G’day, I’m Fettling this Aladdin Lantern. At least I think it is but there are no markings and the decal is long gone. It’s my first full fettle and so far it is going well thanks to all the information available on this site. I have the lantern apart and the tank and most parts are sound. BUT (there is always a but) the porcelain flame spreader is loose in its collar. There were the remnants of a washer or filler of some sorts that use to be between the porcelain and the threaded brass piece inside the collar. I assume this is a problem and can someone suggest the best way to fix the loose flame spreader? Thanks Martin
Hi Martin, you can use stove pipe putty/cement for this. Apply a little bit of the putty to the threads. I always use a toothpick. The putty will be cured by the heat of the lantern. It will be permantly fixed together then. Taking it apart without damage is impossible when the putty is cured. Regards, Götz
G'day Gotz, The threads are not the loose part but stove pipe putty might fix the loose porcelain flame spreader. I haven't seen the putty before but it should be available in town. Thanks for the reply. Martin By the way you did a great job on the Radius 119.
I could be wrong but what you're calling a flame spreader is, I think, more correctly known as a nozzle. Hope that helps...
Thanks David, Then I have a loose porcelain nozzle and if I don't remove the slack then it will leak and that's not good.
Exhaust (muffler) putty may be a solution. That Aladdin looks very Scandinavian to me - particularly Radius. I think I've read that there was some sort of business alliance between Aladdin and other companies but I've forgotten whatever details I knew. Possibly parts from other manufacturers will fit...
Thanks again David, I have a tin in the shed. Tomorrow I will get some out and see what affect a blow torch has on it. You are correct there is a lot of similarity with the Radius 119 and 115. I believe this one was made in Australia under licence. I have found both Whitworth and metric threads used in the lantern.
Aladdin also sold Petromax Lanterns under their own label in the UK before the war. http://forum.pelam.de/board18-fachbereich-deutsch/board2-sammler-forum/12569-aladdin-petromax-little-baby-900/?s=aed35fcd68a0e032f7af8a3e672cdd33d4af246a
Bon Giorno, I have had contact with Aladdin about these lanterns as far as I have seen evidence (catalogue) these Aladdin lamps where sold in 1938 and cancelled in the 1939 catalogue. 1935 as mentioned by Peter Bendel I do not know ? Any one with a 1935 Aladdin catalogue here ?
Martin I've had the same issue as you. High temperature gasket goo and stove pipe putty work. You can buy a new Aladdin nozzle and attachment from Sands in Melbourne, or a Radius 119 will work, if it comes to that. Cheers Tony
The original Aladdin 12A and 14A sold in Australia were made by Radius. When WW2 came around they couldn't get supplies to Australia so Aladdin started making them themselves in Australia. The one you show here is the second variation of the Australian made ones and likely from the 50s. Whether it is the Radius made lamps or the Australian made ones, I have only seen this type of nozzle. It seems to be only used in Australia. I'm not sure how critical it is if the ceramic part is loose. You could always try it before mucking about with muffler putty.
Good point, Nils. From my experience, if the ceramic is only a bit loose, it doesn't affect Yue performance of the lamp. Tony
G'day, Thanks WimVe, Nils and Tony for confirming my thoughts on the origin of the lantern and for your thoughts on the problem. The nozzle is more than a little loose, the washer/filling that came out left a 1 mm gap. So I will have to fill it. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened the crimped collar to have a better look. The porcelain is rather rough in it's manufacture and the end is not flat (hence the need for a filler). The muffler putty I had in the shed was hard (it was only 10 years old). But this gave me the opportunity to apply the blowtorch to the cured putty. I got the putty to glow bright red for 5 minutes with no adverse effect. So it should also be a suitable fix. I should be able to fix this one but if all else fails I now know where to get a replacement. Thanks everyone Martin
That 'rough' look is normal from my experience. But all the bits should go back together nicely. Just be careful you don't break the ceramic when putting the collar back on. Cheers Tony
G'day, Just thought I would finish off this topic. I used muffler putty and carefully crimped the nozzle back together. The putty sealed the gaps and the lantern is operational again. So far it is holding up to the heat. Thanks for the advise Martin.
It's a nice looking lantern! This is just a comment. I don't have one of these to check. The nozzle/burner cap/whatever it is called may be intended to be loose. I know it's not the same as this Aladdin, but many Coleman lanterns came with a ceramic burner cap, or nozzle. (The part where you tie on the mantle.) All of those I have seen, and the ones I own have "floating" ceramic nozzles. They are made that way. Just a guess, but maybe so they do not break easily due to expansion factors of the metal that holds the nozzle? Dean
Maybe, but intuitively, I'd have thought the metal would expand more than the ceramic so there wouldn't be a problem with breakage. Maybe it's this differential expansion that causes the nozzles to become loose with use over time...
