Well then, this little beauty arrived today and I must say I am very pleased with it. Now first things first, either very few people saw this lamp on ebay or I have missed something that everyone else spotted? For £15 plus the postage though I'm not complaining. I said I had a lamp in mind for that shade and as you can see from the last picture, it rather looks the part. I think I'm right in saying that the generator is wrong? Other than that, oh and lack of a proper shade carrier, it appears complete. Off to give it a polish now, so I will update later with my progress.
ES used four different generators for these lamps. They are droopy S as used on Akron, U shaped, and this coil type. Later in the 1920s they introduced a straight generator with a knurled ring half way up to facilitate removal. So this could well be an original generator. Wants turning though because you have the burner facing the wrong way. The air intake tube should be oposite the valve not directly over it. The burner unit is an early one and this lamp looks to be a direct import from Akron so that makes it around 1922 ish. I don't really understand it but my last ES bought on the Bay only cost around £15 as well. They should be worth more because they are not that common and mostly restore and function well.
Hi Jean and Neil, I must admit that I am a little nervous about fuelling it up and putting a match to it. I have a bit of work to do first though, all the seals need to be changed, I need to find a pump and also I need to remove the valve assembly and handle so I can clean it and inspect the feed tube up the middle of the handle. Only problem is I can't get the valve off. Does it just unscrew? The handle and the piece under the valve unscrews but on moves up the the valve. That's interesting about the generator, I thought it was wrong but original would be better. I'll take the burner off again and see if I can get it to go the other way, although the generator is tight where is is now another half turn would strip the threads. I must admit I'm a little lost on this lamp, it ain't no Tilley. Can anyone give me any tips on stripping it down to component parts? I've given it a bit of a clean and it's looking much better but i'll have another go at some point and see if I can improve it anymore. Also does anyone have a shade holder which will do a better job than the bodged up bialaddin top I've fitted at the moment.
Hello Matt, it all unscrews, but some parts may need some gentle persuasion and you may have to add a spacer, so that the burner can be positioned properly. It's just a matter of working with it and don't light it with the shade on until you obtain a proper shade carrier. The heat needs to escape and it won't be able to with that heat deflector fitted and the shade on. A Coleman pump will be fine and there are many listed on Ebay USA., at reasonable prices, Jeff.
Right, quick update. Yes Jeff, I decided that it must unscrew so as you say a little persuasion and it all came apart. The fuel feed tube is perfect, I was reading about Juan's akron with the cracked tube and was worried that mine might be the same but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It is actually quite a nice looking thing because even though you can't see it they went to the trouble of plating it and of course it is perfect under there. No fear of me lighting it in a hurry that make shift carrier was just so that I could take a photo without having to hold the shade in place. Last couple of questions, fuel wise it runs on petrol, coleman, aspen, panel wipe etc? Also I haven't worked out how one would change the packing in the gland nut? I managed to removed the spindle complete with knob and packing nut but there is a pin through the shaft inside and I can't see the knob coming off the outside. Any ideas?
Hello Matt, that lamp will work best on Coleman fuel etc.. When you get a pump, pressure test the lamp before working with the packing in the gland nut. If I recall correctly, graphite packing was used and it's usually still okay. To make a tight seal between the shut off valve and the fuel feed pipe, just coat the thread on the pipe with a bar of soap and then screw on the shut off valve until it's tight, or use plumbers tape. Do let us know how you get on, Jeff.
Ok thanks Jeff. I have managed to get pressure into the tank with a small airbrush compressor and a piece of rubber hose. I haven't tried it under water yet but things seem to be working. I'll seal it with plumbers tape as you say and then it's just a case of building up enough confidence to light it.
Hi matt will be a nice lamp when you get it sorted Once you have pressure tested it and decide to try it do it where you have plenty of room any unknown petrol lamps i get i do it outside in the open just in case something unexpected happens years ago i had a close encounter in the garage and it was scary been very cautious ever since. Pete
These are pretty simple beasts to fettle and run. If the gland packing is leaking you have to fix it. With gasoline that has to be good. Easy fix is to remove the nut then twist some PTFE tape into a string and wrap a few turns around the spindle before screwing it back together. Don't wory over much about the position of the burner. It should be the other way round but it will work fine the way it is. You can make a pump adaptor for these. Get some old schrader valves from you local tyre depot. They normally have a bin full of scrapped ones. Revove the inner valve and burn of the rubber. You end up with a neat bronze tube. Then find something with the right thread to fit the inner part of the filler cap and solder the schrader vale to it. The threaded part of a primus type pump check valve will normally be the right thread so a little creative metalwork and then you got an neat adaptor you can screw into the filler and use a cycle pump. ::Neil::
Thanks for the advice chaps. Very good advice from Pete, I was actually thinking that I'll bring it along to Newark this year and if anyone wants to light her up they are more than welcome. I want to be the opposite end of the field with my caravan though . I have turned the burner for now but the generator is loose by half a turn perhaps if I keep an eye out for a replacement one It'll work better. I should be able to find an old tyre valve, we get through about 15 a week so I'll have a go. Thanks again, best regards Matt
Hi Mathew, Nice lamp and I love the shade. I use a foot pump on my coleman table lamp. I turned an adapter to fit the pump as a valve would fit with a few fine grooves around the outside for grip. The other end has a radius to fit the valve on the lamp as the correct hand pump would, a 1/8" hole through the centre is enough for the passage of air and about 1 1/4" is long enough. Its just a case of holding the adapter against the valve with one hand and pumping with the other. I find on a full lamp about ten strokes of the pump and its job done. When I say full I mean filled to the correct level. Do not be tempted to over pump, a lot more goes in on one stroke of a foot pump than one on a hand pump. All the best with your restoration. Len
Hi Len, thanks for the tip I also really like the shade. Another good idea but i'm still not sure if I actually have the nerve to light her up. Does anyone know of anyway that I could run it on paraffin instead? I would feel much happier.
Matt, It is designed to run on gasoline, so if you have checked for leaks, replaced seals and know that it holds pressure, take it outside and "go for it" Just be sure that you have a bucket of water with a large wet towel soaking in it. Any flash up, just throw the wet towel completely over it. If that don't put it out, go for the fire extinguisher. However, I am sure that if you do all the fettling checks correctly, it will be fine. I was also a bit nervous about petrol stoves, lamps and blowlamps, but having got over that initial fear, I am now comfortable with them, but still very wary; and that is a good way to be. If still not happy, bring it to Newark, the centre of "Pyromanic Excellence". Steve.
Matthew, If you follow the procedure as Steve says, it will be OK. Do a water test for leakages and when OK have a go at it. I use the alkylate petrol used for four stroke lawn movers and it works like a charm. I did a fettle and clean up on an Evening Star R 92066 table lamp last autumn, and it worked out fine. You can see it [url=http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/4383 /Conny
Mathew, The advice given is fine and you should not fear these types of lamps, after all the amish have used them for many years and still do. I light and use my coleman in my camper van with no problem whatever. I do preheat before turning the tap, this tends to stop the flairs which can happen if you just turn on and light. For this I use one of the mini blow torches available on ebay. They are also small enough to go through the lighting hole on a lot of the U.S. made lamps. All these types leave a residue of fuel in the vapouriser when you turn them off. The preheat will vapourise what is left, when this ignites at the mantle is the time to turn on the fuel. No drama just light.
Oh alright then, I haven't checked the seals yet but I will do it sometime and then see if I can light it. It'll have to be petrol though as I don't have anything else to use. It'll be alright for a quick fire up.
Mathew, I dont like to use petrol even for a short run. There is a lot of muck in petrol that will block your vapouriser and on that type it will be very difficult to remove it. If you cant find aspen in your area then go for panel wipe, its more widely available and usually a bit cheaper. That is what I have been using and I cant say I can detect any difference between them. Len
Petrol in gasoline lamps is no more dangerous than the stuff you happily use in your lawnmower or car. These machines are designed to run on the stuff and so is your lamp. Lawnmowers can amputate toes and you can kill people with cars. For some reason folk here are quite happy using these lethal machines but mention petrol with lamps and people here run for the hills. Use the right fuel with a little preheat and you will have a good safe light. ::Neil::
"Very good advice from a very experienced Sage" I totally agree with you Neil. But with one small proviso (in my opinion); if I were using this lamp regularly I would prefer to run it on Aspen4 or similar additive free gasoline, as I truly think that does reduce longer term problems. All the best - Steve.
Mathew, I agree with what Neil says about these lamps being designed to run on petrol, but not on the stuff we buy today. I believe the old stuff was known as white gas in the States and was very close to coleman fuel. Over here it was said we could run on unleaded or two star which was supposed to be the same. I have my doudt's on this one. I found after prolonged use the performance of a lamp fall off and it was always because the vapouriser was bunged up. Modern petrol seems even worse and leaves behind a lot of tary deposits, it also cantains ethonol, I dont know what effect if any this has. My other hobby is stationary engines and when really warmed up, run very bady on the modern stuff. I have seen on youtube a clip called distilling gasoline, basically this is making coleman fuel the stuff left after distilation is what bungs up your vapouriser. I will stick to aspen or panel wipe. Len
Any alkylate petrol will do fine for our lamps. You don't have to be so fixated to Aspen. They are all the same.
Oh yes you can't run these lamps on any modern motor fuel. It may be lead free but is still loaded with all manner of additives which will quickly clog the generators. In the UK Aspen 4T is one of two available suitable fuels. I discount Coleman fuel because, although it is available, at around £40 a gallon it is pretty well priced out of the market. The only other option is panel wipe. So here it is not that we have a great deal of choice. I know very well that in Europe there are other alternatives but here we are seriously limited to the two types. ::Neil::
Yes Neil, I have slowly come to the astonishing understanding that you actually are limited to Aspen as the only alkylate petrol in Britain, but since this is an international forum I think it's much better to just simply say alkylate petrol (perhaps with the addition "e.g. Aspen" when mainly addressing a Brit as the original poster) than only specifying one single brand out of so many others. People who are reading these threads might get locked in their thinking that the only thing they shall go looking for is Aspen, and then just simply walk right by all other alkylate petrols they have in their local petrol station. And those are generally much cheaper than Aspen.
You are correct of course and perhaps we do need to talk in more general terms to avoid confusion. Another problem here is that Aspen is not always easy to find. It is mostly sold through garden and horticultural centres and not many stock it. For instance I live in an Aspen black hole and the nearest supplier is about 50 miles away. One thing we do need to make clear is there are two types of Aspen. Aspen 2T is for two stroke engines and has lubricants added which make it unsuitable for lamps. The type for four stroke engines and therefore also lamps is Aspen 4T. Sometimes panel wipe is easier as that is sold through auto paint suppliers and most towns have an outlet which stocks it. ::Neil::
