Hello - a newbie here and I'd like some advice on a new or old lamp. Many years ago, when camping with the family, we used an old Tilley X246B lamp. We had it outside or hanging in a large canvas tent and it was fantastic. I've just started camping now with my kids. So my Dad dug out, tested and brought over here (south Hungary) the old tilley. he lost the pre-heater somewhere at home after the test, so we custom made a new one from folded canvas cutoffs, sugar tongs and wire. We attached a new mantle to the lamp and I started to pour in the paraffin I'd bought. It was too think to go through the gauze in the funnel. So I've found out that pharmaceutical paraffin bought here is nothing like what I need. Is there anyway I can thin it down to use in the Tilley? The poor thing is sitting there with several spare mantles and needs some help! If not, and as the only place I've found that sells paraffin for portable heaters sells a minimum of 50 litres at a time, could you recommend an alternative lamp? I can get hold of clean petrol (aspen 4 / coleman fuel equivalent), alcohol, diesel, wicked lamp oil (usually with citronella in) or homemade plum spirit. I'd like to use it mainly when camping, and it might spend some time inside the tent (once lit), but it'd be great to use outside in the garden too because it gets dark here too early! And yes, I have an LED lamp, but it's not the same
Hmm, as far as I'm aware, lamp paraffin (i.e. kerosene) has no medicinal use these days and it sounds like you've been trying to use what we call 'liquid paraffin BP' over here. Now that does have a medicinal use! Anyway, if that's what you've been trying to use, it won't work because it doesn't burn. There's nothing you can add to it to make it burn in your Tilley. So, firstly, try to obtain some kerosene which is the correct fuel for a Tilley lantern. Failing that '28 second' domestic heating oil will do the trick. I've also successfully used barbeque lighting fluid as well, but I wait until the end of the summer and it's reduced in price. Hope that helps...
Pharmaceutical paraffin is not a lamp fuel. We can buy it here in the UK where it is called Liquid Paraffin or Baby Oil. (made from boiled down babies ??) Pretty good laxative and personal lubricant but it does not burn well. One reason I don’t use the word paraffin often is because it is actually a term used for a variety of stuff. Candles are made from Paraffin wax so you can buy the stuff as a solid for candles or as a liquid for medical use or as a quite different liquid for burning in heaters and lamps. It is dangerous to use a more volatile fuel in a Tilley so you can’t use Aspen or Coleman fuel. The stuff you need is heating oil or wick lamp oil. Same stuff really. Called Petrole in France or Petroleum in Germany. If you want to change lamps then for use with Aspen/Coleman fuel you need a gasoline lamp. Plenty of Coleman lamps on the Bay. ::Neil::
I think you're right and my use of a dictionary has got me the wrong stuff. I've been looking / asking around for kerosene, but the only positive answers I've ever had are Zibro (if I needed 50 litres) or an airport. So I'll go to your other options... and having now asked at the local fuel station about heating oil, I'm told it hasn't been available here for the last ten years. Hmmm... So I'll be off the the local equivalent of B&Q. Thanks for the advice - I'll let you know how it goes.
... but if you couldn't burn kerosene / paraffin or equivalent, could you recommend another type of lamp?
Cheers Mackburner, so I could try wick lamp oil? That I can get easily enough, but only with added citronella. Would that cause the lamp problems?
Welcome, you are going to fit in just fine I do not know how much citronella is actually in wick lamp oil; I'll be waiting for the answer myself. It probably wouldn't be enough to do harm but one of the new cleanable vaporizers coming out of Germany sounds like a pretty good investment with your fuel woes.
Seems to me your best option is to buy the 50 litres of heater oil and then buy more kerosene lamps. As in most of Europe the common lamp is Petromax or locally made equivalents so you are prehaps more likely to to find kero lamps than gasoline types. I don't think the citronella will be a problem but that scented oil is more expensive than ordinarly kerosene. It should be available. People here still use the stuff for heating greenhouses so B&Q sell it in 4 litre cans in the gardening section. I am sure prople grow stuff in Hungary so maybe the right fuel can be found in places who supply gardening equipment. If you change to gasoline lamps then that means Coleman. Plenty of them available on the Bay. ::Neil::
Hi another nubie here, If BBQ lighter fluid is being suggested how about oil based or alkyd paint thinner, or Varsol, a low volatile automotive parts cleaner, as a kero substitute. I have burned them succesfully in Coleman kero conversions although not long term so I'm not sure if they clog up the generator any more the regular kero. Andrew
Generally that cleaner is called panel wipe here and nearly always a naphtha which is a good substitute for Coleman fuel but not for kero as it is too volatile. The problem here is that most kero lamps will run on naphtha and gasoline. Sometimes they run well on these more volatile fuels but that does not make it safe to do so. Stick to the known fuels and stay safe. ::Neil::
Yes, all good advice. I'll add my two cents... 1) A couple of posts are worth reading: International Fuel Names is always worth a look. 4) Anything that's not pure kerosene (whatever that is nowadays) runs the risk of poor performance, or potential damage, even if its labeled a kerosene substitute. Some work and some don't. The problem is when they don't. 5) The cleanable vaporizers from Dirk I think offer the only way of testing an unknown kerosene substitute (after you've done the research that it is at least an appropriate fuel to try). Your eyes and nose will tell you if it burns well and a check of the inside of the vapouriser will give you an idea of it's tolerance to coking. I just recently received mine (a Tilley 9" and a Vapalux) and will report back on their performance. Good luck, Dan
Dan D, thanks for those references and Doron's fuel names. That's the beauty of a forum like this, the amount of information that is truly useful. A Canadian company, Recochem Inc. manufacture a K-1 spec. kerosene for low odour heaters. Available at Home Depot, Rona, and Canadian Tire for about 10 bucks a US gallon. In gallon and 2 1/2 gallon plastic jugs. I would be interested to hear your results from the cleanable generators. Andrew
Hi Andrew, I may be overly cautious, but I only trust a kerosene product whose MSDS states it's CAS # is 8008-20-6. This is what my filling station kerosene is as well as other well known kerosene products such as jet aviation fuel and even Coleman brand kerosene. They smell like kerosene and burn well. I'm skeptical of the other kerosene substitutes since my bad experience with Klean Heat. These substitutes work great in wick type kerosene appliances but their performance with our pressure lamps and heaters is hit or miss. The substitutes seem to have an indefinite shelf life and no kerosene odor (hint) which is probably why they are marketed. I checked the MSDS for Recochem kerosene and in my opinion, this is a kerosene substitute, more like paint thinner. If you're at your Home Depot, give this product a sniff test...kerosene or paint thinner... Who knows, it may work, but I'd be vigilant with this stuff. Unlike Tilley or Vapalux/Bialaddin vaporizers, if you own Coleman lanterns, you have cleanable generators; especially the 237. It has a large easily serviceable generator body and solid coil internals. For testing a new fuel you could first get a known good "control" kerosene and starting with a clean generator, run it for a few (or more) hours and have a look inside and make a note. Clean the genny again and now run the test fuel for the same duration. I'll bet if I had done this with Klean Heat I would have found a severely coked generator as I did not run my Bialaddin Bowl Fire very long before it clogged and ruptured. I'll post my results from the Tilley/Vapalux cleanables when I get some mileage on them. Dan
