Getting a bit addictive this paraffin malarky. Got my a bialaddin 310 last week and I'm well impressed but fancied a Tilley lamp too to compare. Saw this and thought it needed saving. it came with a pre heater wick too which was good as most of the lamps for sale don't seem to come with one and was reasonably cheap too. It held pressure very well and worked as soon as I lit it. A clean up and a new mantle and it'll be good to go. Might give the tank a lick of paint to brighten it up aswell.
My word that has been in a shed for a while ! I think your pump is an older one (is it brass ? ) if so it should be better than the stock one. I always go for new seals - bit of a safety thing for me (and one less thing to worry about if it stops working). It certainly has character
Thanks for your replies. I was wondering if the pump was an old one and yes it is brass. It works very well. I pumped it straight away to test it it and I could feel air coming out of the jet straight away. I have a seal kit on order too. So a good service is on the cards. Deffo worth saving.
A fine fettling project. Yes, the lamping bug bites deeply! The aluminium ring which holds the cage to the tank can be difficult to remove once it's corroded and on several occasions I have had to saw through it with a junior hacksaw. You were lucky to get that older pump with that lantern as it will improve the performance of the X-246-B lantern, it's also a good idea to fit an older brass Tilley control cock and the link below shows a topic which includes images of an X-246-B which I improved. Nighttime tours at Fort Liezele
Got it all stripped this eve ready to clean. Everything came undone relatively easy. I'll post more pics as I progress.
Got my lamp back together tonight and gave it a test run. I decided to polish the tank and paint the cage and fitted new seals. It think the polished tank makes it look a bit older than the red tank. Runs a treat too apart from I used a really old mantle we've had for donkeys years. It seemed to fit ok but doesn't look right while it's burning and is a bit dim. Looks a bit dirty and black in places and really bright in one spot so I'm going to swap it for another tomorrow. Plus I've ordered some new ones.
I don't think the mantle age of the mantle is the issue - Your mantle looks like there was not enough pressure behind it. Run it for a few hours as this sometimes sorts things out After that look to the vaporiser and then the burner.
Well saved! When I fit a new mantle I use two meths torches one right after the other and I also let the lantern/lamp burn for a few hours as that procedure helps the mantle to form properly, some more pressure in the tank may help, but those aluminium control cocks are not well made and my advice is to fit a proper brass control cock.
Thanks folks. yes, only had it lit for an hour or so and I've got my eyes open for a brass control cock too. I've seen a few posts saying Tilley lamps aren't as bright as a bialaddin either. My 310 is very bright and the only thing I've done is fit a new mantle. Was going to service it but it burns so well I'm going to leave well alone. I would say it's easily comparable to a 100w bulb. Hopefully a bit of tinkering with the Tilley and it will improve. hard to tell from pics just how much brighter it is.
So I tried the old mantle for another hour or so but it just didn't look right so I changed it for another old one. This time it was an unopened veritas one. I let it burn as per the instructions on the packet using the pre heater torch and just let it do it's thing until I turned the tap on and it popped into life and steadily got up to full brightness. Very happy with it now. Still no where near as bright as the bialaddin though.
Thanks martin. I'm happy enough with it. Just bought another too. Looks even worse. Hoping it's a pre 70 one but can't tell yet. Hopefully it arrives quickly. .
Well it looks much happier than before that's for sure. Showing relative brightness in photos is difficult unless they are side-by-side but even then things don't always tell the truth. I have observed that the Bialaddin vaporiser is bigger that the Tilley one. But the mantles/burners are comparable. For fun I put a light meter app on my I-Phone - I am sure it does not tell the truth but for side-by side comparison it is interesting.
Well happy now with my tilley. Deffo not as brite as my bialaddin 310 but not far off. I would say tilley is close to 60w while the bialaddin looks more like 100w.
Sometimes it is difficult to seperate "brightness" from "whiteness" - but in the photo the x246b looks more yellow. Are they both sporting V42 mantles ?
Ah. No. Both are what I've found in our cellar from years ago. The one in the tilley is a veritas on for a tilley. Not sure about the other. I'm very happy with it tho. Especially as the tilley looked so bad. All I've done with the 310 is fit a new mantle it works superb.
Yes - the 310 aesthetically is my favourite - but for ease of use/robustness the 315 gets my vote. Very simlar beasts. But then for older appeal the 300x does it. Oh dear - I like them all.
I've decided I like them all too. Just after new year I only had an old steel primus no50, a valor no51 and a veritas stove. I now have 7 stoves, 3 bowl fires and 2 pressure lamps plus another on the way. And also just remembered we have about 6 camping gaz lamps, one stove and a leak detector thing too all what my Dad acquired over the years. Plus we did a lot of caravaning over the years and had 2 Coleman petrol stoves and 2 power house lanterns too. I've just got most of them all cleaned up and useable. Non of it beats the paraffin stuff. Much more nostalgic and therapeutic. I like the hiss and the warm glow they give off. I plan to use them as much as poss over the summer.
Thanks. It is now. There was a greenhouse last year but weather got the better of it. Plus a hut at the side leaked in a bit so I put a roof over the whole lot, added sides, a couple of windows and a door and hey presto. Manshed. Just insulated the roof too so it's nice and warm with all lights and stoves goin. Warmer than house. Lol.
