My first pressure lamp! Hipolito H-502

Hi all,

Just wanted to start a thread to track and share the progress of my first lamp. Been fascinated by these since I was a kid, and finally got my hands on a Hipolito H-502 for a very good price on eBay (£55). It is because of the cheap price that I chose it over a vintage Petromax.

My plan of action is to do the bare minimum, which is to replace:
1. Generator foot valve
2. Needle & Nozzle (if new nozzle's bore is visibly smaller than the existing one)
4. Check valve seal (this model also appears to have no lead washer, but I might add one in anyway unless anyone has any objections. I'm thinking this will reduce fretting between the check valve and the body of the lantern inside the pump assembly).

One thing I noticed is that the air gap between the nozzle and the mixer was 10mm rather than the 14.2mm. I adjusted it (by 3D printing a spacer gauge that someone has kindly uploaded on Thingiverse) to the 14.2mm. Hopefully the 10mm isn't a Hipolito standard which I've now undone - guess we'll find out.

Seals etc have been ordered from Base Camp UK and I am waiting for them to arrive, but in the mean-time I took the lantern apart and gave it a polish. Have to say it is looking pretty good.

The service set from Base Camp comes with Petromax mantles but I hear they are no good, so I will be using Anchor 500CP mantles.

The number stamped on the bottom is 9026 which I guess means 1990 week 26.

Open to advice on the restoration if any!

Pictures:

Lantern after first unboxing it:


How it looks now after a clean and polish:


Close-up of the polished generator:


3D printed air gap tool:


Another candid picture because why not (this was pre final polishing):

 

You've got a quality lantern and you cleaned it up really well. I look forward to the light up.

 

That's an excellent quality well built lantern made in Portugal in the same factory where the last of the decent petromax lanterns were made. The air gap is a minimum, some lanterns run better with a slightly larger gap, it's all down to trial and error on your particular lamp. As for anchor mantles there are some interesting threads on this site as to the quality of the said items , what I've found is a lot of them seem to shrink up too small and the lantern on full power blows holes in them which then could end up with heat spots on the glass and then a broken glass, new glass not cheap, yes it's happened to me. I'm now using base camps own 500cp mantles which I've found to be excellent. Look forward to seeing how you get on. Btw running correctly you have a real dark killer
Best regards Ian.

 

These are well made lanterns.
I would have first done a water bucket dunk test for leaks.
I don't understand your remarks about the lead washer. Nor why change things before testing.

Mind you these are on/off, lanterns you can not dim the light output by turning the hand wheel.
Check the pump valve too.
A good adjustment is everything with these models.

Finally polish the top hat too ;-)

 

Thanks!

I was surprised to know that these clones were as good, if not better than Petromax lanters (or so someone claimed on another thread) - it was another reason why I chose this lantern! Thanks for your point about the mantles, I think I will call up base-camp and get some of their own brand ones, cheers.

I did think of at least a soap spray test, which I will do once my EZ adapter arrives because pumping an empty tank is effort with the usual pump. Understood on the lead washer, will hold off.
There is definitely a leak from the generator foot valve as I can hear a hissing when the lamp is turned off (and pressurised) and there is a small amount of air escaping through the top hence the seals in the generator foot definitely need a swap.

Re polishing the top hat: I'm working on it, its gonna need way more TLC

 

You can fill the tank too with a leak test !
A leak test also works under 2bar, so you simply can use the normal pump. As long as it works fine (valve check).

I would first fill her up and check of fuel passes through in a good way. Big change all seals are dried out and need some fuel to work fine, also fuel will pick up dirt on the way out. Straight spray test.
Under the vapouriser there should be a lead seal. Any rubber is most of the time to flexible I have encountered.

Impossible !
But you should make a difference between china made stuff and Germany made stuff. All in Germany made Petromax lanterns (Graetz, BW-versions) are well made.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Thank you, that's a great idea. I just did your test and fuel is coming out good, but when the nozzle is shut off, a small amount of fuel still escapes from the nozzle (so thinking vaporiser valve seal needs replacing [part number 193]).

Also, the check valve is letting a small amount of fuel through. After pumping if I look there is a small amount of fuel in the pump body near the check valve. I didn't go to 2 bar pressure because of inability to fully shut off fuel flow.

Check valve seal [part 17] is hard, are they meant to be soft? It is like a rock so maybe why it is not sealing, and if so, it could be the case throughout the unit that all rubber seals are no good. No leak from near lead seal location of vaporiser, but if I replace the vaporiser valve at the bottom, I will change the lead seal as I hear they can't be reused (and I need to undo this bit to access vaporiser valve). Let me know if you have any suggestions or if I should do anything differently.

I am mainly going by the advice from the Petromax Restoration manual by Jan Moeller: "
Usually the rubber seals in the generator foot valve (#196) and the pump check valve (#10) are dry
and totally hardened. If one doesn’t at least replace the pump check valve seal one can hardly
operate the lantern safely because of kero leaking from the font into the pump body, thus flooding
the body and also losing pressure.
An old, hardened seal in the generator foot (#193) must in any case be replaced if one wants to
pre-heat the lantern with the Rapid pre-heater later. If one only wants to pre-heat using the little
alcohol cup (#35) then it is not mandatory but again highly recommended for safety reasons."

 

Thanks!

 

It's always useful to count the turns when you unscrew the vapouriser then you now how many turns to tighten it.

 

Too late. I guess I will just have to exercise caution.

In other news, didn't expect to find a rotting rubber seal in this location on the rapid preheater. Is this common? I have now removed it so no issues, but was just curious.

 

No, there is no rubber seal necessary.
But a nut (Part No. 222) to fix the lever
(This drawing is from an older rapid, but works the same):

Regards, Steven

 

The nut was indeed present so all is well .

 

From my own experience, with a new lead washer I find that irrespective of where/when the threads bite, starting with the vapouriser in the correct position, seven full turns usually is enough, eight is the maximum.

 

That sounds right as there are 7 to 8 threads on the unit, and I counted the same number of turns (seven) for it to almost get tight whilst turning it by hand. I guess with the washer, 7 seems like it will give a very secure fit. Cheers!

 

Looks like I've figured out why there was a seal. It appears that:
a) The mating surface on the rapid preheater arm (part 223) is bent downwards so the nut doesn't seat. Pics attached below - you can see a slight downwards camber around the circular base.

b) The threads on the top of the preheater (part 224) aren't cut fully such that the nut (part 222) can't screw in as much as it needs to, meaning it never makes contact with #223.

I think option A is likely. The part looks hard to bend back so will put a (3D printed) washer where the old rubber seal was, as this is quickest for me to obtain. Basically the nut never fully meets the rocker arm assembly so something is needed to fill the gap. Of course an alternative is to purchase new parts but I'd rather not.

Does anyone know how hot the area near the clip #223 of the preheater gets? If it gets above 80C then 3D printed washer may not be a good idea.

The part numbers I speak of above are shown below for convenience - taken from Hytta. There is a different diagram in an earlier post as well courtesy of Steven67.

 

Maybe try a thicker nut (part 222)?
Or an extra metal washer. I can not remember that I have encountered this before.

 

Both are good ideas. Finding a metal washer might the easiest so will have a look. Thanks!

 

3D printed washer used for now as couldn't find a suitable metal washer in the shops. But all is well (unless the washer melts, but will tackle that when it happens).

In the meantime though, I assembled the minimum needed to seal the lantern, and submerged it in water. There is a small leak coming from the air exit hole on the side of the manometer. It seems like in the closed position the screw isn't sealing fully, and thus air can exit slowly. I have added some silicone grease to the seating surface in the hope that the extra substance will plug any gaps, and saves me buying a new screw/manometer. The leak was very small so happy to live with it for now.
However, if you have any other suggestions I'll be happy to listen.

 

Is this the pressure release screw ? is so it has a conical end that forms the seal. Sometimes people over-tighten them leading to damage, or it could be a small piece of grit or dirt. A very gentle clean and inspection might help. I clean them with "wire wool" to see any burrs.

 

It is the pressure release screw. Will try a clean, thanks!

 

You can also take it out, using some force.
Then you can use some fine sandpaper to polish , reconstruct the tip. Cleaning would a good first step.

 

Success! Given its my first pressure lamp, I did not actually expect it to work as well as it did. But holy smokes, it works, and boy oh boy is it bright.


One thing though, is the mantle does have a couple of holes in it after shut-off. Is this normal, and is the mantle safe to use next time (or should I change it for a new one)? They are the Base Camp "Best Quality" ones. The lamp was on for about 20 minutes at 2 bars of pressure. Preheating was done via meths.

I wonder if some old soot particles from the generator or old cobwebs from the mixing tube could have come loose and shot out, damaging the mantle.

 

In my experience, mantles often blow holes but these are relatively small. Sometimes I've had big rips open up forcing me to fit a replacement but if these don't get any larger I'd leave them. They can be a problem if they shoot hot gas out close to the globe as it can crack or deform but these look minor to me.

This is only my opinion...maybe someone else has a different experience?

 

It is not ideal. If there is a "spiky" flame it can damage the globe.
It is good to check if burner head and tube is clean before putting the next mantle on.
After all the fettling it is possible small particles are on the move.

 

Well done @Hamdhan777 - perseverence pays off ! And if you think about it you have also learned a lot about something you never thought you would.
Now you need a Tilley or Vapalux so you can compare the two systems..

 

Thanks all!

I think what I will do is use the current mantle as sacrificial of sorts. I'll do short runs of 5-10minutes just to jettison any junk that has built up. If I continue to see more holes form every time, I will take out the mixing tube, give it a clean, change the mantle and see how it goes.

Might also get on some sunglasses and keep an eye out for flame spikes.

 

I tried the rapid preheater just now, and it produces a very sooty burn. The lantern lit fine after a 90 second preheat, but the glass is just caked.

Is this normal, or down to the quality of kerosene being used? I am using Caldo paraffin. You can see the soot on the glass

 

No that is not normal but how do you operate it?

 

Which colour was the flame of the rapid?
The flame should be mostly blue and just a little bit yellow.

Or is there probably leaking some fuel out of the vaporiser nozzle ... and gets ignited by the rapid flame?