Thanks to the generosity of a fellow member I have been sorting through a box of parts that they no longer wanted. One item that stood out straight away was a PL53 with no globe or cage and a hood in poor condition. The vaporiser is a 7" 169. The other was a PL53 with a steel tank, bail and handle and not much else. There is a transfer on one side warning the user how to care for the steel tank so that it doesn't go rusty. Is the steel fount usual, when were they made and is it actually a PL53 or something else?
Here is the warning message... I read this as: IMPORTANT! This container is made of tinned steel and must be Emptied and dried ***Gentle **** mon *** before any period of disuse. Always use funnel when filling. Can anyone fill in the gaps?
The start of a nice pair of PL53 lamps. My understanding is the founts with angled handle mounts are 1940’s, the steel fount being ‘war years’ when brass was required for other uses. The other parts could be from either lamp with reproduction parts being available to complete them online.
Tilley used steel during WW2., and there are steel tanks which have steel base plates and others which have brass base plates and vice versa, steel R1 tanks and steel wall lamp tanks also turn up and other parts too.
This is a late addition. This is how I found a steel fount PL53 just before Christmas 2017. The fount is steel, the handle and risers are steel, the burner dome is steel as is the 3 air tubes and also, would you believe the air buttons. All in all it’s in remarkable condition, it’s going to be an interesting fettle. The fount appears to have a flat khakis paint job, original l’m thinking. Pity about the globe being damaged, it’s an old original one.
