I just scored this unfired Optimus 1550 G and I was wondering if you could give me an idea on when these were made. It didn’t come in a box but did have 5 mantles, a tool & spare parts kit. I have one other Petromax, a 1966 German, and it has a heat shield, did this one come with a heat shield? From what I have been able to tell from the few photos out there it doesn’t appear to have had one. Not sure what I’m going to do with it, tempted to fire it up but you know what that does to the value and wanted a little more information first. Most likely it will be a shelf queen, it’s a beautiful lantern. P
This is the last version of the 1550 and was made towards the end of the 1980s. It was from the time when sales were declining for Optimus and they were trying to cut costs, so some parts were sourced from Hipolito. They were the preheater and the vapouriser assembly. I have heard a rumour but have no proof that Optimus also outsourced production of all the brass parts to another company in Sweden and only did the final assembly themselves. Anyway, they are an interesting part of the history of Optimus and they are still good quality and work as well as any 1550. If it wasn't for the ridiculous postage I could probably find you a good user 1550. As you say, there was never a heat shield on an Optimus lamp.
Do my eyes deceive me or is the inner hood with burner missing or have you left it out of the pictures.
Thanks for the replies. The burner is there, i just left it out of the photo. i polished the 1550 up and it looks great, not a scratch or swirl in the nickel. I decided not to fire this one up but I did use its spare parts kit & tool to get my 1966 829 Petromax going last night and what a beast, first time I ever saw a Petromax in action and it was impressive. This 829 was only used once or twice before and is in mint condition except for the finish so having it nickel plated locally and this will be my user and the pretty Optimus goes on the fireplace mantle for now. Now I need to find a 828 350 for a user and that along with my Coleman 327 Empire & converted 200A will have me all set for kerosene lanterns this hurricane season. You just don’t find Optimus in the states, back in my climbing & backpacking days their stoves were the best on the market then they kind of dropped out of sight in the late 90’s / early 2000’s, I’m guessing they moved production to China like all of our companies did and are not what they once were. This was my first lantern that wasn’t a Coleman, going to have to pickup a Tilly when visiting the wife in London this summer.
