New discoveries… identification needed :)

@JEFF JOHNSON

Here is one of those WWII Tilley control cocks with the brass knob and steel thread. It is on a 1945-1949 Tilley 106 Table Lamp.

Note the magnet.




Cheers

Tony

 

Hello Tony, some of the original paint can still be seen on that one and in my experience they were all painted that colour, most of the ones which I have had turned up on WW2., PL 53 lanterns like the one which is shown via the link below, skol fae Jeff.

Tilley PL53

 

Jeff

I’ll check the paint when I get to the shed… it’s bloody cold ATM.

Tony

 

My curiosity got the better of me so I went looking through my Tilley box of bits and pieces and I found one. It’s not Kayen
How cool

 

Slight delay while I’ve been wandering up and down the country with work… anyway … some progress on the Veritas. Parts stripped and treated with high temperature aluminium paint - note how corroded the cage is. Vapouriser assembly and air piping also cleaned. Not fussed about getting them highly shined as will be very much a working lamp. But, suffice to say they look a LOT better than when they were coated in black and white gunk! Hood will be cleaned a bit more to remove the last stains. Brass screws are ex Bialaddin as originals were wrecked. Tank is now stripped back revealing steel base - all seems to be in good nick. Does anyone have a good car paint match for the Veritas green? British Racing Green maybe? Anyway… here you are

C

 

Hello Tony and Darryl, somehow I missed your posts, those control cocks are not so common and are in my opinion good finds.
Tony Press
Darryl Durdin

 

Good progress and the condition is okay for a lantern that is over 70 years old.
Automedon

 

@JEFF JOHNSON

Yes, Jeff. The control cock on my pork pie Tilley Table Lamp is the one to which you refer. It has the paint, as you suggested.

Tony

 

it’s a really nice bit of kit actually… I think this one has had a bit of a beating but it’s cleaning up ok. No date stamp on the cage mind you - so any idea of date at all please?

best, Chris

 

Hi Chris,
Coming along nicely
Did a search for dates + found this thread..



Regards,
..

 

Hello Chris, the Veritas Superb and the 350 were certainly around in the 1950's, but I'm not certain how long their production runs were.

The links below show relevant information. Automedon

Other Brands

Other Brands

Veritas

 

Veritas 350B (ie painted fount) was advertised as "Cream sprayed fount with Vitreous Enamel and Nickel plated Canopy." A couple of green founts only were noted.

I spent a fair amount of time studying the Veritas 350, both the angled pump and the horizontal pump models and have shelved a write up as it was just too darn contradictory at times. However, the dates on the 350, (when I could find them), were all between Dec 1949 and some time in 1952. The horizontal placed pumps, which I like to call 350H (and I am not talking about the Superb or P350 units), all had dates in 1952 excepting for two which were Apr 1955 and March 1956.

Your Veritas is coming along nicely.

 

Apparently these Veritas’s multiply given half a chance. Picked this up today for £10… it had been sat in a shed since 1959. Complete but fettling will be needed … here we go again. I’ll post better pics later…

C

 

Thank you, that’s interesting gen indeed. I’m pretty sure the green on this example was the original and not an aftermarket slap on like the rest of the paint encountered … I’ve found a very good match and will be priming and spraying at the weekend. After that it’s the seals and glass… I’m going to do a test fit with a 300X glass as that looks pretty good to my eyes

C

 

The Superb looks to be in good condition and a bargain at a tenner.
Look after that glass! A straight cylinder from a Veritas 350 will fit but as far as I know, there's no modern day bulge glass that is compatible.

 

Thanks @Henry Plews and good to hear from you - it's in good nick, the only red flag being a rusted cage, which seems to be an issue with Veritas lanterns. The rest of it is grubby and a bit oxidised in places, but should clean up well. Looks somewhat different to a 350, but will be good to get stuck into. I just have to put it away somewhere to make sure I don't try and start it... I'm working to a strict 'one in and one out' policy at the minute. The trouble is the urge to see something burst into life again...

Is there such a thing as a straight cylinder from a 350? Just trying to find one at the minute is a minor trial, although I think basecamp do new reproductions, although they're not cheap alas.

best as ever,

Chris

 

Some progress … sprayed in what looks to my eyes a good match for the original green. Certainly transforms what was a wreck, and keeps its place as one of the (few) original green and not cream Veritas’s. Seals and glass coming tomorrow … I sense first light coming soon

C

 

Sorry for the late reply but yes, they do exist, 120mm diameter x 120mm tall which is the same size as for Primus 1020 and others.

 

Wow, a Superb for £10 is... superb! Great find.

 

Current state of play…

There is a slight issue in that the pricker mechanism is tight after inserting the two o rings that came in the seals kit, and the needle isn’t as visible through the jet. The cam is working though, the needle is still attached to the pricker and the jet is unblocked… and all nuts etc are tight. Intriguing! May well go for a light tonight… wish me luck!

 

Dear God… kaboom is all I’m saying. I’m going to have a stiff scotch or three and think about what might have gone wrong. I know all the seals are tight as no leaks from either the pricker or the fuel cock….

So… to recap - Vaporiser clear, jet clear, burner tube assembly firm then spirit cup filled, tank lightly pressurised (15 pumps). Spirit cup lit three times to get the vaporiser hot, then fuel cock opened. The result? Lots of paraffin vapour but no burner light. Then liquid paraffin and vapour began to exit all tubes - including the one the emerges near the pricker control and once near the spirit cup… need I say more? I’m scratching my head which I luckily still equipped with my eyebrows and beard.

Puzzled of kirkbymoorside …

 

Vap still wasn't hot enough. Why?

Might have taken off if the vapour had been lit straight away? My Primus 96 stove did this on me yesterday a few times. Grr.

 

This is the question… everything was set up as it should be and I was reading the instructions as I lit it … maybe an enlarged jet hole ? Anyway, I know it’s not the bottom end and the tank pressurised perfectly… I shall prevail

 

Hi there, have you used a 300-+ long peerless type mantle. The long mantle heats the vaporiser more along the length of the vaporiser, dose your vaporiser have restrictions like brass mess in it , if not your vaporiser is hollow and the vaporiser is not working as it should. It’s heating up but spewing out fuel instead of vaporising into a gas. If you have an oversized jet your mantle will have a yellow/orange glow/ halo outside the mantle. I hope this helps

 

Hi Darryl… thought you’d appear! I agree about the vaporiser being at fault. It’s clean as a whistle inside as is the jet. There was vapour coming out of the burner but no blue flame. It’s an odd one … Will try again later

 

Should have added - no mantle or glass. Was just a test fire - which is probably a good thing no pumps before lighting then, and maybe less fuel in the tank ? Its 3/4 full at the moment

 

Without the glass you need to make sure that a draft isn't blowing the flame away from the vapouriser during the preheat.

Nice work cleaning it up.

 

Alas, I think (in fact, 99.9% sure) that it's got an enlarged jet hole. Having worked my way around the whole thing from top to bottom and troubleshot where the issues were, that looks like the problem. With the pricker protruding it's firing out a LOT of paraffin, with it withdrawn in it's like Niagara Falls, hence the surplus of paraffin everywhere. I had thought that the burner tubes may have been cracked but no, they seem to be fine. So... it's now about finding a decent jet I guess. Gutting as I've spent a lot of time (and money) on this thing, and I really want to see it fired up. Ho hum... there's always the superb while I'm waiting I suppose...

C

 

OK … firstly, some progress but troubleshooting advice needed. Thanks to @Henry Plews I now have a serviceable jet and after considerable effort and some pyrotechnics achieved a minor result … this was a roaring blue flame out of the burner but coughing of large paraffin flames every second - suffice to say everything had to be turned off sharpish when it got a little too lively. But… it’s a start. So… any ideas what would make it cough? A blocked fuel system maybe but I’ve checked that and everything seemed clear. Best, Chris

 

Have you tried a little less pressure? If there's no glass or hood to help keep the heat in, you could also try playing the flame from a gas blow torch on the vapouriser to keep it hot.