I suppose in the interest of harmony on the forums, I'd better post these here in the Open Forum. Seems a pity because they'll just get lost... The page is too large to get in my scanner, hence the two images. I've tried to post them larger for clarity but the forum software doesn't seem to like that for some reason - bah!...
Well we have to draw a line somewhere and these are a capilary feed gasoline or alcohol mantle lamp. Neat and pretty reliable with a good light output but pressure they ain't so I don't list them and there is no gallery here for them. They do seem to fall somewhere between wicky crap and pressure and maybe it is a pity they don't feature in any web site. ::Neil::
Agreed - and that's why I posted them in the Open Forum! Given the taste here for wickie-crap like Aladdin and such, I just thought there might have been some interest. They're sort-of wick and mantle like Aladdin etc. except the fuel doesn't burn at the wick to excite the mantle...
Good question. I don't really know. They seem to run on the smell. Probably using the evaporated gasoline laden air sort of like a gravity lamp does. Could be black magic for all I know though. ::Neil::
Now you're being silly, Neil - how can a lamp possibly run on chocolates... OK, in a TL the wick ends in a small chamber, at the top of which is a valve and nipple. Above that is a copper mixing chamber with a brass burner mesh at the top. Protruding from this is a metal rod into which is put another thinner rod forked at the top. The uppermost forked rod isn't present here - they fall out and get lost. I do have a couple and I'll try to find one later. Anyway, a conical mantle (absolutely unobtainable now) is suspended from the fork. In use, these are preheated - I forget exactly how for the moment, but I think something sits in the wide lower groove on the mixing chamber - and this causes fuel to be drawn up the wick and vapourise, burning at the mesh. This excites the mantle which incandesces. Heat from the burning vapour is conducted back down to keep fuel being drawn up the wick. There's a tube inside the tank to allow air to be drawn in through a small hole in the bottom to replace the fuel burned. That would be interesting if the lamp was knocked over as fuel (alcohol or essence i.e. gasoline) could possibly escape... There are different nipples for each fuel, the difference being the diameter of the jet i.e. tiny or tinier (0.8mm and 0.3mm spring to mind but I can't remember which is which). The only way to tell which fuel any lamp is meant for is by measuring the jet. I've a few of these but never had one run - you have to bu&&er about modifying Tilley, or other, mantles to get them to fit. I have seen them running, though, and they're sort of OK-ish - you'd need 2-3 to illuminate your soirée. I've no idea why I have them - they're not pressure, they're ornate and most mystifying of all, they're F-F, Fff, Fer... ...sorry, just couldn't bring myself to type out the F-word)
And apparently not the word bugger either! Well, I think what David says about the Tito-Landis function is pretty much how I see it too. There is a little chamber between the jet and where the wick delivers the fuel (the valve is in between). It is in that tiny chamber the fuel is vaporised by the heat that's been conducted as already described by David. As it vaporises from heat, the pressure will increase, and the easiest way out is of course through the open jet where it stream out with a gentle hiss, and is mixed with air sucked in at the base of the copper tube to finally exit through the mesh, also mentioned above. So on the whole, they work in a slightly similar way as our pressure lamps, burner wise. They use a fork that has been dipped in meths, which is placed into two slots at the base of the gallery to surround the burner around the area where the jet is. It's not where the groove of the mixing chamber is on some Titp-Landis, but lower so the entire mixing chamber is heated. Here's a home made preheating torch. These burners don't need so much heat to get started, so they don't need so much "wick material" in the torches either: And here it's inserted into the slots: And here you can see a burner with the gallery taken off. (This is the type without the waist on the mixing chamber.) The jet is visible through the air hole (one of four) at the base of the mixing chamber. And a home made fork to support the mantle. The fork is just pressed down into the conductor rod. That rod is as David mentioned essential to keep the vaporisation going, since it's that one that conducts the heat downwards. All in all very nice lamps! They give a decent light without much noice. There are other burners that use a similar system. Hugo Schneider made a couple for instance. I think they are called HS No.1 and HS No.2. Atleast No.2 is certain, because I have one of those. And yet another was the Kriegslicht.
Hello Christer, those are interesting photos! Would any of the old gas mantles or the Aladdin type of mantle work on those lamps? Jeff.
Yes gaslight mantles work pretty well, and is exactly what I use myself. And as it happens mine are of the brand Aladdin, but there are others available. I think e.g. Veritas has these narrower gaslight mantles too. (The larger Aladdin mantles, as 21 or 23, is out of the question. They are way too wide. The diameter of this burner is only about 22 mm.) I bought two boxes (12 in each) of old Aladdin upright mantles for gaslights many years ago, and I still have nearly a full box left. They are a bit too long, but that doesn't matter. There's plenty of room along this long burner to give room for the excessive part of the mantle. I got inspired to start up that particular lamp I posted the previous pictures of here. It was long ago since I had it running, but it worked as it should directly. Oh, well... not exactly directly. As always, it takes a while before the cotton wick has been fully "saturated" when filling up a dried up lamp like this. Here's a fresh image of the nice blue flame cone, and after that a picture of the lamp illuminating the desk with one of those old Aladdin mantles on. Unfortunately without any shade. I must fix something there soon, because I think I must start to use this one more often. Not fantastically bright. Rather a comfortable light, and that's exactly how it should be for a lamp indoors, unless you are going to use it for some work that need strong light.
It's a fine lamp and the light output looks okay, is it as bright as an Aladdin wick fed mantle lamp? Jeff.
Yes, these are nice. I have just fixed a suitable globe for it very cheap. It wont be original, but I'm more after making it into a user lamp, so I think it will be pretty neat! Regarding light output, I'd say that it's about the same as an Aladdin 23. A pure guess now would be that the Aladdin is slightly brighter at full speed. I might make a comparison tonight with a simple grease spot photometer. Those are pretty accurate for these purposes. I don't think my Tito run optimal. The wick is pretty dirty, and I also think an original mantle should increase the output because it will mean a little bit more area to incandesce. Well, then! You should get yourself a couple. They are actually very usable. And to be honest, more silent lamps that don't give out a too sharp light is generally much more suitable indoors. I'd be much more comfortable in your "shed bar" with a couple of these lit than one real pressure lamp.
That's why I love firing up my Aladdins in the winter months. Is there any control over the brightness on the Tito Landi?
Well, considering your location, that would be a good idea. The French market is right at your door step, isn't it? Otherwise you could always go for a Hugo Schneider No.2 or a Kriegslicht. Gneiss, the control is pretty good on these. You can't dim them quite as low as an Aladdin and keep it there for long, but they are still possible to lower to a very dim level and be kept there without any flickering or other problems. Once increased from there, it reacts immediately. The control itself is very exact.
It's a litte more than a step and I have to admit that my french isn't very polished, I haven't used it for about 25 years
Sounds like a good reliable system, I wonder why it's not more common... or maybe it was way back when?
If i recall correctly they were a common lamp in France, but lamps which used Petrol were never so popular in the UK., Jeff.
No, not really any maintenance. It just does its job as long as it's not too dirty. I have never needed to do anything with the wicks on my lamps, but I'm sure they eventually will need to be replaced. They are similar to the type you have in smaller petrol stoves, if you are familiar with them. Or petrol blow lamps if you like. The Tito wick is just much larger, but still consists of a bunch of cotton strands shoved up in a tube that ends flat under the control valve, so I guess the usual old mop head trick works well here too when the day comes.
Yes, the wick is 'passive' in a sense, or at least active only as a means to raise fuel from the tank - there's no burning anywhere near the wick and it's quite difficult to get to should replacement (rather than maintenance) be required. Replacement/renewal is apparently difficult to achieve because a large amount of wick has to be compressed very tightly into a tube at the top. I'm sure I've seen a cross-section of a Tito-Landi somewhere - likely on BBL...
Torsten Scherning has an excellent site where he describes the Tito-Landi and the function. I suggest you all to read it. The cross section is also there. Have a look here. The cross section is almost at the bottom of that page, but the pictures and text before is also worth looking at for those who wants to get a better grip of the function of these lamps.
Here's another site with some construction detail: http://lumiara.perso.neuf.fr/lumiara/en/titusen.htm
Here is what I have coming my way. Your pages, and the French reference page will make fettling straight-forward. I just could use some help finding glass...
