Sorry for the lack of paint...

A few years ago I inherited a Tilley Lamp from my father in law.
I'm not near it as I type but I believe it is an X246B
I've never used it as when Ifirst opened its rather clean cardboard box it seemed unused - in fact it still had a small note from the factory apologising for the lack of paint.
Should I suck it up and just start using it (with my scouts) or is this likely to be a museum piece and should be kept pristine?
Cheers
Philip

 

I don't think there are many B's that are particularly rare but if you care about values it is worth more unused, if you decide you want to use it then ideally for safety reasons you should change the washers and test it first before going out with the scouts, there is plenty of info on here regarding how to if you haven't done it before and the fettlebox can supply you with a service kit, you can buy used B's and other makes fairy cheaply which you wouldn't have to worry about, it would also be wise to service anything you get secondhand.

 

Hi Phil, welcome here, can you have a go at uploading some pics of your lantern along with the note, I'd like to see them both

 

Well, if that is an X246B which were produced from 1964 onwards, I'm wondering why it was issued without paint. My best guess would be that it's directly or indirectly linked to the energy shortages due to industrial action in the 1970s. The date will be stamped on the underside of the tank, Phil - something like X873B for August 1973 (ignore the letters). As such, complete with the box and note it could be quite uncommon. I can't recall seeing anything like that before...

 

I'm sure i read a similar story in the last few months but i can't remember where, it may be on here, unless i'm losing my marbles, i hope it is uncommon, that would be a nice reason to start a new hobby

 

Possibly the story you heard concerned Tilley X246Bs being issued with a matt chrome hood rather than a vitreous enamelled one. They're uncommon but not that rare...

 

Possibly it is only a vague memory.

 

Yes - and the plated hood ones came with a typed slip explaining why

 

I'm not near it at the moment - I will be next week - I will open the box again and post the details on here
From memory it is a typed slip around 5"x2" maybe with a box printed around the outside buts its been years since I've actually seen it - best to wait until I know for sure

 

Glad I managed to get one off you David, wasn't aware of the note that came with them though

 

Probably the first thing that was thrown away, Ray, along with the box. If it's any consolation, I haven't got one either!

 

Might I have a genuine collectable here - worth 'real money'? :-)

 

Yes you do have a rarity, hang on to it for 40 years and you might be able to retire on the money.

 

It's impossible to know because 'value' depends on a wide range of factors but, essentially, it's just what someone is prepared to pay at a given time. In any case, we don't do valuations here and it's best not to ask otherwise the topic will be 'locked' as per the forum rules and I think that would be a pity in this case...

What's the date code on the bottom of the tank, Phil?

 

No worries - I doubt I'd be retiring off the proceeds anyway :-)

I'm away from home at the moment - soon to return late on Sunday - I will try to post pics on Monday

 

Here's what the piece of particularly uninspiring paper has written on it:

Due to the present electricity supply emergency in Great Britain,
our own supply position of some components is seriously affected,
consequentially your lamp is supplied with a plated hood in place of
the normal vitreous enamel finish.

The Code on the underside is poorly stamped - seems to be 221XB

The lamp is not unused - seems to have fluid in the bowl probably been there for 20+ years

So I'm unlikely to be retiring soon - heh ho

 

@TinkerPhil

Could that be 271XB?

Cheers

Tony

 

It could be - I put it back in the box now - happy to have another look tomorrow

 

Here's a picture of it - I was kinda surprised the cardboard on/off disc was intact

 

@TinkerPhil sounds like you've got the same piece of paper as mine. Here

 

I cannot access the pic

 

It's in the reference library, and thus only accessible to subscribers.

 

Ah, not missing paint - missing vitreous enamel which is a different thing altogether. These are fairly common and probably only of interest to collectors. On the other hand, you won't be bothered by rust on your hood (nasty thing that...) although I've no idea how the matt chrome holds up to frequent use. I can't recall seeing a bad one so I'd venture to suggest better than the vitreous enamel.

I wonder why Tilley didn't continue with chrome hoods after the miners strike was ended. No, don't answer that - silly question - it would have been due to extra cost...

Anyway, the lantern looks OK to me and seems to have had little use. I suppose there was panic buying of Tilley lanterns when the electricity went off for 3 hours at a time. Most folk would have had little use for a paraffin lantern once the economic/political situation had normalised once more...

 

Ah! So I might as well use this one for Scout camps then - no need to keep it in mothballs if it can actually be used for what it was made

 

Yes, probably - and you can let us know from time to time how well the matt chrome is standing up to frequent use...