I have been wanting one for a while. This week a pair come up on craigslist for a deal so i picked them up. They are Hipolito 500's. The are not identical but close. I want to get them running, but i have a few questions. 1) Is there anyway to date them? 2) Is there a place to get a rebuild kit? 3) What are the best mantles for them? 4) Can you just polish them with chrome polish? 5) Does someone make a top reflector that fits it? Thanks in advance Lee
Hello Lee and welcome aboard! Those 2 lanterns appear to be in very good condition. Top reflectors are available for them.
Lee, I know nothing about Hippolito myself. Sorry. But there are people here who do, and I'm sure they will help you soon enough. The only thing is the mantle. You would want a 500CP single tie sock style mantle. Any brand will do, even if each has their own spokesman. I just wanted to welcome you aboard and also compliment you for your well made first post! It's not often people manage to insert the image into the post and most certainly not doing that press on return before letting the image codes go in to make the post also look good.
Hi Welcome aboard Top shades..... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/solar-white-enamel-lamp-reflector-shade-may-fit-tilley-/310420834804?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item48468609f4 & spares i think some anchor lamps seals will fit but ask here.... www.hurricanelamps.co.uk Stu
Welcome aboard! I see you are here in the States, so I would recommend Peerless 111 500cp mantles available from Leacock-Coleman. http://www.leacockcolemancenter.com/Mantle%20111%20Peerless%202%20Pk/item/111 Nice looking first lanterns! Al
Welcome on board Lee, Hipolito lanterns are petromx style lanterns. So any search here for petromax will give you advice. You can start with looking carefully at your lanterns and get familiar with the do and don'ts of these type of lanterns. For instance what cp rating model are they ? Looks like 500cp. Also you have mantles in place. Start with one, remove the top, check if jet and needle are ok > turn main valve. Check: - rubber of the pressure/filler cap. - pump, pumpvalve, pump leather My way: If this looks good, fill her up, close valve, close air screw on filler, pump her up > check for leaks, (at this stage I always open the valve a little to see if it produces a nice straight kerosene spay, this also tells you if the fuel pick up valve is working, place top back, then pre heat with spirit cup or second option use rapid. Enloy the light or call 911 Just kidding. Don't fear the large flames coming out of the top the first times. You get used to this and it will get better. Last 1) don't read nor remember anything about or from britel$%^&* 2) re read 1 3) always use kerosene (petroleum) 4) always fire up outside 5) enjoy your lamps ! Tell us the results.
Thanks for the manual and info! I do have a question on the brite people, are there replacement parts OK? I only ask because they are close to me. Either way thanks for the heads up. If not where is the best place to get replacement parts.
BL's claims for their product are hooey, but their parts are just fine. (I have ordered from them/her and they show up quickly and do the job.) NEVER, EVER, put gasoline or Coleman fuel in your pressure lantern. Kerosene only! (NOT "lamp fuel") You are going to have so much fun! Al Russell, PA
Hi Lee, Nice set of Hipo's, they should clean up nicely. Since you are in the US the kit you can get from Britelyt will work; not one of my favorite dealers but they are nearby. As Wim said only burn kerosene in these. You'll want to read the instructions through a few times as these require a little more adjusting sometimes in order to burn correctly.
I don't know what "kit" they sell. But I would first try your lantern(s) before buying anything. One thing I did forget: check if the burnerhead is fixed.
I have been working on one of them. Did some polishing and general cleaning. Tried to fire it up but I had issues. I used the alcohol cup for warm up. It burned in the mantle that was on it but at start up I got lots of fire out of the top so I shut it down. Any ideas?
The lamp was not hot enough, try pre heating it more before letting the fuel and air mix flow. When burning off a new mantle, I use one pre heat for that and another to really heat the lamp, Jeff.
My own experience is that they only perform well running full throttle. You have a quick heater on that lantern, and I find they work much better than the spirit cup. Pump up to 2 BAR (on the pressure gauge) and run the quick heater for 45 seconds to a minute, then open the fuel valve and pump it back up. Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken!
Alcohol pre heat is without pressure. Pre heat with open valve and fill twice, then pump a few strokes when the burner is hot enough you can hear the gas, mantle will start to glow and then pump some stokes more till 2 bar. Rapid pre heat can also being used but it takes more work (pumping) and you can have more "issues". With an unburned mantle the flame will heat and harden ! the mantle on one side before it can form itself to the flame front. All this can be done without the top hat, to prevent blackening from soot. Check the adjusting screw in the mixture tube. Start with parallel to the gas flow. When lamp burns for about half an hour, check with the light reflection (white background) if adjusting the screw will give better light output.
Thanks I will try it again. I do have a leak from time to time. It starts to dribble from the nozzle and won't stop. Its kind of weird it did it before and then stopped, but now its at it again. Does it sound like a seal problem or the needle?
No and yes it will give problems. They are not designed to be adjustable. The control is a shut off and pricker control so part closing pushes the needle up into the jet and if you run it like that you will damage both needle and jet. These lamps frequently dribble fuel out of the jet when closed. This is because most users never bother to fettle the shut off valve which is at the end of the fuel pick up inside the tank. That is a spring loaded rubber seat valve which does deteriorate and eventually fail. As the lamp will work perfectly well without a shut off it tends to get ignored. You will find it effectively shuts off when you operate the pricker because the needle near enough closes off the jet but may allow a small dribble to pass. No big deal unless it is excessive and you are using the rapid pre heater. If you light with alcohol and start with no pressure then the lack of a shut off is not a problem. ::Neil::
Well it is a seal problem but it is questionable if you can get it completely thight. Better : when not using the lamp, release pressure.
He's got the bug for sure! Lot's of us State-side if you need to reach out for help on the phone or the like. Al
