After struggling to find 500 candlepower mantles locally I finally got some. I fitted one to my Hipolite 500 lamp and set fire to it and let it burn down. Then I pumped up the pressure and lit the rapid-heat nozzle to preheat the lamp. When I turned up the light control, it lit up as I would have expected but then, after a short period (not more than a minute) the intensity of the light went down. I noted that the new mantle had blown out on one side. I replaced the mantle with another and repeated the process exactly the same and got the same result except that the hole in the mantle was on the other side. I've had this lamp working on smaller mantles with any problem, using the exact same startup process. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. Any ideas please
Check the new mantles so that they are correct for the lantern. Some are good and some are bad even if they are of correct type I have noted. How are they performing if you do not use the preheater and only the spirit igniter?
I never use the rapid for the first runs. In my opinion the heat of the rapid hardens the mantle on one side very fast. Better is a slow start with the pre heater disc and let the mantle harden as a whole. Btw these Petromax style lanterns do not have a light control. It is on or off. Last thing: with a full tank, the pressure will drop faster then a half full tank.
@Matti Kucer In New Zealand I use whatever mantles I can get. Are they right for my lamp? I have no idea but it took me months to track these down so I'm guessing it is what it is. As it happens I have now put a third mantle in and it appears to have stayed in one piece so I'll see how it goes. I haven't used the spirit burner because I haven't yet made a dispenser that can get the spirits into the bowl without a minor (dangerous) flood. Next thing I have to do is figure out why the lamp pulses and whether the hissing isn't louder than it should be. It's loud enough to intrude on quiet conversation.
@WimVe The first time the mantle collapsed it was on the opposite side to the rapid-start jet. The second time it's on the jet side. The third time the mantle stayed intact despite me using the jet to start. As I mentioned in another reply, I haven't yet found a way to get spirits into the bowl so using it is not an option right now. Maybe my terminology is off or maybe I've quoted the wrong lamp model number. Mine has a knob with a little pointer which, when turned, regulates the brightness of the lamp. When the pointer is at TDC, the lamp is extinguished. I probably wouldn't have mentioned a light control if the lamp never had one.
The pointer on the knob - when fitted correctly - indicates the position of the cleaning needle, i.e. up for up and down for down, its sole purpose is to clean the jet orifice of any minute particles of carbon which restrict the flow of vapourised fuel leaving the jet. To use the needle to restrict the volume of fuel will eventually damage, even destroy, the needle. The reason why the lamp is extinguished when the pointer is at TDC is because at the same time as the needle rises, a valve closes at the bottom of the fuel riser tube thus shutting off the fuel supply. As @WimVe says, " . . Petromax style lanterns do not have a light control. It is on or off." How familiar are you with Petromax type lanterns ? You may find this document useful in understanding the finer points of the workings of your lantern. https://classicpressurelamps.com/attachments/px-rest-pdf.57117/
It's not a regulator. As Wim says either on or off. The light will dim as the needle enters the jet but running the lamp like that will burn out the needle eventually. Better to dim the light by reducing pressure. ::Neil::
