Greetings, I recently found an old A. W. Thacker and Company heater and would love to get it fired up and running! A partially obscured instruction label on the heater mentions a connection to the Tilley Lamp Company. I don't know the first thing about these heaters, but I am familiar with Pressure Stoves. I'm not sure if it's complete, so can you folks point me in the right direction, to find a parts list and a distributor of parts, as well as, pre-heating, lighting and operating instructions for the heater? Can't wait to get it burning (again) and throwing BTU's! Winter is coming! Thanks, Steve Provost (Stovost)
After searching the site for "A.W.Thacker Company" and finding nothing, I searched the "Tilley" connection mentioned on the heater and found one that I believe may be the heater I have! In the "Lamp Reference Gallery", under "Great Britain", subcategory "The Tilley Company", subcategory "Other Tilley Pressure Product", I found post#8918, Topic#2594 by "Bob M" "Tilley R-55 Radiant Heater". THAT'S THE ONE I'VE GOT!!!!!!!
If memory serves me correctly A.W.Thacker Company was a Florida USA based company that imported Tilley products into the States. Don't be confused that they were the manufacturer, they were the importer/distributor.
Thanks, Matty! You're correct. The label on the heater does refer to that. Can you help me with finding a parts list and a distributor of the parts I'll need?
Neighbor Al went to a lot of trouble to put this together, see if it helps. http://www.classicpressurelamps.com/forum/showtopic.php?fid/6/tid/4833/
Here is an advert & parts list for the IF542. Main working parts should be the same be the same. http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/1751
Thanks for your replies, Everyone! Here's some pics of the Tilley R55 I'm calling them the "Before" shots! Parts are ordered and the heater has been cleaned and surface prepped for new paint. Looking forward to it firing up!
My newly acquired Tilley R55 is my first Pressure Burner venture, so I'd like some advise. I'm still waiting on parts before the "Re-Fire" occurs, so I'd like to know what you folks would recommend I should do to the inner workings, before the big day. What should I clean out the tank with? Is there a way to clean the Vaporiser Tube Ass'y? What type of paint, should I re-paint the Tank with? What parts should I definitely replace, before the re-fire? Those type of tips and info, are what I'm interested in hearing. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Stovost
Stovost, You'll hear this a lot: Please post a photo. It really clarifies what you have and what you need. Essential items: 1. The ceramic heat shield tube that goes on the burner head should be in place. 2. Install a new set of washers/gaskets to prevent leaks/fires. The o-rings for the control cock are prone to leak. The pump most likely needs a new leather and NRV set up to work properly. I rinse my tanks with dry alcohol from the paint section of a hardware store. It gets the nasties out and doesn't leave a residue. DON'T fill the tank entirely the first time. You want to do a cautious leak test with pressure in the tank. Just put in enough fuel to completely cover the bottom. The bottom seam around the base will show a leak under pressure. (Put the tank on newspaper for a very clear indication of where any leaks are. I trust you know about the pressure indicator nib on the tank. Ask if you're uncertain. There is a limit to what you can do to knock carbon out of the vapouriser. Be VERY careful with the cleaning rod that's inside the vapouriser; it has a very small/thin needle at the end that is easily damaged. If you do the heat & quench, be sure to keep the bottom of the vapouriser facing down so that carbon falls out. You'll be sad if you get carbon clogged up at the jet end of the vap since that section cannot be cleaned out. Best of luck to you. Al
That is a fine restoration project and it's complete, the base plate of the tank will be date stamped and happy fettling!
Jeff, Thanks for the reply! Mine isn't date stamped on the bottom, it's only stamped, in a circular pattern, with the words "Made In England". The word "Made" forms the top half of the circle, while the word "England" forms the bottom half. The word "In" is in the middle of the circle . Does that date it at all? Thanks, Stovost
Test it and have it running for at least an hour before you consider fully cleaning and repainting... The last thing you want is to discover a leak after repainting and then have to ruin your hard work by doing a soldering job on it!
It's most unusual for that style of Tilley R-55 tank to be undated, perhaps you could clean the base plate and then check it again with a magnifying glass as the stamping can be faint.
I've cleaned the heater to the point of being able to check everything thoroughly and test fire it and not get filthy while doing so. I'm currently awaiting the parts I need. I have not painted it at this point, only stripped it. I was thinking along the lines you've suggested. Thanks for your help! Very much appreciate it! Stovost
Jeff, the bottom has been stripped completely, down to the brass metal. All that's visible, is the stamped "Made In England" directly in the middle of the bottom plate. I'll look closer, but can you tell me where I should be looking, on the bottom for a date stamp?
Just noticed as a complete aside that the black grip on the handle looks to be exactly the same part as used on the AL620... I wonder if it is.
The link below shows one of my long burn heaters and it's stamped 1062XA, which means October 1962, this stamping is not in the centre of the base plate, like your example mine has made in England stamped there. http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/2719
Jeff, are you saying that it's not an R55, but an AL-620? Also, upon closer inspection, I 've found the date stamp! It reads: 163XA I would then assume, by your decoding, that that would date it as January, 1963, correct?
I think that Jeff was pointing out an instance where Tilley used parts from one product on another. You'll see a lot of this as you get into CPLs.
Your date stamp means January 1963. No Jeff wasn't saying your R55 is a AL-620 it is an R55. What Neighbor Al was saying and I thought he said it quite clearly, is sometimes you have to be aware that parts from one model Tilley, may over the years, be replaced by parts from another model Tilley so aren't strictly correct. The shapes of Tilley parts changed over the years though things like the control cocks threads remained the same. That means, if someone had a problem with a control cock on their early model Tilley they could replace it with a control cock from a later model Tilley. The later control cock is a Tilley, fits a Tilley and works. Strictly speaking though, it's the wrong control cock for that older model.
Yes it is! My previous post was referring to the quoted question which is shown above, but i forgot to click the quote post tab that time, my apologies for the confusion! Yes, you have got the date correct.
