Wunderlampe Z.2010 from Franz Zimmermann (Standard 2022)

Hello lovers of classic pressure lamps,
here is my latest refurbished lamp. Actually it was just a cleaning. Since I could hardly find any information about this lamp even after a long research (except here and a little bit in Holland) I would like to ask you some questions about this wonderful lamp.
It was a big puzzle for me how to start it at all. "Thanks" to Reinhard for not destructively searching for the valve from me. I can get it to light up, but:

1: Is there anything to read about the best way to start/stop this lamp with fuel preheating? Does anyone have experience with this?
2: I have failed miserably at making a new mica cage. Lack of skill or the wrong material, probably both. I have cleaned and repaired the original mica cage so far and I am not satisfied. The original has very narrow bars of very soft thin sheet iron I suspect. Is it really, it rusts and is relatively easy to bend.
3: What worries me the most is that the hat is not original. I made it in a hurry, because I didn't want to do anything to her without her headgear. So if you still have some of these hats for a Standard 2022 in your spare parts box, I would be interested in one. I don't think it's worth keeping such hats because I probably bought the last of these lamps without a hat. (-:
Or can someone tell me the diameter of the original one?

A peaceful and contemplative Christmas season under bright lights to all.

 

A lucky find indeed!

 

It looks pretty anyway
Is that a Z 2422 or Z 2022?
The hood looks fine, although not original.
Preheating wouldn't be different from most Petromax lanterns: soft start with spirit burn in the cup. Shutdown: release pressure from the fount. What was the issue?
Might be somewhat similar to a Petromax 850??
Can't help much here on the mica globe or getting an original hood. These lanterns aren't that common.
Others might have spares around but not that likely as well.

 

Hello Meins,
it is a Z.2010 and the lighting is very different from all the other lamps I have. It has a preheating bowl in which gasoline comes out of the tank under pressure via a valve (the metal lever) and is ignited. As soon as the required temperature is reached, I open the handwheel. The finish is similar to most other lamps, but if I close the fuel supply with the hand wheel, it keeps the pressure for many days. There is no needle.

 

Ok...I see. Yes, that'd be a different style of preheat.
It uses the lantern fuel itself for the preheat instead of spirit/alcohol.

 

Yes, that's exactly how it is. I use E10, which is fuel for cars in Germany. 90% gasoline and 10% alcohol (spirit)

 

It will run with that but there had been many guys who experienced longer term problems using gasoline with added ethanol.

 

Hello MYN,
when E10 was introduced 8 years ago, there were indications that the seals would not withstand it and that there would be a few % less energy. My gasoline-powered 829b Petromaxes have been running with it for years without any problems. It seems to me to be much cleaner than premium gasoline. What problems could there be?

 

I have had another look at it and it's certainly an interesting design.

 

For many guys, there had been tendency for the alcohol(ethanol in this case) to attract moisture from the atmosphere. Some had resulted in some water accumulated at the bottom of the fount after a while.
Others had some problems with corrosion of steel parts.
There wasn't much or any problems with the seals on lanterns. Seals, o-ring problems were more prevalent on automobile applications.
There'd be less problems if you finish up out the fuel on each light up. Don't store leftover fuel in the lantern's fount for too long. Better to use fresh fuel for each light up.
Premium modern gasolines aren't well suited for pressure lanterns. These tend to easily decompose and eventually leave behind a lot gummy deposits and carbonization inside the vaporizers.

 

Hello MYN,
yes, I can imagine that there can be problems with alcohol. I use my military petromaxes as heaters in my workshop and every heating period 30 - 50 liters of E10 go through both lamps. For all other lamps that I restore (only a few gasoline lamps) there is at least one tank filling over a few days and then they are placed on a shelf with an empty tank. That's why I haven't had any such problems yet. And..... no gasoline in lamps with spiral carburetors. (-:

 

Hello Willy,
As long as you are maintaining your current regime, there shouldn't be any serious problems with the use of the E10 gasoline-alcohol blend.
A lot of modern gasolines around the World(with or without ethanol) don't contain so much straight-run paraffinic or alkanes in them anymore. These are now primarily, blends of reformates with high content of aromatics, olefins and oxygenated compounds(alcohols, ETBE, TAME, etc) and other additives. They all have high octane ratings. Great for fuel-injection, high compression engines though.
The inherent problem with these modern gasolines is that they can easily decompose in the lantern/stove/heater vaporizers when heated to the usual operating temperatures.
During operation, some of the partially decomposed fuel will be cycled back from the hot vaporizers back into the founts and contaminate the otherwise, fresh fuel. Very easily observed when you see a significant colour-change in leftover fuels from the fount.

 

Also, I forgot: for gasoline-fueled units, if there are seals that are normally submerged in the fuel,(such as pips), then there is another problem. They tend to swell and change dimensions after a while. When there is no fuel, they tend to dry out and somewhat harden a little. After a few cycles of wetting and drying, they will no longer retain their original resilient properties.
Even Viton is not entirely resistant to gasoline although they are more so than nitrile or buna-N.

 

Hello MYN,
woww.....respeckt! You have a lot of knowledge that I can only confirm with my own experience. I always replace all rubber-like gaskets with Viton, but sometimes the carburetor base gasket swells up after prolonged use. The discoloration of the fuel (petrol and kerosene) is also exactly as you describe. But hasn't this possibly always been the case? Cork gaskets always had to be kept moist and as the tolerance limits for the fuel used at the time were much greater (and often whatever was available was used), users never knew exactly what they were using. And.....I'm right there with you, the risk must be minimized! (-:

 

That's only a tiny fraction of what many others here might have already know. A lot of what I described were generally some observations from both from my own experiences and other's. Some have even been reinforced by actual tests, results and loosely benchmarked against documented literature to check if they are agreeable in findings/results to each other.
A lot of pips and gaskets of the older lanterns/stoves were made of cork. These are quite resistant to fuels but like all matter of organic origins, these would eventually decompose or breakdown after a while.
If naphtha-type or light hydrotreated petroleum distillates similar to Coleman Campfuel, etc are conveniently available to you, they are among the most ideal fuel(ok, not considering the costs here) for gasoline-type lanterns/stoves.

 

Hello MYN,
I'm more the kind of person who has a double barbed wire around my wallet and 50L of this very special stuff?
And I am very grateful that no matter what I do, I am always allowed to learn and especially when it interests me. I have benefited greatly from your knowledge. "Thank you!"
I also hope that someone can contribute something to my original questions.

 

You're welcomed, Willy.
I hope someone would chime in for your inquiries?

 

The only other member here that I'm aware of who had ever posted a Z.2010 or similar Zimmermann/Standard is @karli
Perhaps he might be able answer some of your inquiries, @Willy
Good luck

 

There are a few people here who have made mica globes and documented it - search for "mica globes" in the top right of the page and lots appear.

 

"Thank you!" for your kind comments.
I had already tried to imitate a well-documented production of a mica cage. That probably failed due to my skills. I will look again in a moment and also try to contact @karli.
"Thank you!"

 

A real beauty!!
George

 

That's an interesting looking design I learned a lot from this thread.

 

I have not yet answered a question from MYN and I am sorry about that.
I only know the Petromax 850 with spirit preheating, but I think I have seen pictures with the additional lever for gasoline preheating. What I can definitely say, however, and I know this from @Reinhard, is that the standard 2045 has a similar preheater with a gasoline atomizer. Probably a further development.

 

Hello Willy,

here is an instruction manual for a standard 2045 lantern.
You can clearly see the preheating system, which the company Standard Licht GmbH had protected by a utility model in 1933.

Regards
Jörg

 

Thank you very much Jörg.
The instructions are exactly what I was looking for. It helps me a lot.
Merry and healthy Christmas to you Jörg and everyone reading along.

 

I think I did the right thing to light up the lamp, just perhaps preheated it a little longer. But until now I have always extinguished the lamp by releasing the pressure (turning up the pressure gauge). In the operating instructions, however, the manufacturer writes that I can also extinguish it by closing the fuel valve. This also makes sense, because it holds the pressure for many days without any problems. It is a great pleasure for me to make progress step by step. "Thank you!"

 

Willy, to extinguish a gasoline lantern, it would be safer to shut the fuel valve rather than relieving pressure from the fount. The valve would be the all-metal, positive shut-off type for this very purpose. It is unlike the pricker control of most Petromax-styled lanterns.
Merry Chrismas.

 

Yes Myn, the fuel valve looks like a very large air bleed screw in the fuel caps or gauges. It is a long spike with a very fine thread in the fuel inlet for the carburetor. I only see on or off with the light. I don't see any brightness control as with many Coleman lamps.
Merry Christmas to all

 

I believe the Z.2010 was meant for on-off controls only. Brightness would only depend to some extents, on the fount pressure to sustain the corresponding flowrates.
The brightness control(adjustable) of the Coleman lanterns is more applicable to later and current models with Schrader valves at the fuel pickups.
The earlier models without Schrader valves were all on-off types like most classic lanterns and lamps.
Some folks adjust the 'brightness' by controlling the stroke/height of the prickers or jet cleaning needles. These work by partially blocking the jet orifice and hence reducing the fuel flow.
Although they have worked in many instances, it wasn't really intended by the designers or manufacturers. Therefore, it is not exactly a 'legitimate' way of doing it.

 

Hello MYN,
I will follow your tip "Coleman Campfuel". As this lamp has a very similar carburetor to the Coleman 252A (only very much quieter). I will only light the very best in this lamp. I once robbed a Coleman carburetor and refitted it with fiberglass wick and that was very time-consuming.
Brightness control is not important to me, otherwise I would certainly have more Coleman lanterns. I just noticed the similarity with the American Pedant, which is more sophisticated.