Hi everyone, well I've just found a lantern on a local website, me being a fan of kerosene stoves, I decided to look out of the window a bit. It is my first post under this forum and my first lantern of this type also. While the lantern I am asking to define may be a very common and easy question to many of you, I am struggling to know about it. I have a bit of time to buy it that's why need your help with some information about it (Not sure all its parts are genuine, the seller is saying it is a Petromax). Please refer to the below picture with many thanks in advance. Regards, Migwar
Welcome on this forum. Well reading, is knowing. The typeplate says Light which means its brand name is Light and not Petromax. The globe is marked (badly) with Petromax but that doesn't mean the lantern is a petromax. Other big give away: the lantern has rust. Now a Petromax is made of brass so can't rust like the steel Light brand. So all in all: DON'T BUY IT !
Hi / Marhaba @Migwar and welcome. It looks like one of these Light-Brand or maybe a 350CP version. Chinese lanterns can be quite good but the glass is often weak and of course can get broken. The Petromax glass happens to fit. It could be descibed as a Petromax Copy or Clone, but it is not a genuine petromax. The glass is very interesting. Can you translate what it says ?
Well, many thanks for the quick and prompt replies, this is exceptional. The glass is saying:" original German Pertromax glass" in fact the guy told me, that I can get the 6 of them that he has (His grandfather's storage). The lantern with the glasses "6" will be for 14 dollars.
I do not know what 14 dollars is worth in the Lebanon. Here people would buy it out of curiosity and the fun of fixing it, but that it is the price of a packet of cigarettes. One thing it is not is a genuine Petromax. The tank / fount will probably say made in China on it.
Much appreciated @Fireexit1, and everyone. I prefer genuine items. will drop it and will keep the window open Thanks and cheers.
Well dropping the glass would not a good idea. What is important to know and realize is that glass markings don't identify the lantern brand name.
Welcome aboard! As other members have already stated that is a Petromax clone, but a lantern and 6 glasses for $14 sounds like a good deal to me.
Hi @Migwar and welcome to CPL! If you are determined to just have 1 lantern and that has to be Petromax then you have to keep looking.. But as others have said you may be getting a good deal on a lantern that is not too common and with a little work should turn out to be quite a nice and useful lantern? Have a look in our Reference Gallery under China - Light Brand .. other members talk well about this lantern Of course it is up to you, good luck with whatever you decide to do best wishes
Those chinese petromax clone lanterns clean up nicely and will be fun to fix, view and light. Buy all 6 and fix 1-3. If you want to know more about Petromax and its china clones, visit also the german petromax forum. Www.pelam-forum.de You will also get interchangeable spare parts in the shop there.
Well, many thanks again. You are the experts gentlemen. I understood from last messages also that giving it a try would not be a bad idea. Will preserve the 6 glasses for a promising future lantern and will test/train tweaking this lantern with care and as much possible (Willing to see it lit ). I am sure, I will be getting back to you with some questions after that I buy it. I promise, I will also read and explore through other threads for usual QAs not to overwhelm such very welcoming society here. Cheers everyone
That's a Light brand lantern from China. Although its a Petromax-styled 'clone', I'd say its still one of the better-made ones from China. They're no longer made and worth getting besides a genuine German-made Petromax. If you get it restored, they'd run just as well and bright as the Petromax. The glass globe is not original to the Light lantern. I'm not sure if that's a customized Petromax globe from Schott with Arabic inscription on it.
Got some more options, I think I am exhausting this thread now. Anyone can see any prosperous piece to be maintained? Sorry for the bad quality from the source ( I know that one cannot say from distance what is working and what is not), the question is about inspiration for the lanterns as they are. Below are the pictures and I have to chose one (just in case... here the price is higher). (Thanks @MYN for your comment). Regards
I think the one with the upside-down Golden Square globe is a Petromax. If you go for 1 only, I'd choose that one. Welcome on board!
I think that the 2nd picture is a Petromax, but I also think that the top cap from the 7th might belong to it. A better picture of the 2nd one would be helpful. Also you might want a better glass (globe) for it ?
The light brand one looks to be missing the inner top, so give it a miss. The Petromax looks complete even though it has been fitted with a light brand outer top. The third one I don't recognise but is also a Chinese or Indian clone. Looks complete but quality is unknown. Best choice is the Petromax. The original deal with the 6 spare globes still sounds like a good deal (mainly for the glass).
Gentlemen, your valuable comments are really appreciated. This forum is a fortune. For the petromax, maybe as @Fireexit1 said, the relevant outer top/ cap is on the 7th mistakenly (maybe) by the seller. Will ask about it.
This should be helpful for making sure you get all the parts and when you get it to work on. Restoration of a PETROMAX 829 Lantern Have fun !
The second third and fourth are petromax lanterns. But I can't see if it is one lantern viewed from more sides or different lanterns. Because like said the one with the golden globe upside down, is a Petromax like the name plate says ! But on the third picture I miss the golden globe glass mark and it looks like the glass is darker with soot. It is also possible that the owner changes globes or/ and top hats for the pictures. So I would not buy from a seller who has no clear pictures from a lantern. If you can not go and see yourself i would not spend money. Wait there are enough lanterns for sale everywhere. By the way: top hats are marked too so it should be easy which is the correct Petromax one.
NO ! Sorry but I have to disagree. Look again at the profile, this image is of a genuine Petromax hood, note the steps. This shape is typical of Chinese and Indian copies The lanterns in images 2 and 4 are definitely Petromax and image 3 is most probably also Petromax. I believe the correct top for the Petromax is on the lantern shown in the original post but it has lost its original cowl and one from a smaller (250 cp ?) lantern has been fixed on with two bolts. Original Petromax, note the rounded corners. Chinese copies have square corners.
Welcome to the forum, Migwar! If you can afford it, haggle over the price for the whole lot and buy them all, plus any spare parts, mantles etc. that the seller may have. If any of them cannot be completed or repaired, it will serve as a source of spare parts for the others. If you do not want to keep them all, fettle them and sell them on to recoup your costs.
Good point @Henry Plews - I was distracted by the top of the cap being the same profile as my 195x Px829. The others seemed a bit shallow. Good job I said "might" !
I don't agree on this point. If all where genuine Petromax yes, but why would you spend money on copies? Most of the time bad quality and the lanterns rust. I also would not used these for parts on my Petromax lamps. If the seller is or was a dealer you should ask for spare parts but only original ones.
@WimVe , If you are a collector but not really a user, that would be correct. But from a purely practical point of view, all those lanterns, if they are complete, can be made to work and provide light which is what they were intended for. I'm probably not the only one on this forum that derives great satisfaction from fettling, refurbishing, repainting and using common non-collectible lamps. As an example, I got the below two Butterfly lanterns in a job lot. They were probably lit only once and then stood for years in a garage at the seaside. They were totally brown with surface rust through the cheap chrome plating. After ignoring them in my shed for a few years I de-rusted them and gave them a decent coat of paint. They are no longer original but they are bright, reliable workhorse lanterns that can give many years of valuable service, and much pleasure to the user.
Any thanks again. In fact sellers here do not know technical details and lack knowledge about what do they have, they are not official dealers or so. They collect items from everywhere and try to sell for higher price. I have to depend only on myself here. With your help guys I'll be able to define something genuine at the end I am sure. I will try to ask for additional pictures knowing that the seller sounded frustrated first time I asked him for that over phone (Not the habit here). Or else will take detailed pictures myself in case I managed to visit him (he is a bit far from my location). Another seller sent me the below, and from my modest experience it looks cheap. Till now best option is what we've called the picture no. 2 above. Thanks again
Even though they are steel and prone to rust, "Anchor" lanterns are quite well made, unlike "Sea Anchor" which are rather inferior in materials and workmanship. Neither are as finely engineered as the original German-made Petromaxes, though.
Beautiful 2 lanterns @phaedrus42 , they look charming. Many thanks for the advice. I am still at level zero in my experience and knowledge, I am pretty sure I will advance, anything that is authentic and has a learning curve interests me, these pressure lanterns are no exception. I am sure the pleasure hides - beside the satisfaction you get from reviving a piece of metal that have its own character and story, and beside noticing the laws of physics that apply on everything - in the moment you see that magical light getting bright and constant from the lantern with that unique sound. It is something considerable.
Here is a link to a very good guide to service the Petromax lantern. It was written by Jan Moeller and translated by Erwin Schaefer. The same steps are also applicable to Petromax clones like the ones in your photos. https://classicpressurelamps.com/attachments/px-rest-pdf.57117/ Please feel free to ask questions here once you get busy with them. Lots of experience on tap from members.
This one is the Petromax. But as said, if you can afford, buy them all Because you will need to swap some parts to make it genuine PX again. Eg. Globe with petromax logo.
So to be sure, as a conclusion, the picture you've re-shared with thanks @bp4willi is for a complete Petromax missing only the glass (globe). Thanks for the useful link @phaedrus42 . Regards
