Hi I wonder if any one can offer any advice. I have a Sea Anchor 500cp lantern I use as a workhorse. Up until last night all was fine until I lit it. Flames came from the joint between the lower and upper vaporiser cracking the glass before I could release pressure and turn it off. The glass is not a problem and easily replaced but paraffin still escapes from the joint which appears to be tight. As I have no wish to overtighten it and do irreversable damage I seek your advice. Regards, Jeremy
I have had the same problem, but usually on old worn lamps. If you unscrew the nut and push it aside then you will find the end of the upper tubes bottom is shaped round to fit in the tubes opening below. The roundshaped end often have a ring around where is should be smooth. These rings appears after longerish use and must be grinded away so the round end is smooth Again. Then just screw it all back on Again and it will fit tight. The ring is to be removed by a grindingstone, sandpaper and the tube is soft so it is easy to do - but dont bring it out of shape Hope it helps Claus C
I use Araldite RTV high temperature silicon gasket maker for that part on both of my Petromax and Butterfly. But you do have to make sure the 2 surfaces come to a close fit. Apply that on the outside just before the threads starts, wait for few minutes and screw the nut in. Wipe off the excess. Be sure not to add too much as the silicon may seep out from the nut when temperature is applied for the first time. Not very sightly when that happens. Note that the silicon can only be used at the joint and nowhere else on the lantern. It wont seal the jet, wont seal eccentre packing gland nut, burner & mixing chamber gaps, and the major seals on the font.
Hi Claus and isFuzzy. Many thanks for your replies. I will disassemble the vaporiser and have a look at the shape. More photos may follow. I agree it does seem strange as this lamp has only been used for approximately 30 hours. Will keep you posted. Kind regards, Jeremy
I deal with jamb nut joints at work everyday. We call it ferrule joints. I do not know about the sea anchor lower caburettor, but the part with threads the hole should have an angle similar to the jamb nut. Its like fitting a V into a v and then screwing it tight in place. Its a usual practice in asia to add teflon tape in this type of joints for water and gas works. I deal with joints made nicely by Swagelok. They fit so snug no sealant needed. Just to give you some idea about it. My butterfly use to leak at that spot too at times fuel would collect in the heating cup and then creating a fire in there.
Thanks to all for the advice. I took the upper vaporiser apart and found it to be clean and smooth. Re-assembled it and it now works perfectly so I guess it couldn't have been seated properly from new. Does any one know if the No. 74 Glass Chimney Hipolito 500cp & 350cp, Petromax 500cp sold by Basecamp will fit this model? I have not yet emailed Mike to hear his thoughts. Regards, Jeremy
Hi Jeremy, my experience is that the Petromax/Geniol/Hipolito/Schott cylinders may be a bit larger than the Anchor cylinders, so you might have to enlarge the upper ring of the frame a bit. But no problem at all, some cylinders even fit, however a bit narrow. Regards, Martin
Martin is absolutely correct - the Anchor comes with thin Chinese glass so the diameter of the top ring is slightly too small to accommodate the Petromax glass easily. Years ago, I bought two knackered Anchors for about £3.50 purely for the P'max globes. I did manage to remove them eventually but with a lot of fiddling on one lantern and cutting through the top ring on the other...
I would think Butterfly chimneys fit too. I have a West German made chimney that would slot in but wouldnt sit in nicely at the bottom.
