Hi I have a 7 " vapouriser with no cleaning wire and i'm not sure if it's ok. I did a forum search and have come to the conclusion that the only way to test it is to put in a working lamp and see if works. Am i right? and what signs am i looking for. During my search i found a comment from Jeff saying "I no longer buy the new Tilley vapourisers, (red and white boxes) it's better to buy the unused old stock ones which are often listed on UK., Ebay. Jeff." How can a newcomer like me be sure what he is buying. Thanks Dave
Welcome aboard Dave! Do you have another 169 Tilley vapouriser (7 inch) which you can borrow the cleaning wire from, because you will need a cleaning wire in that vapouriser to test it properly. The older Tilley vapourisers have brass bottom ends and the modern ones have steel bottom ends, so that is a simple way to tell them apart, test them with a magnet if you are not certain. The brass ends are threaded into the vapourisers and the steel ones are just shoved in and pressed tight, hence the reason why they somtimes leak from that point. Some of the vapourisers with steel bottom ends do work well, but there have been several posts on this website about the poor quality of the modern Tilley vapourisers, Jeff.
Thanks Jeff, yes i do have a cleaning wire to test the vapouriser. How could i see if the vapouriser is defect. What should i be looking for? Living in Germany I am now experiencing how difficult it is to acquire Tilley parts. You just dont find Tilleys at car boot sales. I have bought some gear from Basecamp and Stuga Cabana My question on how to be sure when buying stuff was really aimed at Ebay. I see a vapouriser and have no idea if its good gear or not. Thanks for your help Dave
Hello Dave, the main problem with Tilley vapourisers is the jet becoming enlarged and when that happens, to much air and fuel reaches the burner and it does not burn properly, the mix is to rich and various colours of flames appear. Another problem is that Tilley vapourisers gradually become filled with carbon and if that is the case then the light will be very dull, if it works at all that is. Some members of this forum have parts for trade or sale and it does not hurt to ask. The fettle box at the top right of the screen is a source for good quality washers and seal packs, Jeff.
Im still on the look out for vapourisers and was having a sniff Around E bay. I found a Vapouriser with interchangeable jet. from somwhere in the far east. Do a search for - 7 " Vaporizer Generator for Tilley - Does anyone know this gear. I hope i'm not doing anything against forum rules Thanks Dave
Hello Dave, that idea has been tried before and there are problems with it and if I can find the link, then I shall add it to this post, Jeff.
Hello Dave, i should have been more precise in my previous post, as i actually meant the previous posts which are on this website and are about this subject. In my opinion it's better to stick with the older Tilley vapourisers which have the brass bottom ends, Jeff.
... The brass vaporisers for Tilley have problems with overheating in the burner and distorting and then jamming in the spigot. A steel vaporiser tube is more robust.
I saw the same Vaporiser that Dave mentioned, but I didn't had enough encourage to order that Vapouriser with changeable jet/nozzle. Can you remember what where the problems with that construction?
I am slowly coming to the conclusion that Tilley Vaporisers might be saved. It is true that a pricker wire fitted or not makes a difference to the mixture. It seems to me less about whether there is proper "tip" that can reach through the jet - rather just the presence of the wire. I have one where the tip is burned away to nothing and it still leans the mixture. It burns much better with it than without. I bought a new Tilley vapouriser recently. Red & White box but 5" version. 606. The threaded bush to mate control cock is steel and the tube looks as if it is pressed in. It works but also runs rich so far. No leaks yet. My old vapouriser (assumed original from 1964 - date of mfg of lamp) has been peened to close up the jet. It was > 0.2mm before now about it is 0.18mm at guess. It is running pretty well if a bit weak - without a pricker wire. More testing required + maybe some pics to come. I lit it 30mins ago and I am watching results. Sorry for hurried post but I do think these might be saved - at least once.
Hi what exactly did you do to peen the jet from > 0.2mm to 0.18mm? I would be at a loss measuring holes of that size. How did you do it? Dave
It would be nice if Tilley Vapourisers could be saved some how... I have seen two Vapourisers that have been tried to repair by changing 2-3 cm from the top of the Vapouriser. I have tried to find out who have tried to repair them in one area on "countryside" and what they/he has used as a replacement jet(if that is right word). Those repaired Vaporisers are giving too much fuel so there is too much flame outside of mantle. But maybe they/he was able to get working one done also... I have also though to cut Vapouriser tube and fitting some Petromax threaded jet to it. This idea is still under thinking...
Not easy I admit... Pricker wires and a digital vernier. Standard Primus stove pricker is 0.23mm. E guitar string .008 thou about 0.2mm It started to get difficult below that. I could not find anything until I hit upon a scrap Coleman 226 vapouriser with a broken wire... That is White Gas - small jet - must be tiny. The stump which was left poking out of it was useless - but if you score and then break the brass, just below the taper which it has been peened into, out comes about 15mm of good wire which measures 0.14mm diameter. Rest was guesswork. 0.2mm wire would not pass while 0.14mm looked like 10-20% spare. Magnifying Glass! I have just shut it down. Light was too feeble. The mantle only partly illuminated and that was running at more pressure than I would like. It was not tank bending pressure but it was leaking from places that had never leaked before. Next I want to try bigger jet hole - it should need less pressure but may need a pricker wire fitted. It was not running too badly when set up like this last night, but I had to try narrowing the jet further, in case of better. Seems I have gone too far tonight. Peening is just a matter of a metal drift held squarely across the outside of the jet orifice - tap it and the metal from the outside is pushed inward and outward. The jet hole gets smaller. Hold it perfectly square or the gas will exit sideways - no good! Check result with the pricker wire. OK or NOK?? - If not ding it again. Opening up is easy - work through a bigger pricker wire - but again keep the jet hole square and symmetrical. I am using the old Vapouriser as a test donkey - it was NBG anyway. If I find the right zone for the jet hole I might apply what I learn to the new one. I have resisted the temptation to fit the new Vap' pricker wire because it might be wrecked if it tries to pass a jet hole which is too small. The new vaporiser and pricker - out of the box - run rich at moderate tank pressure with fuel tap fully open. It gives a nice white light - ideal mixture - if fuel tap is backed off slightly. But as my fuel valve is missing any reduction in the mixture is caused by the pricker blocking the jet - I am not happy with that - tip will burn away eventually. I am looking for good mixture at moderate tank pressure and fuel tap wide open - with pricker safely retracted.
Thanks to generous donation of some 0.16mm acupuncture needles by member Bjorn I have had the chance to experiment some more. I closed up the jet of the old vapouriser until the 0.16mm pricker was a perfect fit. It burned very well, without a pricker. At normal tank pressure the light was bright and very white, no trace of the yellow it had before. Unfortunately it did not last long like that. Over 30 minutes or so I think the jet opened up again as the light became progressively more yellow. The problem I am quite sure is that it is difficult to close the jet by peening from the top when there is nothing on the underside to absorb the impact. The top of the vapouriser has dished inward. I think the jet hole closure was probably only the creation of a small burr around the top which slowly burned away. Now looking for a rod which will pass the pricker guides and act as back stop. This should enable more material to be moved so it might last a bit longer next time. By experiment 1.8mm seems to be the required diameter, a drill blank of that size passes the lower guides. A pity it is too short to do the job. Now looking for something of the right length and diameter. A cycle spoke was one idea but no good.... they are 2mm. Hmmm ....
1.6mm is a common size.... You'll need something fairly rigid is the thing, a MS rod will bend/distort and may not be strong enough. Look out for 8.8 Steel rod or silver steel round bar for that added toughness. Good luck, I'm following this with interest Alec
Yes I agree about hardness. Have welding rods but much too soft. Have Stainless Steel but not in small enough diameter. The drill blank would be perfect if only about 2x as long as it is. I'm glad someone else is keen to see if this can be done...I reckon it's worth it. The new Vapouriser I bought is OK but it still needs adjustment for perfect mixture by partly closing off the jet with the pricker. Running at lower pressure just doesn't seem to do as well. Maybe that's about the velocity of vapour leaving the jet and mixing with the air? I have been here with a Hipolito 500CP too.
I am currently in the process of developing replaceable jets for Vapalux vapourisers. If things go well then I see no reason why it will not work for Tilley ones? The biggest problem encountered so far was sealing the jet to the tube, so far only ultra thin Copper washers work. Will let you know how things go.
You should be able to get spring steel "Piano Wire" from a Model/Hobby store or have they all disappeared with internet games and ready to fly models.
A beautiful micro drill shown there. The trouble with them is how can you hold them and the work (vapouriser) steady enough to do any good? I guess if making screw in jet replacements then one already has a good micro machine shop...? This is not a problem which would trouble the watchmakers of this world for the last 2 centuries or so. I'm looking for the solution for the home fettler who is not a watch/clock maker.
The drilling is pretty easy, after lots of experimenting I can do about 5 jets the full length of the drill bit before one breaks though it does take full concentration. I have come to realise that the hole only needs to be a mm or less deep so could probably get many more holes to a bit. I will start a thread on the process soon as I have nearly perfected the modded vap tubes. I haven't got a micro machine shop but have a few tools that are essential to the drilling of the holes, most bought from Axminster tools!
Make the jet's bottom surface little bit cone shape from the point where thread ends. Also "vaporizer tube's" end could be grooved to inner hole direction. Then you get self sealing joint there.
