I recently came across some new old stock vapourisers for Tilley, complete with new old stock pricker wires. These were all greased up and with the grease proof paper to prevent from rusting. On withdrawing one of the prickers and cleaning off very carefully with some methylated spirits, the top part of the pricker snapped off very easily. I then endeavoured to check another, which was also very fragile and broke. In all the years I have spent enjoying dabbling with lamps and servicing them, I have never seen so many inferior prickers like these. My next effort was to see if, by removing a brass bottom of another old pricker, this would act as a collar and recrimp the two parts together again. Have any forum members come up with any other means to rejoin these brittle creatures? I realise it would interfere possibly with the flow rate, but as I have in effect done the wire mesh fix for the Leiden Frost effect on Petromax and Hipolito, I just wondered what other ways to cure a snapped pricker or is it a throw away job ? Your views would be appreciated. Thank you.
I’ve never come across that problem, either. I would use a high temperature silbraze and join the pricker at the break; then file it smooth and close to the wire diameter. Cheers Tony
@Tony Press Thank you Tony well I had a try with putting a small sleeve but alas just too big to pass the top of the vapouriser. I do not have a torch for silbrazing so it will have to be a new pricker wire. Thank you for your remarks.
That seems very unlucky mate. I hope you have spare pricker needles? If not I hope you have better luck next time.
That’s a a shame about the needles Good advice already I have noticed with the newer needles that sometimes the weld is bigger than it should be, stopping the needle from completely sitting in the vapouriser. you either use a dremel with a mounted point to carefully grind some off or crimp slightly with pliers ; the crimping can also have the effect of weakening the weld so better to carefully use the dremel, mount it in a vice and carefully offer the weld part to it that way good luck p
No worries if you get them from base camp they might fettle them before sending out? haven’t bought new vaps or needles from them , always went through tilley international then kept fingers crossed
