A good friend recently moved to the Highlands and wanted a lantern in case of power cuts. To be honest, we haven't had an unscheduled power outage for 5 years or maybe even longer but I guess they still could happen, particularly with the energy situation the way it is. So, I built her this from spare parts I had in the workshop. Its nothing fancy and it's got a brown hood but it works really well! I made a pre-heater cup from a brass engine core plug (Welch plug) and a bullet casing as I figured she might forget where she's put the preheater torch. I've had it working for a couple of hours without pulsing or problems so I reckon its finished.
I plan to sit her down and make sure she understand exactly how to use it properly and safely, including the common failure modes! I've had previous experience assisting someone who wasn't familiar with pressure lanterns and it was both frustrating and hair-raising! I'll probably ask her to write down the starting procedure stage by stage and give her a little test afterwards as it's worrying giving someone a device that could potentially burst into flames if you get something wrong.
It does need some hands-on practice to get things comfortable. You might need to show her what to do in a simulated event when the lantern isn't starting up or working correctly. A sudden flare up, leaky pumps, blown mantles, etc. Usually, when the lantern is still in your hands, with you showing her the start-up, everything would seem to go smoothly.
What a good idea for a pre-heater, I'll make one of those today! Nice lamp... love the fire-engine red.
Quite a few of my Tilley Guardsman have these as it's so much quicker than rooting around for the meths torch. Welch Plugs are great for Tilleys, Bialaddins, Vapalux and some Coleman models. Copper pipe end caps are excellent for the more modern Colemans if you're converting them to kero which I generally do. Spent bullet casings are the perfect diameter for Tilley vaporisers but not for Willis & Bates vaporisers which are larger. If you can find some old brass instruments that are beyond repair, the tubing is great for W&B vaporisers. Depending on the model, you'll need to find some thinner brass or copper tubing for Coleman lanterns or if it fits, the narrow end of the bullet casing. I find its very useful to collect brass and copper tube, bullet casings and science equipment that's being chucked away. You never know when it will come in handy! Oh, last point, soft solder is fine for Tilley's and W&B as the joint never gets hot enough to melt, but for Coleman you'll need to use silver solder or silbraze otherwise you might have 'problems' (I did and its bloody scary!)
Nice job mate, not been around for a while hope you're well and more than ready for the Winter ahead. Is that a .308 casing??
Nice job. It's amazing what you can do with a bit of scrap. I throw nothing out and that is what annoys the wife.
I'm not sure to be honest but its roughly 7mm or 8mm diameter. Living in the Highlands I often find spent casings in the heather up pn the hills so I always collect them for use later.
@ColinG Nice job and its good to help a friend, for extra peace of mind i usually print off Basecamps Tilley or Vapalux instructions for those without experience just so they have something to hand when alone with fire Tilley lamp instructions I need to see if i can make myself a few of those very handy spirit cups, have you got a part number/size for them please?
I used a brass Welch Plug from eBay... listing here... 1.5/8" Brass Cup Cap Freeze Expansion Core Plug. | eBay I guess you could use the steel version but i prefer brass. And the bullet casing tube was from one of these... Which measures 11.9mm or 0.46 inch in diameter. I used soft solder because on a Tilley, the distance from the mantle to the cup means the temperature never gets hot enough to melt it. When making Coleman style pre-heater cups you need to use silbraze or silver solder otherwise you risk a disaster. I made that mistake and its bl00dy terrifying! For the smallest Coleman generators the narrow end of the bullet is perfect.
The opposite is true for me never used a lathe and then when I turn 70 I am given this one (small Unimat db200), rusted, so I took it to bits, cleaned it up and reassembled..works fine....But now trying to learn how to use it, have made a couple of things not very accurately but good fun.
Another little tip is the use of some fibreglass rope (Coal stove door/window sealing rope), bound with a little stainless wire in the preheater dish. Makes the pre-heat last a little longer and evens it out somewhat (meths boils off quickly when its in a tray). Great job, well done there. Alec.
