I repaired a Petromax 824. I took photos of the repair so that I could leave information for anyone attempting a similar task in the future. There may be some incorrect information, so I would appreciate it if you could kindly let me know the corrections. A year ago, I found the 824 junk I had been looking for. It was very expensive, and many of the parts were missing. I was worried about whether to buy it, but I thought it would be better to try and fail than to regret not having tried, so I decided to try to repair it. The tank had an air leak. Since it was a place where heat was not easily transmitted, I filled it with solder. On the back of the tank was a marking that I was told was on an old Petromax. I could read it as "Y 25 4or1 28", so it might be 1928. I was told that 824 has been around since 1927, so 1928 seems a possibility. However, I did not purchase this lantern in 1928, so I would like to add that my guess may be wrong. The preheater was a type that could use kerosene. However, the top part and pipes of the preheater had been lost, so I decided to make one from brass plate and brass pipes. The work was made easier by tying the rolled brass sheet with wire and then soldering it with silver. In order to attach the preheater to the vaporizer, the vaporizer had to be cut. Also, the pipe leading from the external fuel tank was missing, so I made one myself using brass pipe. The connecting pipe was also lost, so I made one myself from brass pipe. I annealed the brass pipe, packed it with salt, sealed both ends with tape, and bent it by hand until I was able to bend it nicely. The pressure relief screw was deformed, so I tried to straighten it but it broke. I had no choice but to solder it with silver. The rod was also missing, so I shortened a sea anchor part and used that. One of the nut for holding the J tube was missing. It had a special thread pitch, so I gave up on making it myself and decided to cut up the chamber of an existing 829 and use that instead. The ventilator was crushed and the screws were broken. I purchased some brass screws and used a die to adjust the pitch so that they could be used, then repaired the crushed ventilator by hand, bit by bit. I made the part that connects the frame to the tank with screws using the heat shield from Ditmar 583 as a reference. The heat shield on Ditmar 583 is designed to be fastened together, but if the heat shield is fastened together with the same screw, heat can easily be transferred to the screw via the heat shield in the event of mantle damage, so I made it so that it can be fixed by hooking a brass rod. Initially I attached a 250CP nipple I had on hand, but it wasn't bright enough. I was told by CPL that this was because the amount of light coming out was insufficient. So I used a die to machine an available Optimus 300CP nipple so that it would work. However, even after changing to 300CP, the lantern still lit up but didn't give off a brilliant light. Feeling disappointed, I turned off the lantern and looked at the glass, and found black soot on it. This indicated a small amount of kerosene was leaking from the vaporizer. I then filled the hole in the vaporizer with silver solder, which solved the problem. The nameplate was lost, so I made one out of brass. After masking with a pen, I dipped it in a corrosive solution, then poured in black paint. Once dry, I polished it with waterproof sandpaper and it was finished. However, after making the nameplate, I discussed with CPL that this lantern might have been made in 1928, and they told me that it might be an 824 rather than an 824N. There are certainly some differences from the 824N I know (for example the position of the preheater handle, and the presence or absence of a pressure gauge), so I didn't think it would be right to arbitrarily add the 824N nameplate to it. So I scraped off the N and corrected it to simply read 824. Once it was finally finished, I took the 824 outside to take some commemorative photos. Fill the preheat tank with kerosene and push the pump on the preheat tank to send kerosene into the preheater and let it soak into the wick. Then lift the preheater and ignite it. It's easier to get a blue flame than the kerosene preheaters on the ditmar506 and BR49. To prevent burns, I attached a treated cork to the handle of the preheater. Luckily the Bourdon tube in the pressure gauge worked. I hope this post helps you kill time. Thank you for reading this very long post.
You made a very nice repair and making it work. Well documented Certainly not too easy since quite a few parts were broken or missing.
@MYN Thank you. Your advice was very helpful in repairing this lantern. I learned that the 300CP lantern will not function perfectly even if I shorten the distance to the chamber and use the 250CP nipple. I really appreciate your help in letting me know.
This is really interesting and rare lamp and it is good to have it in the gallery. Inspiring restoration done. Thank you for posting all details. all the best, Piotrek
@Sellig33 @Fireexit1 Thank you. I can't say it's completely restored to its original condition, but it lights up fine and I'm happy.
Great job @Camp numao I really enjoy watching lamp restoration vids. It motivates me to fettle my lamps and often I can learn something new as well. I can imagine that making just that movie took plenty of time and effort - thanks a lot for sharing that.
@Henry Plews @Piotrek @eiremax I'm so glad that you watched the video. I also love reading videos and articles about lanterns made by other people. However, making videos is a lot of work and tiring. It takes time to add English translations, but I try to add them because I want to interact with people all over the world. Thank you for reading.
Great restoration and video @Camp numao ! Enjoyed much to watch and I greatly appreciate the work you have put into this project. I don't have an 824 myself, just an 823/6, which has been waiting to be restored for years. Unfortunately, I don't have the time at home, so I only get to take care of these projects at meetings/gatherings (with lots of help and support by my friends and fellow collectors. But unfortunately the technical possibilities are limited there.
@Martin K. Thank you for not only watching, but also for your message! I explain things in the video based on the information in 824 that you gave me. You helped me a lot. Please continue to teach me more.
