Hi guys. I have just bought this X246 with a brass tank. Any ideas of its age or year manufacture?. Its the only brass tank X246 that I have come across here in NZ. I have just kitted it out with new seals etc, and it goes very well. Cheers Simon
When you say it's a brass tank, to be honest, most Tilley's had brass tanks except during the war years when some (all ?) models swapped to steel. Yours has been stripped back to the bare metal and polished (and probably lacquered) which looks gorgeous although it wouldn't have left the factory like that. The typical finish would have been gold paint which might seem odd but many Tilley lamps were sprayed gold. The hood is a more modern replacement. Early models of the pork pie design used a brass hood with an orange enamelled 'hat' before swapping to the hood style you have but the initial run of new style hoods were finished with brown enamel. Unfortunately the brown enamel was prone to heat damage and Tilley eventually replaced it with the black enamel as it tends to last longer. You have a nice lamp which should give you years of service! Thanks for sharing.
If you check out the Reference Gallery you should be able to match yours to find it's appropriate date.
Hi Colin Thanks for your reply. What I meant was, the tank has a brass finish to it. There is an area on the side of the tank which appears to have evidence of a sticker or possibly the remnants of its painted finish. I cleaned the black gunge and vertigrease off with Wurth Metal Restorer and then finished it off with Brasso. The valve cock and tap is also brass along with the pump assembly. It would be interesting to pin point its year of manufacture. Has the hood been "updated" or replaced with a typical style black hood? Or could it have been right at the end of the Pork-pie tank style production run, therfore incorporating some items from the round tank X246, ie, a transitional period? Thanks for your help with this and your kind feedback. Cheers Simon
That is a later version of the first Tilley X-246 lanterns, which are commonly known as PORK PIE lanterns because of the shape of the tank which resembles a British pork pie. As Colin has already mentioned the black hood is a replacement, in my opinion, your lantern dates to the late 1940's.
No problems mate, that's what we do here, help if we can or be corrected if we are wrong, which is fine by me as I don't want to give anyone the wrong information. Enjoy your lamp.
Yeh that's what I've noticed with all you guys here at CPL, you're all so friendly and so willing to help. Cheers Simon
