Hi all, I would appreciate some tips concerning the above mentioned lamp. The mantel darkens after running for, say, 10-20 minutes to the point that the lamp emits no more light than, say, two candles. I am using standard kerosene, keep the pressure at the red line and this happens no matter what mantel I use (500 cp Anchor or 300 cp Lux). TBH, I am very disappointed. The lamp never worked like the Coleman I was using while camping in the USA, which used the mysterious "Coleman Fuel". Did anyone try running the lamp on unleaded 96 octane gasoline?
When you say "keep the pressure at the red line", is it staying there by itself or are you continuously having to pump it to keep it there? After only twenty minutes you should hardly notice any pressure drop at all and unless it was initially overfilled really shouldn't have to pump it again in that short time. If there is any air leak at all then the lamp will run badly... PS. I assume/hope you are asking about the Coleman lamp with regard to gasoline?
The pressure stays, I do not have to pump at all. The question about gasoline was relating to the Anchor lamp. I thought that, maybe, the kerosene does not gassify sufficiently and that, maybe, gasoline would be better. But, obviously, I do not want to risk an explosion. The Coleman lamp is only a sweet memory, I left it in the USA, because the "Fuel" was not available in Europe then (more than 10 yrs ago). Now it is, but the price is ridiculous.
What difference does the pricker make? is the pressure gauge faulty ,showing pressure when there is none,,,let the air screw out to see how much comes out... otherwise it could be a blockage in the pickup pipe/valve or in the vap itself....
Yes, try to operate the cleaning needle by fast turning the control whell a full turn, the lamp should stay lit, if not have a lighter at hand to light it immediately. If cleaning the jet this way make a difference then the fuel is bad and/or there are residues that clog the jet. Try cleaning the fount by rinsing it with fresh paraffin.
If it's not intended for gasoline then it is a definite no and could be quite dangerous... Even on lamps that are designed for both as a minimum you usually have to change the jet sometimes more. It's not a case of just changing fuel types.
Hi Halfzwaar, the Anchor lantern is a copy of the Petromax, and these are designed to burn paraffin/kerosine (petroleum in NL) ONLY. NEVER use Coleman fuel or similar (benzine, wasbenzine enz.) in a paraffin lantern. The pressure gauges are not very precise working and only give a "hint" of the pressure in the fount. Check all seals for leaks, and also check the working of the pricker. You can do this by taking of the hood and then turn the knob. When the arrow on the knob points up you should be able to see/feel the pricker coming out of the jet (only just). Very often the pricker gets bend or broken. Replacements can be found on Ebay and are not expensive. Anchor lanterns are basically sound, good working things, yours should give you many years of good use. Best regards, Wim
What I did tonight: Rinsed the tank (what came out were particles of dust, rust and similar, the biggest was the size of a grain of sand). Disassembled/reassembled the control knob assembly. I am finding it strange that the TDC of the needle is not equal to the zero position of the knob. The needle in the nozzle reaches the top position when the knob is some 45 degrees clockwise. Changed the nozzle and needle using the ones provided in the set of spares included with the lamp. Blew the upper U-piece clean. Put in fresh parrafin from a brand new, unopened can. The history repeated. I kept the pressure at 2 (red line). The mantle started bright white, turned yellow after some 10 mins, then dark with only the tip of the mantle glowing. There were yellowish flames all around the mantle, at which time I deppressurized the thing and called the Chinese names. Then, cowardly, I switched on a flashlight. To be continued.
You will have to adjust the pricker rod height so that the pricker knob functions properly. When you unscrew the pricker rod, you will see that the bottom end is threaded and there is a nut on the thread which acts as a distance piece. Your lantern is not remaining hot enough. This is my method for lighting that type of lantern, Jeff. I let the lantern pre heat until only a third of the meths is left in the trough. Then with the pricker turned up I add some pressure, 10 strokes of the pump should be enough, but it depends on how much fuel is in the tank. I then slowly lower the pricker and once the mantle lights I gradually build up the pressure.
I don't think this is the reason because the lamp works for several minutes, so it has the right temperature and the rod is then hot too. I had a same effect on the Coleman 214 that worked and after a short time started to flame and the mantle got black, I solved it by using a u-shaped mantle that better heats the vap. Another reason I could imagine is that the preston ring is blocked, so that the paraffin is initially hot enough after preheating but slightly cools down until the lamp starts to fail. A simple test could be to put some meths in the pre heater cup and light it to give additional heat to the vap. If the lamp is getting brighter again then it could be well a temperature problem which reason has to be found.
Halfzwaar mentioned in his last post that the needle in the nozzle reaches the top position when the knob is some 45 degrees clockwise. So I suggested that the pricker rod should be set to the correct height to cure that problem, Jeff.
What was the outcome of this problem? Got a hold of a Anchor lamp with exactly the same problem. Gradually dims. And the lamp is hot enough. The pricker rises 1.2mm above the jet.
If you have a look at this link: http://light.papo-art.com/ There is a servicing/restoration/troubleshooting guide for a petromax which I found very useful when I put an Anchor lamp together (Anchor being a cheap clone of a petromax)
I had a similar issue on my primus... the gas tip was loose. On a Petromax clone you may need also to inspect the J tube for clearance, 14.2mm , less than that it will run too hot and possibly dimmer, in bad cases you can get preignition ( fuel will detonate inside the J tube and damage it permanently.)
Fast drop of pressure can mean different things: 1) obvious you have a leak. Water dunk test would find it. 2) overfilling. If overfilled tehre is not enough air above the fuekl to keep the pressure up long enough. 3) faulty pressure gauche. You think it has enough presusre but it hasn't. Lighter-gas-refill test would find this.
I dont think its a preassure fault. Tried when it started to dim to pump but no change. Even tried the rapid starter after that but still dim. And when i killed it there was plenty of preassure in the tank. The plan is to check the distance to the pipe and perhaps adjust the cleaning needle.
You say there is 1.5mm of the needle sticking through the jet. Maybe the needle is still very close to the hole when the lamp is on and with heat expansion starts to close the hole. Try adjusting the cleaning needle down a bit.
Checked the airgap and adjusted the needle but still the same problem.I can notice a very suttle and slow pulsing when it beginns. Weird..
...I wish I could help but I have all these joys yet to experience... ...But I am slowly doing up a similar lamp, it's a copy of a copy?...As the 'Anchor' is a copy of the 'Petromax', so this lamp is a copy of the 'Anchor' !!!......
Maybe you have an obstruction inside the Preston loop, it is known to happen, bad fuel of debris...several years ago I had read of a way to clean it with a small gauge braided wire, like this... it could be the solution for your problem. This are not my pictures, I think I found them here, I apologize if it is yours.
