Today, I stumbled upon an old Petromax Rapid 828 lamp and decided to purchase it. Despite some noticeable bumps in several places, I don’t think they’ll pose a significant issue. Unfortunately, the “Rapid” burner is missing. I’m hopeful that I can find a replacement, either new or used. I’m curious about the lamp’s age. It bears some intriguing markings on both sides of the Petromax logo—unlike any I’ve seen before. If anyone has insights into their meaning or origin, I’d greatly appreciate it. Feel free to share any input or feedback! Best regards, Mads
Do you mean these? If so they are the Petromax logo. Ten points on the star indicates that the lantern was made in Germany, or later in Portugal. Cheers Tony
@Mads Sønnichsen In the markings you can see a sun with 10 rays as @Tony Press already explained,two seahorses that have mutated into dragons and the E in G. it means Ehrich&Graetz ,the founders. You can read the story of Petromax and the Graetz family at Stuga Cabana hytta.de ,also in English .Mr.J. Breidenstein researched and wrote this down meticulously. Your Petromax 828 dates from the second half of the 1930s.If the scratches on the underside of the pressure vessel are still legible ,you can exactly determine the year and the month of manufacture. It will be very difficult to find ther missing parts of this rapid.
SOOO… I went back to the guy I bought it from today and gave it back. It was simply too big of a task for me, as it had several parts missing (burner, J-tube, etc.). BUT… I did not go home empty-handed because the guy I bought it from had an Optimus 200 that I bought from him instead. This is a much better lamp for me and something I have been wanting for a while. The plan is to buy a spare part set and do a water test. Any idea when the lamp was built? Hope you all have a nice day, and thanks for any feedback!
In my opinion, the Optimus will suit you better. It all seems to be there, just needs a good clean. A good citric acid bath will help for all the metal parts. This variation of the 200 is from the second half of the 1940s. That's the closest I can get with the age.
