After some discussion, negotiation and some exchange, I have an FL6 to take to camp. I would like to have been able to say it had come through my usual supply chain, but not this time. Is there a way of dating the lamp, no date stamp on the fount?
Unused, in a loft for many years, quick check over...... still full of 'fuel' ....... pump NRV stuck, thankfully still finger tight so a nice quick job the free it up. It would be rude not to apply some heat and pump......... Very pleased to find the pressure pip and fuel level gauge are in working order. It has a few dents to the fount base rim and a lot of surface corrosion so I will be stripping and repainting before a new set of seals. The 'fuel' smelt of paraffin, but looks more like cloudy orange juice so may need to have a better look inside.
Perhaps the corrosion is worse than the pictures tell, but looking at it, I would say a clean and some car polish would bring that up quite well. It'd be good to preserve the original paint if possible, assuming it is the original? I've certainly seen worse than that.
My understanding is that's a later stand adapted from the gassie versions by having the two diagonal braces across the lower corners to take the extra weight of the tank and fuel. I'm happy to be corrected on that one, though...
Having separated the workings from the top of the fount, the rust is here to. I hope to leave the fuel gauge in place as it's not leaking. There is no sign of either a brass plate or decal. I have stripped the paint from the fount and it has been galvanised.
Work on the FL6 progressing well, the body has been stripped, rubbed down and treated with Trustan 23 (found deep at the back of the shed), which I also used on the tank before applying the primer and swilled a diluted mix, 50/50 Trustan/water inside the tank to treat a few rust spots inside. The inside has been sprayed with Bright Silver VHT paint and I am ready to do the outside. The lamp was originally black, which I am keeping to. I have Googled FL6 images and they show a number of black lamps with burnt, rusty chimneys. My question to fellow CPL members is....... Do I paint the chimney in a) gloss black with the risk of it burning off? b) spray the chimney in matt or satin black VHT paint? or c) spray the chimney in the bright silver VHT that I have used on the inside?
@KAB I painted my FL6 with VHT high temperature black gloss and also with clear coat gloss. It's worked ok so far... But I am certain that with regular use, it will eventually deteriorate. I've two more to recommission for the impending Ballarat light-up. I will do the same. I've yet to find a paint that will withstand sustained use of a Tilley, and I've tried many. Cheers Tony
Repaint done Outer body, glass holding ring and tank in Automotive Gloss Black Pearl Inside body 600*C Aluminium VHT Gloss Chimney 800*C Matt Black Stove Paint Happy with the results and ready to rebuild.
Rebuilt and ready to light A full set of replacement seals from Fettlebox and an extra thank you to Ross for making a set of washers for the mounting posts , see below. Unfortunately an old repair weld on the stand has failed so a little more work to do
Did Tilley fit washers on the mounting posts? It's ages since I dismantled an FL6 but I don't recall them being fitted...
This FL6 had them, I sent one of the perished ones I removed during dismantling to Ross @ Fettlebox as a template Put in a litre of fuel in the tank and applied a flame. Lit beautifully on a single preheat. Pictures to follow
@David Shouksmith & @KAB We had a discussion about this very subject at the recent Ballarat FL lightup. At least one of the Tilley FL owners suggested a similar arrangement: putting an O-ring in that position to stop the rattling. I assume that would allow some expansion with heat, but I’d never thought of that requirement. None of the FLs I have obtained had a washer, but I did fit a spring washer to stop the rattling on a really loose bracket. Tony
My understanding, limited as it may be on the subject, the lamp and the tank are bolted together so expansion in the posts would be different to the expansion of the bolts. If we’re saying you need free play to allow the mounting bracket to expand..... that’s a big lump of iron to heat. Could it be that the tolerance in the cast bracket is less than that of the engineered posts, hence the loose fit?
