Hi can anyone explain why some of the tips have screws in them whilst others don't. Finally can old tops be refurbished to take these. Thanks simon
There are essentially three types of Vapalux and Bialaddin tops:- 1. Two-piece, screwed; 2. Two-piece, welded (thus effectively, one-piece); 3. One-piece, pressed/spun. Within these three types there are variations as a quick look at the Lamp Reference Gallery will show. I think the first type was confined to early Vapalux - say, 1940-ish to 1945-ish. The second type seems to have begun with the Willis & Bates tie-in with Aladdin i.e. Bialaddin, although there appears to have been a crossover period around the end of WW2 when old stock was being used up. I don't know exactly when type three began but maybe around the mid-60s and the end of the Bialaddin period in 1968 and the re-emergence of Vapalux as a brand. The problem is that W&B got the basic design of their lanterns correct right from the start so that all hoods fit all lanterns; in fact, most parts fit most lanterns. This was handy for the Armed Forces when it came to servicing the lanterns; they were commonly fettled in large batches and the lanterns were re-assembled randomly. Thus military 'bitsa' lanterns are the rule rather than the exception. Anyway, I prefer the two-piece screwed which allows replacement of the enamelled hats with better or reproduction parts. I suspect the two piece, welded tops were cheaper to produce and that's why they were brought in. I think they are crap - essentially the field metal and weld metal have different rates of expansion so the enamel quickly flakes off the welds. Either that or the enamel doesn't adhere so well to the weld metal - whichever, the result is the same. It's very common to see these tops with up to eight areas of enamel loss corresponding to the eight welds. Eventually these join up and when moisture gets underneath, enamel loss accelerates. Type three are better in this respect because they're made from one metal only. Sorry, what were you asking...
Whoo. That's amazing didn't know any of that. Thanks. Could reference numbers 2 and 3 be adopted to make a two piece top or is it too much trouble. Thanks again Simon
I well understand what David means, but I think even the one-piece is made of errr... two pieces 1965-68 Bialaddin 320 Chrome If it was only one piece, the uprights metal remaining between the vents would shown as missing from the weathering land within.
Henry You are right. I'll need to look at a couple of mine to see if I am making it up or there is, in fact, more than one type. Trouble is, I packed them up in 2011 when we moved onto a boat and they have remained that way since
Well, on a sample of the three lanterns, it looks as though I was making it up. So, the one piece have hood is, conveniently, one piece. Apologies to David and Henry in particular.
@Ian Bingham No need for apolgies. To be honest, I wasn't 100% certain if they were 1 piece or 2 which is why I checked. Here's an image of a Tilley CH1 hood (as used on AL620, X410 and others) for comparison. No missing metal here.
