Hi folks! I need some help identifying this old lamp. I know it needs a new pump, but don’t know where to begin. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
Tilley X359, looking at the code underneath I would say yours was July 1960. Looks to be nice and original, complete with its pre-heating flame thrower. Nice lamp. Not than common.
Welcome aboard! It uses standard Tilley parts, but that rapid pre heater is often problematic. Tilley lanterns use paraffin/kerosene for fuel and if that pre heater does not work, then you will need to pre heat the lantern with a meths/alcohol torch and if it's cold then it will need to be pre heated more than once and the pre heating should be done indoors. Be careful not to over pressurise that tank because the tank's base plate will distort if you do. The first link shows the seal kit which you will need and the second link shows the instructions for that lantern, but the library is only open to subscribers. Tilley Washer Kit - The Fettlebox https://classicpressurelamps.com/threads/tilly-storm-lantern-model-x359.6374/
It will use the standard Tilley seals and washers for the X246a, etc. The preheater usually has a broken disc of sorts in it; they aren’t available anywhere. One can probably be made but as of yet no one has come up with a suitable replacement.
With regard to the preheater, do a search for Tilley X359 and read the experiences of other proud owners.
Nice find look awesome, I love the look of these Tilley X359 with the preheater and the hood design, you also got the reflector, top find great one for any Tilley collection in my opinion.
@Capp She looks to be a good lantern to fettle with all the parts there. Be careful when fiddling with the Tillite blow torch thingy, it’s so easy to break a pin off. As suggested by @ROBBO55 above, read the post that he’s provided the link for. Enjoy the fettle. Cheers Pete
The pins are also prone to falling out of their own accord. They're also very small and if you drop yours on the carpet, grass or wherever, you're unlikely to find it again. I presume Tilley wanted to keep up and compete with similar lanterns from other manufacturers so tried to emulate the rapid pre-heat provided by these blowlamp-type things. Either they couldn't get round other manufacturers patents or just wanted to do it on the cheap (as usual) and ended up with the Tillite on the X359 - a complete POS...
