It would be good to see the vapouriser. That would help with dating. Otherwise it looks like it should be from the first half of the 1930s.
Looks like you only miss the ceramic mantle holder. That one shouldn't be too hard to find. It's a standard thread for its size.
Nice find. The ceramic holder is probably the same a the Anchor / Petromax / clones. I'm currently running an Anchor clone with the holder taken from a gas Bullfinch Handy Lamp
Good to see the extra pictures. The vapouriser is the first type that is all one piece (the cleaning needle rod comes out the bottom). This dates the lantern to 1931 or 1932. If the pump is original then I would say it is early in that time frame. It could also be a pump that was borrowed from a stove at some point in it's life. As Christer said, the ceramic mantle holder is not too hard to find. They aren't as common as the larger size, but still available. Apart from all the 'patina' it looks to be in good condition.
Hard to escape that patina after all these years. Must of been quite a journey to end up here. I'll endeavour to secure a mantle holder. Thank you for the information.
A note for when you're restoring it. The wheel has been turned around the wrong way. The steel holder should be on the inside. Maybe there was a Scandinavian immigrant in the 1930s that brought it with him? I'm not sure if Optimus product was sold in Canada at that time.
I've already started to do a bit of a clean up and shine. Looking 100% better already and have a mantle holder on the way and will order some jets. If 200cp jets are unavailable is it better to go up or down a size? Not really planning on using it a lot but will definitely light it up on occasion. Pump seems to work good. I gather a NRV in this lantern with pip? Will swap that and the cap gasket out and will get the mica globe redone. Besides the few dings it is in good condition. Hopefully all goes well.
It really should be a 200 or 250cp jet. The rest of the burner is dimmensioned for this output. A quick search has found Petromax 250cp jets available. These will fit and work. Looking forward to seeing some more photos.
Well...might be a while for light up picture. NRV head is rounded off. Not by me. I guess I'll try to fashion a wrench to fit the stub that is left and just maybe I'll get lucky enough to grab something. Any of you professionals have any secret tips you'd care to share? I'm all ears.
I have three of these lamps and the mantle holder are the small ones (not the big Petromax ones). The clay are a little pricey given how fragile they are so I switched to a brass mantle holder and it works great! The small ones are around $35 and the large $50, they hold the heat very well and the light is great, they heat up very quickly. One thing before you put fuel in it is to make sure the valve stem is properly packed and tight or you'll be spilling fuel all over the fount.
The Primus type NRV's can be a chore to remove. The newer ones have a lead ring but in the older lamps it is tightened brass-to-brass. What has worked for me on the stubborn ones is to soak in penetrating oil, heat the NRV head with a soldering iron or a heated rod/bolt a few times a day for a couple of days and use a well fitting tool without damaging the head. It will eventually come out. A last resort is all of the above plus an easy-out (stud extractor) after drilling out the hole in the NRV to about 3mm.
@MrAlexxx Phil gives good advice (above) about removal of stubborn NRVs. You can make a very effective penetrating oil from 50:50 acetone:ATF (automatic transmission fluid). An alternative to the ultimate "easy out" removal technique is to de-solder the pump and take it off the tank; then replace the NRV, and re-solder the pump. Cheers Tony
Well...long time between posts but was waiting for an important parts parcel to arrive. New jets and needles and a new globe. So that's good! Now the bad...I will admit I haven't attacked that stubborn NRV with much enthusiasm. After reading a few posts here and at CCS I thought I would try to fashion myself one of those super duper never fail Christer Carlsson patented...or should be...NRV tools. Still a work in progress but I will get it done. I promise. And then that stubborn NRV will surely give up the ghost. Until then...keep reading. lol Borrowed a mantle holder from a Hippolito I have...thank you for that information. I'm still learning. Swapped out the parts and thought after a tank rinse and half fill with new kero would just see if under pressure I'd have any leaks. Gave it a few pumps and let it sit overnight and still had pressure in the morning and no puddles anywhere so...what's a guy to do?? Probably not the right thing and I might get a few frowns from you veterans on here but thought I'd give it a go and see what happens. Kero is so forgiving right? Whatever the old NRV pip is made of it still seems to be holding and working as it was intended. I know surely not a long term fix to leave as is but...but...but...I'm weak...I have no patience. Anyways...preheat...and that was that. Let there be light...
Wonderful! The 200-250 Optimus and Petromax types are my favourite small lanterm. Small in size but certainly not in performance!
Good to see it running. If you have cleaned it up, how about a picture or two of it now? There's no reason why the NRV shouldn't work. It's just good practice to give it a service. The original sealing material is cork, which can deteriorate over time. I suppose we'll have to wait 80 years to see how the viton ones hold out.
