My Kerona is shown in the galley and has a very old fashioned type of push-pull pricker. There is no replaceable tip and with such a long rod I can't grind the tip back so I decided to weld on a Blanchard pricker wire tip. First problem is getting the two parts lined up straight so I made a jig to hold both wires so I could silver solder them. I got a piece of steel box section and cut out a half section and then solderd two hex nuts to make two clamps which lok the wires to the V of the box. Fiddly thing to make but it works and I was able to clamp the wires and solder them. Here is the jig and the new pricker rod. The new one is the upper one in the image. The end disc is bigger than the original but I used what I could find and it is made from a common piece of circular cupro-nickel. It all works too. Mind you there was the normal period of grief before it all worked smoothly. Fit new pricker and fire the lamp up. Seems to be a fair light but the pump is not good. Take it out and the damn leather is split. Not a problem 'cos I make those don't I? Then I check and it's bleedin huge. Coleman leathers are 20mm but this is 22. B----- 'cos I don't have formers for 22mm. OK so adapt an inner mandrel by sliping a short tube over it and making it 20mm then I can't find a illegitimate 22mm tube to form a leather in. So make one in the Kerona pump tube. Wait an hour and a dry leather fitted and working. Great and the lamp working again. Runs out of light!!. Damn feed tube must be split near the bottom 'cos it worked fine to start with but then only if I shake the lamp. Hmm then the damn mantle falls off when I shake it. Double B-----d so now more fuel and see if a higher level of fuel will keep it running. Can't do that for an hour 'cos I now have another leather drying inside the pump tube. I WILL have this abortion of a lamp working yet. OK so leather dry and another go. Fantastic at last after nearly three hours doing a five minute job the lamp runs steadily for an hour. Good light too because a rough measure gives me around 75cp which is not bad for a lamp originally rated at 80cp. ::Neil::
The more I learn about lamps the more I realise I don't know. Where on earth do you find these things?
Good job Neil , nice story too. Seems like you have had some severe time spent “wrestling” with that Kerona. For comparison I’ll attach an image of the original pricker rod of my copy of the Kerona lamp. /Conny
Hi all, According to Hardware & Machinery 19 April, 1915 Malcolm Preston & Co of 222 Clarence St, Sydney exhibited their " Kerona" kerosene gas lighting apparatus's including their generators and fittings at the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Annual Metropolitan Show. .... March 31 - April 7 1915. Also mentions Cooking Stoves and new line of Heaters. They talk of " exhibiting again " so the Kerona could go back to 1914 and possibly Australian made. The " Preston " Generator " came out of Sydney by John Charles Preston. US Patent Number 1031369. Filed July 25, 1911 and patented July 2 1912. Too much of a coincidence to ignore. Will do a bit of " snooping " and keep you posted. Colin
These lamps were hevily advertized in the NZ Newspaper Truth from October 1925 to March 1930. So they were on sale for 5 years in New Zealand. Some have turned up in Aus so I suspect they were also sold there but as yet we have seen no evidence of this. The ads are interesting as they seem to show two versions of the lamp. ::Neil::
Hi Neil, Just a quick search has revealed these facts. A. Malcolm Preston & Co is selling " their " Kerona products in 1915 at the Agricultural Show in Sydney in 1915 B. On Sept 14, 1914 in the Brisbane Courier Mail Malcolm Preston & John Charles Preston { Inventor Preston Generator ) are in the District Court as " Lighting & heating Engineers of 222 Clarence St Sydney Trading as Malcolm Preston & Co. Here you have the Inventor of the Preston Generator associated with a lighting Company selling Kerona Lamps C A small but an advert of some sorts in the Brisbane Courier Mail dated 21 July 1915 giving operating costs of a " Kerona " lamp. All this is 10 years before the NZ Advertising. Given that there are no identifying pictures I would go out on a limb and say that the Inventor of the Preston Generator is in the Lamp business selling " Kerona " Lamps and Heating Appliances in Australia in 1914. Colin ps ... It's getting late down here, will continue searching for more info tomorrow
Hi Colin, You are doing an interesting research of the Kerona lamp . I have a Kerona branded “Talisman”. The Preston burner on my lamp has two patent numbers stamped on it that are German patents. The German patent describing the Kerona Preston burner is patented on sept. 1910 – DE 261260, so I guess there would be an AUS/GB/US patent even prior to that date (from where I am just now I have no access to my home computer so I can’t look into that now). I agree with you that a lamp using a patent from 1910 probable would have been launched prior to 1925 that is the only evidence up till now of a Kerona lamp. I probable risk my neck on this but 1914, or even years earlier, is a likely launch year for the Kerona lamp, but of course this is a saying without collaborated proof. /Conny
Hi Conny, Thanks for the info. Will use it some how. Does the " Talisman " refer to a lamp Model? My " research " into the Kerona took all of 15 minutes and has not been a lifelong ambition to solve the mystery. I have found in research that all you need is a trigger and a path to follow. When I have the time I am slowly acquiring all issues of Hardware and Machinery up to 1919. This is a long and tedious task of sitting in front of Computer screen saving all text in the periodical and can only be done 800 klms from home. It is then just a matter of reading the periodical and placing " sticky notes " for later reference if needed. The trigger for the Kerona was the report in the Agricultural Show in 1915. One of the problems of the era we are looking at is the lack of Advertising pictures. It seems the trend was to put small non descriptive 3 liners in the Classified section of Newspapers. I think it was more economical than technological that this has occurred. Another " trigger " to follow is the report of the " Kelite " and Kitson Empire Lighting Co in Australia in 1915. Kitson South Australia went bankrupt in 1906 More to follow as it is uncovered or I get motivated enough. If the " Mods " want a new thread on this subject just say so and it can be recreated in the relevant section. Colin
Hello Colin, I shall be interested to see what you find on Kitson. Rob Isdale, who also resides in Australia, has done some extensive research into Kitson in Australia, Jeff.
Well that is interesting and informative. I did think that 1925 was rather late for a lamp design some 15 years old at the time. Also because the Patent was by an Australian I assumed they should have been made in Aus not NZ. Malcolm Preston & Co are much m ore likely to have been the manufacturer of these lamps than another outfit in NZ. Mind you by 1925 who knows what had happened and maybe the tooling ended up in NZ. Whatever this evidence from 1914 and 1915 is very good and I don't have any doubts that this is the inventors company making the lamp they had patented. Neat little piece of research. ::Neil::
Hi Neil, Still looking around not much more other than more adds. Although Malcolm Preston & Co appear to have shifted their Business to another address in Castlereigh St, Sydney. No obvious signs in " Sands " Directory 1928 Just an update to Initial findings. ... I stand correct for a typo. Malcolm Preston & Co consisted of James Malcolm and John Charles Preston, hence " Malcolm Preston " I guess James Malcolm had the money and John Charles Preston the Patent. Colin
Just one minor addition. Rated at 80 cp. Mind you this might seem awfully low but Australia at this stage was using some unkown formula for a cp rating. Approx 1/4 the normal International Standard. Colin
I think you might be right about the cp rate. A quarter would make it 300 cp or thereabouts which is perhaps more likley. Mine does around 85 ish but then with an old lamp like this I expect the output to be poor compared to the original rate. One thing is for sure an 80 year old lamp is exceptional of it even gets close to where it was advertised. So far only Blanchard get near. My measured 85 probably does mean it was built to do 250 or so. In fact given the size of the globe I suspect it was supposed to do around 100 to 200 cp. ::Neil::
gday conny, i have just aquired 2 kerona table lamps and one is missing the pricker rod. do you know where i could get something to fit, regards mike
Hi Tony, It seems I missed that question from a year ago. What exactly do you want to know Tony. I haven´t spent time with my Kerona for many years, but can if I should look out for something special. /Conny
@Conny C I think Mike was asking whether you knew where to get a Kerona pricker rod replacement from. Tony
Mike and Tony, I don´t think anyone has a spare pricker rod for the Kerona lamp, as these lamps are very scarce. The pricker rod is made of a 2 mm steel rod and 175 mm long. At the pricker end the rod is sharpened as pencil to the 0,25/0,30 mm (hard to measure ) cleaning needle finish. If you already have one complete Kerona pricker rod of the two lamps you have, you can try to make a reproduction rod with the help of a metal machinist. I know a guy in US who maybe can help you. /Conny
@Conny C Thank you for that information. Between @Mickoztas and i we should be able to sort this out. Best regards Tony
@Mickoztas G'day Mick, Kerosene lighting Melbourne – T W Sands & Co might be able to supply/make one for you if you give them a call.
thank you tony and robbo, i have found a piece of 2mm steel rod from and old hollow wire lamp that i had lying around. im lucky to have one from the other kerona to hopefully make a copy
