Teflon for packing material?

Hello, new member here with a question. I recently obtained a slightly beat up but intact Optimus 200P. After finding and fixing most of the problems and locating a suitable mantle, I was able to get the lamp going. There was a leak around the shaft for the control wheel and when I removed the nut I found the graphite packing (or almost total lack of it) was the problem. I didn't have any graphite packing but I did have some Teflon valve packing material that had a round cross section (like a little cord). I formed a small peice around the shaft and tightened the nut back on. The lantern performed perfectly. Is that a suitable packing material or am I asking for trouble?

 

Hi Jet-A
GZ with this Optimus 200 wich is a very nice lamp. These smaller lamps get hotter than the usual taller lamps and I wouldnt dare to use the teflon there. Maybe on the taller lamps I would give it a try. But I have seen this, wich migth be possible to hunt near your home:
http://www.lampenkueche.de/html/verkauf___shop.html
Hope its usefull to you.

Claus C

 

Thanks, I'll see if something like that is available locally.

 

I use teflon (PTFE) myself sometimes for that very same packing nut with good result.
I don't think the temperature will be any problem, even if these lanters run a bit hot just as Claus say.
But hardly hot enough to damage any teflon used to seal the spindle for the cleaning needle.

 

I have also used teflon plumbers tape with good results. I am very sure that the gland nut will not get above 200°C which is where the teflon can start to deteriorate.

 

Hello and welcome aboard!

 

Yeah, it was you who taught me this trick in the first place.
I think you wrote about it either here or at Förgasarföreningen.
It's a quick and easy fix that works surprisingly well, and you always have a roll of plumbers tape somewhere.

 

Thanks for the feedback. It wasn't actually tape but rather packing material used for old style valve stems. I had to mold it a little but it conformed to the spindle well and doesn't seem to leak.
While I'm at, how much pressure does this lamp need? It seems to work well with only a few pump strokes.

 

Any sort of Teflon will do. We call it PTFE here and the better stuff to use is the heavier tape used for gas joints as it is much thicker than plumbers tape. In the US you go to Ace Hardware and buy a pack of Teflon string which is ideal for gland joints. I have used this stuff on all manner of lamps and it always peerforms very well. ::Neil::

 

There are different colors out there, and that signifies the thickness of the tape. White is the thinnest and is popular for home plumbing. I'm sure that it would be fine for your lamp.

 

Just keep pumping until your thumb hurts. Working pressure should be around 2 bar.

 

Yea, ......OK

Thanks

 

So here's an update. Found some graphite material but the teflon is holding up nicely and I really don't wish to fix something that's not broken. I've used the lamp at least a dozen times and it is working perfectly. Thanks for the info.