I found this a while ago now but I wasn't sure how I would ever get it going. I'd always wanted a P9955 but you rarely see them for sale or if you do they are ridiculously expensive! When it arrived it was in a worse condition than I'd realised! Not one but two nasty dents. The base obviously split and had been repaired with about a pound of solder! The original plastic control nob had been smashed off, probably when it was dropped and the filler cap seemed to be two caps soldered together! Very odd! The control valve and the frame securing stud had been very poorly soldered onto position, indicating that the damage had loosened them or even broken the seal. Here's a detail view of the weird state of the filler cap. **Note** the thread on the filler spout is a very fine pitch, the same as the pump tube cap - odd! I asked around and this wasn't the case on other 9955s. So... I had to make a decision. 1. Disassemble and repair the tank. 2. Re-engineer a Veritas 350 tank using the existing stud, drill and fit the 9955 control valve. 3. Wait for a donor 9955 tank 4. Do something else. Repairing the existing tank is beyond my skill level and probably not really possible, plus I would have to make or adapt a control nob. Waiting for a donor tank is a pointless exercise IMO and drilling new holes and fitting the existing parts would be virtually impossible without access yo the inside of the tank. So, I decided to do something else entirely. My plan was as follows: use a 350 tank plus a 350 control assembly but close off the procker mechanism. I've collected a few 350 control valves from stress cracked lantern tanks so I didn't feel too bad about altering one This is the donor tank and control valve. This is the adapted control valve with the pricker mechanism capped off and tidied up. I had to alter the angle of the mating surface between the vaporising tube and the control valve. The 350 was 45° whereas the 9955 vaporiser used a 120° angle. Both surfaces were then lapped together and polished. The brass cap was silver-soldered to the unwanted pricker mechanism tube.
I need to test it but I wanted to assemble it first. What I've made isnt a 9955. It looks like one but the control valve is all wrong. I discovered that the two story filler cap was soldered together because the threads were wrong, but that raises the question, how was this original? The home made brass control nob had been soldered on to original shaft but it must have got way too hot to use so im not convinced it was ever used after it had been 'repaired' by the previous owner Anyway, I could swap the tank with an original if one ever turned up but it seems unlikely.
@ColinG Well done Colin well done indeed. The alterations you've done to the 350 control valve assembly is amazing. Granted this isn't something the purist will appreciate but who cares, because sometimes you have to mix and match various parts to make a lantern usable. I'm looking forward to seeing this lantern up and running. Cheers, Norman
Thanks guys. I think it looks good and at a glance it's hard to spot the differences. I'm fairly confident that it'll work ok but it'll never be original and I will always be aware of that. To be honest, that doesn't bother me too much because the original tank had way too many issues making the lamp little more than a pile of useless bits. At least it should work now but I'd still like a real, unadulterated P9955 some day. Of course, if anyone has a 9955 tank complete with the stud and control valve I'd be happy to take it off your hands! Better still would be a P9955 in reasonable condition... just saying!
Actually, if I remember correctly, one of our members is able to print Veritas water transfers only i can't remember who it was. I'd like to ask if they could make a replica decal for me.
Well done Colin, determination and ingenuity usually wins out and that was no exception and you now have a fine looking lamp
Well... one step forward, two steps back . I did a bunsen test and that looks great .. Although it's hard to see, the flame is a nice blue with almost no yellow. Unfortunately, kero is leaking, I think from the jamb nut. Ive tried adding a lead washer but it didn't help. Ill leave it for a while and have a hard think about what to try next. It's close but not there yet.
I had a good think while walking the dog and I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is... a misalignment between the vaporising tube and the control valve. I'll sirt it, but ill need to make a jig of some sort to keep everything aligned correctly.
@ColinG A great job of the resurrection of a fine old lantern. What a nice looking lantern. This fine fettle is a result of all the skills you’ve have learned over the years and I’m sure that you’ll succeed. Cheers Pete
