Picked these up today , both from the same owner as the Bialadsim I posted earlier . All the lamps belonged to the guys father - he wanted them to go to a good home The Gold is a September 1970 month before my birth in really good condition holds pressure but will need a new glass once cleaned up the cap is in great condition What throws me with this lamp is it’s stamped XA , but is not a the same as my Nove 1964 XA I have just restored , any one know why it’s marked as such? I understood Dec 1964 was the cross over the B lamps and welded cage ? The Speculum is a Feb 1973 again in great condition and the best cap of the 5 lamps I now own - holds pressure and a good polish should make a great looking lamp
The “XA” stamped on the bottom of the Tilley tank after the date is not a model designation. We’re not sure what it is, but Tilley has this on many dated lanterns (check through the Reference Gallery). What you have at the top photo is a Tilley X246B. Ditto the “XB” on your second X246B lantern. Tony
Both my Gold 246Bs (1970) are stamped XA , but both Speculum 246Bs (1972&3 ) are stamped XB , maybe it’s a 1970 thing ??
As I said above, we don’t know what the two letters after the date mean. If you look through the Reference Gallery you will see that dated X246 lanterns had various letters after the date: “O”; “XO”; “XA”… Tony
Cleaning up the speculum lamp, coming up really well Should this , what I believe to be a wind defector , be inside the globe or outside as is pictured
It's an insect guard and I always understood it to be fitted like this: What I find curious about the Speculum 246b's I've seen, they are nearly always fitted with the an insect guard, so I assume these were fitted at the factory, whereas for other lamps it was an option. I often wondered if these were a batch of export lamps that ended up staying in the uk for whatever reason? Speculum being the export variation to Australia and NZ I understand? These are nearly always - as I've observed - dated 1971. My one here is 11/71.
Ah great thanks , that makes more sense. It’s a very tight fit to get the preheater in with it fitted as in my pic, that’s how it came fitted so I’d put it back , will reverse it Burns well though
@Beanie Yes, I think the general consensus is they look better inverted as in your picture. But the proper way of fitting them is t'other way around, so the meths torch fits easier. They also nestle into the bottom of the globe better.
I’ve reversed the insect screen , much easier to get the preheated in. I have fitted a new pump leather this evening while rebuilding my M305 , so have lit for a test - it’s pulsing a little , is that potentially low pressure or a bigger problem that I need to investigate ? Running side by side
