I have often seen people on lamp fora saying that the Petromax German Army gave orders in 1960 that the Petromax 829B was not to be used with Petrol/Gasoline/Benzine but was to be used with Paraffin/Kerosene/Petroleum. I have seen folks commenting on a range of safety issues that may have occurred etc. Whilst I am cognizant of the reasons why folks (rightly) would like to point out how the limitations of certain lamp design would effect SAFETY i also have wondered about this Petromax controversy. While i was looking for something else earlier on Today, i found a document, a copy of German Army/Bundeswehr orders issued at Mainz on the 21st of December 1960. This document ordered that Petromax Lanterns and indeed other lanterns marked for burning Petrol were from that date on only to be used with Paraffin due to rapid vitiation of the air with Lead Tetraethyl fumes, to the danger of the Soldiers health. This is an extract from "Anordnungen fuer den Wehrbereich IV, Ausgabe B. Nr. 11/60"
As someone who, only a few weeks ago, suffered a catastrophic NRV failure while using a petrol/naptha stove, I can say from experience that using any device without the proper safeguards (such as are found on Coleman stoves and lanterns) is in effect, a game of Russian roulette. I was extremely lucky. The NRV failed on the first inward stroke so only a small amount of fuel was released. Had it been fully pressurised, the results would have been life changing and potentially deadly! As it was, I had to deal with 4 foot flames and my hand and shirt both alight! My hand has only recently healed but thankfully the burns were superficial. Had things gone awry I might have been typing this in hospital! If a naptha fuelled device uses a spring loaded, piston style NRV with a rubber pip and delivers the air into and under the surface of the liquid, it is a time bomb with a fuse of unknown length. In the US, 'gasoline' devices are much more common which is OK as most will be Coleman products and hence less likely to fail in a dangerous way. Having said that, the use of Schrader valves on their more modern models is a backwards move in my humble opinion. I converted most of my naptha devices to paraffin/kero a while back, and the only ones that remain unconverted are my 2x AshFlash lanterns and some stoves, such as the Enders, Optimus 8R and 111B plus a few others.
Hi! I feel shrader valves are dangerous no matter what the manufacture says. Even on an auto tire they are not that great. The last flat tire I had was caused by a leaky Shrader valve! Yes, it is a step back in time! The on/off valve is the safest… screw-in and it’s off, screw it out and it’s on! Almost idiot proof - of course a “better” will come along, I know… The on/off valve applies more to gasoline and not so much kerosene.
In my humble opinion, the document would have been valid for ALL lanterns, regardless of the brand, manufacturer of design. I believe the 'controversy' had somehow got stuck with the Petromax 829B-Bundeswehr and eventually extended to all Petromax-styled lanterns. Originally, the safety concerns and resultant order was issued due to the toxic effects of the emissions from burning tetra-ethyl leaded gasoline/'benzin', in particular, on the health of soldiers operating the lanterns. It wasn't so much about the design features of the Petromax Bundeswehr on regards to whether it is safe to use gasoline as fuel or not. I agree 100% with Colin on the immediate dangers of using gasoline in Petromax or other Euro-styled lanterns meant for paraffin. However, I believe, the order by the German military did not actually stem from any likely dangers due to gasoline's inflammability. Over years of use and misuse, we learned certain facts and with much misinformation, the reasons for controversy somehow became 'intertwined'.
The Swiss army had lanterns of the same design regarding pump and no fuel valve in service until recently (Petromax / Geniol 821/523 and Hasag 551).
