Hello everyone, I discovered this forum through ClassicCampStoves since I am really fond of my two Primus Omnifuel stoves, both the Himalaya and the revised omnifuel (not gen2) While on vacation in Sweden I saw an Svea 121 offered a few km from my home so I went to pick it up from what appeared to be a stove collector. He also sold this Optimus 1550 pressure lamp. After picking up a wick lantern made by Optimus in a Swedish Loppis I couldn't resist trying out a pressure lamp so I picked up the 1550 together with the King of Stoves. The lantern was leaking a lot during priming and quite dirty. I bought some Anchor 500cp mantles with it and 2 new needles. I dismantled the whole lantern and cleaned it. Not thoroughly, just a bit to see what I got and to get to know it. Things I checked: - I submerged the tank while under mild pressure (20 pumps orso) No leaking - Cleaned and thightened parts - Lowered the J-tube just a bit to prevent yellow flame surrounding the mantle. - Greased the pump leather The nozzle misses a chip on the side and there was a massive leak between the upper and lower part of the vaporizer during priming. Also, the lamp wasn't very bright. I am using an Anchor 500cp mantle and lamp oil I learned: - That it needs a lot of pumping to get the pressure needle moving to "1" - To let it prime until al alcohol is gone - More pressure gets a whiter light - That the top part gets very hot What I would like is a safe and reliable lamp that can be used in the garden and probably while camping. I am still learning how this thing works since my only reference with these kind of burners is my Coleman 424 stove. I would love some advise on cleaning it, removing chrome oxidation and cleaning the brass. Any advise on must do fixes to get a safer or more reliable lamp is very welcome. Thank you in advance! After cleaning. Lit by day and low pressure. Lit by night with higher pressure.
Welcome @ivor and congrats on finding a great lantern. Hopefully some steers: - the pump leather should be soaked in oil rather than greased. - "lamp oil" is not the best - Kerosene is what it is designed to work on. - 60 pumps on a full tank is about right (the red line on the pressure guage) it it takes a lot more the leather may be allowing gas to pass by, or the non-return valve under the pump is sticking. - make sure the nipple is done up tight - as well as where the two halves of the gapouriser/generator meet. - really do pre-heat properly - The red wheel is not a valve - it moves a rod that moves the pricker up and down, as well as opening a on/off valve "foot valve" at the bottom of the generator. These lamps are on or off really. The pointy bit on the wheel is where the needle is (up/down). Needle up to pre-heat, fully down to run. Have a look at everything above and try again. Success !
Thanks @Fireexit1 for your remarks. Have been lighting it every day now. Will look into your suggestions for even better results.
Hi, Definitions and translations of fuel types make things very confusing: "- "lamp oil" is not the best - Kerosene is what it is designed to work on." That together with searching online brings me exactly back to start. There is geen liquid in the tank now, probably petroleum the seller said he used for all this lamps. According to the internet, petroleum, kerosene and lamp oil are the same thing...?
You need someone from The Netherlands to answer that question — someone who operates kerosene pressure lamps there and buys fuel there. Tony
Yes - good advice from Tony. Here in the UK "lamp oil" tends to be slightly thicker and lower odour than Paraffin (Kerosene) It also has a different flash point and seems to not work as well in these lanterns. As an aside it does not keep very well and if left in the lantern for a long time can discolour, develop a not so nice smell, and not burn properly, leading to difficulties in lighting and not generating as much light, as well as going out after a while. I tend to think of what I buy as being one step up from heating oil, or one step down from aviation kerosine.
