Hiya everyone. Its been a long time between posts but Im back.. I have two Tilley R1's I'm fettling and It looks like I need some help. When I light them up they fail to burn properly Just big yellow flame and no proper vaporisation. Ive heated and quenched both vaporisers and can get a jet of kerosene out of one mostly reliably, the other not so. Bottom line, I think they are both too far gone. Does anyone know where replacements can be sourced these days.
I see that the Base Camp (UK) is out of stock. You could try the Tilley company itself. The quality control on these new vapourisers is not too good, but they do replace them if they are defective. Otherwise, jump on any that turn up on eBay. Best regards Tony
@MozzoSA The Tilley Man – Tilley Lamps | Retro Lighting | Unique Lamps will probably have some, if not and you find another seller that won't ship internationally get them sent to me and i'll get them posted to you, the post office is a minutes walk away, I think it was Henry that said on some vaporisers, if the nipple is raised above the outer edge of the vaporiser you can drop them onto a hard surface (i forget the details) and it can peen the oversized nipple over to get it working for a while longer.
Indeed it was and here's the link to the relevant post but having re-read it, I would like to edit it as follows, Check that the cleaning needle still shows through the jet, it should be a very close fit and a jewelers loup or good magnifying glass will help determine how effective the piening is. Keep dropping the vapouriser and checking with the magnifying glass until you're satisfied with the needle/ orifice clearance. Test the vapouriser in a lamp. If it still behaves the same, repeat the process but only drop it once before checking that the needle clears the jet. Tilley X24B was fine, now not burning correctly = help please. Incidently, the needle diameter is 0.007" / 0.18mm so the orifice is going to be in the region of 0.0072" / 0.18+?mm
Thanks guys for the valuable advice. I've ordered a vaporiser directly from Tilley for the first one. I've spent so much on the fettle that I've come too far to abandon it now. Spent ~$200 getting the reflector replated. Here's a couple of Wip photos
It's looking very handsome indeed. Even if you've spent quite a bit on the fettle, you'll have a stunning heater when it's finished.
@MozzoSA A very nice job you've made too, i would be too afraid to use it! I don't mean to be negative but the modern Tillley vaporisers build quality isn't known to be that good and i have heard many complaints about them, hopefully yours will be fine.
Be wary of the Taiwanese eBay seller's dismantle-able steel vapourisers if you become tempted... They seem to flow OK for a Lantern (I have a 5" one on a Guardsman), but the 7" example I have is underpowered/doesn't seem to flow enough for a Heater. Don't know why, just my experience. I heated/quenched and cleaned through a choked 169 and its running like a champion on one of my Rs again. Alec.
Well I ordered a new vaporiser directly from Tilley. Quality not great but it does work. I'm surprised how darn long it takes to heat these R12 up. I took the reflector off for the big test. Don't want to spoil it.
@MozzoSA Priming outside will always be a struggle, especially if you haven’t got a windscreen/heat concentrator. If you want to make one I could measure it up for you. I usually don’t use the windscreen indoors except when it’s really cold. Cheers Tony
Thanks Tony. That's a good idea. Is that one made from a piece of galv downpipe, or manually rolled from sheet? I recon I can make one myself if needs be.
