Good Evening.... Just this minute Joined up and already asking a question that hopefully somebody can answer. I have one of the above and am now just about to embark on it's dismantling and eventual restoration. I have had it a few years now and getting ready to provide myself with something to do over the coming autumn/winter up the shed. Now so far a drop of WD40 and everything has come apart surprisingly easy....I now need to take the actual lamp part away from the tank and the hole in the base of the lamp is too small to allow this as the brass tap/valve is in the way. The query I have is that the small tap/valve in the rear window on the brass feed tube.... I have undone the brass collar and assume the whole valve would just pull out, but does not seem to do so. It turns left/right easy enough. I am obviously doing something the wrong way. Can anybody point me in the right direction. What is on the end of this small black twist knob.
Welcome aboard! Some photos would help, but I assume that you are referring to the control cock and if so, then it unscrews anti clockwise from it's socket, the black knob also unscrews anti clockwise from the spindle of the control cock, but it's best to grip the spindle with a set of pliers and to protect the spindle from the pliers use a bit of leather or a cloth. Then grip the black knob and unscrew it, but you may have to use pliers on it too, Tilley Lamp is often written on the knob. The gland nut also unscrews anti clockwise and there are washers inside of it which will need to be replaced or paraffin will leak from there, the old washers can be difficult to remove, but if you sharpen the end of a small screw driver and use it to cut through the old washers then they will come out more easily. New washer packs are available from the Fettle Box and the tab for it is at the top right hand corner of this website. Do let us know how you get on, Jeff.
Removing the black knob won't help much. You need to unscrew the vaporiser from the valve and then the valve unit will unscrew and lift out from the rear and does not have to pass through the hole in the reflector. ::Neil::
Hey Jeff, Thanks for the answer. Got the black knob off but I couldn't unscrew the shaft so just unscrewed the whole lump so will approach that bit later. Anyhow everything came to bits rather easily I am glad to say. Oh and cheers for the link to the washers etc. I shall have a look later. Not a lot of point in any pictures as yet as it is just a pile of rusty bits at present. Now what I need now is answers to a couple more questions. Firstly what black paint would be used? Would it be Black enamel. Would the chimney be heat resistant. Cant see the rest of the lamp getting that hot. Are the decals still available. As of today I stopped work an hour early and cleaned up the large front ring and the bottom bracket ready for a few coats of Galvafroid. Will keep you posted.
The shaft doesn't unscrew. Tilley didn't use heatproof paint so it burns off the chimney - occupational hazard I'm afraid. I'm not aware of the transfers being commercially available although some individuals have reproduced them from time to time...
As David has mentioned the control cock spindle does not unscrew, but the gland nut which fits around the spindle and is screwed onto the control cock unscrews anti clockwise and the seals which are in the gland nut will need to be replaced. There are heat resistant paints around, but another member will have to advise you on those, Jeff.
All the heat-resistant paints available in the UK seem to be matt, Jeff, so there's the choice of matt black or rust if the lamp's a user. Mine might get lit once a year and none are for display so it's not an issue...
