Does mine look like yours ?

My brother travelled to the " Yorkshire wartime experience " meet and came across these two little puppies.


After trawling the interweb I suspect they are Vapalux m320's but the mantles look very different to anything I've found online.

He says they have the arrow sign on them which means army issue.

I'm new to the field of pressure lamps ( I have two X246B's ) I know, I know.

Questions
1) What's with the shower curtain shaped mantle. Will a tilley mantle suffice.
2) Can parts be got for vapalux, Vaporizers, etc.
3) What's the meaning of life?

Paul

 

Maybe the mantles are un-burnt??

 

If mantles are left on lamps unburned for a long time they stretch like that (although that’s pretty extreme).

Cheers

Tony

 

2) you can get most parts still but as they haven’t been fired you should only need seals etc
3) i believe the meaning of life is 42 ?

 

That makes sense.

Thanks Tony

 

I didn't understand the significance of it being unburnt until Tony mentioned about it stretching over time.

Thanks bp4willi

 

42 ? That explains everything. This site is definitely the holy grail for information.

Thanks podbros

 

I am sure that I have read that when these stretched older mantles have been lit to ‘burn in’ they resume a normal shape?
Other members will hopefully be able to say yea or nay ??
You may find it needs a strip down anyway as spiders like small holes and airtubes.. have a look at the seals/pump leather and see what you think?
42 was Douglas Adams take on that age old question so can’t claim credit for that

 

All great sounding advice ....

I was just gonna fire them up and see what I've got, but like you said, if the mantle is on it long enough to stretch this much, I may as well go ahead and just service them first.

Thanks podbros

 

Yes, probably 2000'ish as they have the short cylinder glass and the guard ring around the frame.

 

Thanks steerpike

Every day is a schoolday. I've just branched out from Tilley to Vapalux it's a big learning curve.

Paul

 

Saw this on a market stall...
Anybody know if there are there any parts compatible with the M320 and would it but worth getting fir spares ???

 

That will probably clean up. You can get replacement enamel top caps and globes. Under the top cap is brass. Nice hexagonal air tube caps too..

 

Thanks Fireexit

Didn't consider fettling it but I like that option. Will take a closer look when it arrives.

When I was told that these lamps tend to breed I thought it was a joke. Man, did I get that wrong.

Paul

 

Here is what is "could" look like Bialaddin 300X circa 1946-51

 

Great Read .....

 

Nice, probably made around 1947 as it has the earlier style filler cap. Looks fairly complete and original apart from the glass, should fettle up fine unless the tank is badly cracked as sometimes happens.

 

Thanks for the pointers steerpike...
Seriously thinking of fettling it now...

 

You know it makes sense...

 

That grand old lady definitely needs fixing up! Having bought seal sets I started making my own from sheets of 1mm viton rubber and a hole punch set. You don't have to make many to break even plus it's a nice tool to have.

 

Thats a great idea Colin ....where did ya get the sheet of viton and punch set..... would definitely order them going forward...

 

Viton rubber sheets are available on eBay. My hole punch set is very similar to the one I've linked to below. There are more expensive models that create concentric washers in one hit but you'll pay way more for them.

TOPWAY Hollow Punch Set 10 Pieces 5-32mm Heavy Duty Leather Hole Wad Punch Cutter with Puching Handle in Plastic Case for Watch Bands Leatherworking Belt Rubber Gaskets 405103 https://amzn.eu/d/eMec2UH

Also, this allows me to make washers of any size for more obscure lanterns or stoves.

 

Here's a link to an A4 sheet of 1.5mm viton. This was just the first I found so you could almost certainly search for can better deal

HIGH TEMPERATURE FUEL,CHEMICAL & PETROL RESISTANT VITON RUBBER SHEET 1MM-6MM THK | eBay

 

Excellent Collin....
Great info, will get on this straight away...

 

Nice FN MAG at the rear of your pic.

 

Adolfo, Its been a looooong time since I fired one of them.......and my hearing has paid the price.
But that was way before health and safety.

 

Nice piece of equipment from Herstal! .In My case I used MG 3 Bolt 550/950 some years ago. Without hearing protection.... that's the way the cookie crumbles in real combat anyway.

 

After a lot of tinkering, and seal replacing, and tank scouring, ( Gutter bolt nuts and kero )and biro spring inserting, (NRV) its alive..........


Still one or two issues to solve, but all in all a workable project.
Now for the painful bit, buying the glass.

 

That looks good

Some folks have adapted glass from cafetières for a lamp.. bought or found reasonably, again from boot fairs or charity shops, using a dremel with a diamond disc and water drip.
I believe @ColinG , @phaedrus42 and others have adapted a few?
There are a few threads sculling about on the subject as well..
Good luck with the rest of your fettle,
Regards
pb

 

That would be an avenue worth exploring..... I will have to trawl through a few local thrift shops...
Also get on to Temu for the glass cutting disc.

the 300x has a very specific 100mm diameter, so it would be a great find.

Thanks podbros