Soooooo… I managed to acquire a very sorry Veritas 350 (with red top) that is in need of some serious love. A more detailed view to follow when I start properly attacking it but in the meantime - two questions based on the pics … - the best way to remove the rust from the cage? Citric acid or mild shot blasting? - how to unbend the vaporiser? Heat or gentle persuasion in a vice? The needle inside was straight incidentally On the plus side it did have its original glass intact and - God be praised - a handle! @ColinG @Henry Plews I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts! best, Chris
A soak in vinegar will remove some rust and in my opinion, it would be best to heat the vapouriser before trying to straighten it.
Oh, and if you remove the rust from the hood it's possible to 'black' it in an oven. Heat it to a good temperature and dunk it in some oil. Then bake this in the oven and the resulting surface should last unlike paint which will degrade quite swiftly.
As for the vaporiser, I'd heat it and gently bend it into shape wearing tough leather gloves. As it's not that bad you could even try it without heat.
All handy tips! Thank you - fingers crossed on the vapouriser. I’m at a loss as to how it could have got to that stage - especially with the glass still intact! Anyway, onwards and upwards
I would go the citric acid route. Been on that kick lately and have just finished up a pair of early 220b’s with great results.
It got that way by repeated heating and cooling rather than physical impact. In my experience, they're quite commonly bent like that and it may well go back as it is. If it's at the end of its service life though, no amount of straightening will effect a cure...
Gentle tapping with a rubber hammer with the generator on a flat wooden cutting board or similar has always worked for me . . . Ulf.
Well… progress of a kind with the Veritas 350 but assistance needed. The lamp is back together and all seals are tightened etc but there’s an odd issue. I can’t get it to light as there doesn’t seem to be pressure generated by the pump. It feels slack, let after a lighting attempt the tube is full of paraffin coming out under pressure. I had replaced the NRV pip and washer and took them back out to check they were fine - they were as was the leather. After the same thing happened again I tested for leaks (none) and replaced the NRV with a new one. Same issue… any ideas? best as ever Chris
I hope not given the time and effort I’ve spent on it. That had occurred to me though - it did seem to pressurise fine when empty mind you, it’s just a problem now the paraffin is in and I did a dunk test beforehand… Ho hum… C
@Automedon did you give the inside of the tank a good clean? The baseplate may be a steel one and it only takes a small piece of something to get lodged in the nrv regards p
Hi yes I did - and I replaced the NRV just in case with a brand new one but no joy - as I can’t solder this could be a problem lol, or I find a new tank. So near and yet so far…
Ok, well you need to test the nrv to rule it out sometimes they just won’t seal or after working they play up best done with the fuel out as much as you can, take the nrv out, check the pip is level and everything is clean inc. the bottom of the pump tube as bits can come off the leather pump cup Do another dunk test if the bubbles come from that area try and narrow it down, take out the pump and see if you can spot where the leak is? a lot of to-ing and fro-ing but you said it passed a dunk test originally so that is encouraging
Remove everything above the valve. Remove the pump Fill the tank with fuel. Control cock valve closed Fuel cap inplace but not tight enough to seal Place tank in freezer until nice and cold Prepare a bucket of hot water Remove from the freezer and tighten the fuel cap Keeping the end of the pump tube above water submerge most of the tank in the hot water. The tank will self pressurise due to the heat Use a torch and watch in the pump tube to see where the fuel is coming from.
Well, a slight update … I’ve been in the dark side of stoves while having a think about the Veritas. Anyway… … I found myself in Buxton which is where I got my first Veritas 350 (in a scrapyard). I remembered that at the time (a year ago) there had been a second 350 bail. Would it still be there? It was … and for the princely sum of £10 I found a 350 that was complete bar the heat shield, glass and lid. The good news? The bail was in great condition - a little grubby but pretty decent. The bad news was that the pricking needle had snapped off in the nipple and the mechanism itself was frozen. Not to worry though as I’d refurbished the valve assembly on the original subject of this thread. So, after stripping down the donor, testing and cleaning the bail inside (full of sludge) and reassembling… this was the result. OK, it’s a franken 350 half silver and half gold, but it works beautifully - especially with the Anchor 500cp mantle fitted. Ran for an hour last night with no issues. It would be nice to get the pump tube fixed on the original one and restore the parts etc to the donor and complete, but this will do for a while, and two basket cases are back in action (sort of)… anyway here you go Chris
Crikey @Automedon you deserve a medal for perseverance. Although having a working lamp is perhaps reward enough.
To be honest I’m just surprised the bail was still there after a year! There were also a couple of Tilley X246As kicking around but I have enough of them already and they were in poor shape sadly But yes, one more Veritas saved which I’m sure will please @ColinG
