sell the same? - I can't think I've ever seen any...
@David Shouksmith Tilley did sell replacement prickers and I have a stash of them (old ones, NOS). Part 607 for the 606 vapouriser and part 150 for the 169 vapouriser. Cheers Tony
Well there we are then, superannuated prickers are definitely a thing - must be if there were replacements available. Thanks, Tony and Henry...
I would not have a problem using these vapourisers in a lamp or two, but I do believe in prolonging the life of the originals if I can. In the future it could be a case of 'needs must' if we want to keep these wonderful lamps alive. I think its a small point (excuse the pun).
I checked Base-Camp and he wants a £10.50 EACH for pricker wires and springs! Jeez, at least Dick Turpin wore a mask. By that reckoning, these would be worth £63 then:- I bought them for display but I think that ship left harbour many years ago, so £60 post free. I don't expect there'll be much of a queue...
I'm sure I saw a pack of 5 wires (without springs) on ebay a few weeks ago. Came to £21 after conversion because its a 'slow boat job. I'll try and find the link when I get home.
I came across an interesting site, wonder if anyone has tried them. 2020 Phil Captain 5'' Vapouriser Generator for Tilley lamp lantern
If you slide the picture across it gives a view of the drawing , and then a very interesting cutaway picture. If that is what they are selling it seems well designed, with a copper spiral inside the tube, I intend to contact them and see how viable it is to ship over to the UK. It's here too 2020Phil Captain 7'' Vapouriser/ Generator for Tilley lamp lantern | eBay
I have one of the earlier versions of this vaporizer; it works good but they are very robust and require a substantial preheat. I’m looking forward to trying the newer version; it looks much easier to disassemble and clean.
I wrote to the customer service people as shown in the add, but so far no reply. Unfortunately that is so common these days. I tried looking up Phil Captain Tiawan but not having much success. @John are they easily available in the US ?
