I’m finding really poor light output on kerosene/ paraffin on Tilley pork pie- run it,on Naptha brake cleaner and it is ideal. What am I missing please?
@lamps Running it on Naphtha is a pretty dangerous proposition as there are none of the safety features in a Tilley that a gasoline lamp like a Coleman has. There are usually three areas to look at if your Tilley is underperforming with kerosene: 1. Is your vapouriser dirty with carbon inside, or its jet enlarged? 2. Are you using good quality kerosene? 3. Are your burner components tight and free from spider webs and wasp nests? Some folk add some (10%) of Coleman fuel to kero (“Amish mix”). This compensates for worn jets, so it is said. Cheers Tony
I thought it was to compensate for the lower volatility of modern-day kero compared with that supplied several decades ago...
@David Shouksmith You may well be correct; there are many stories associated with adding things to kerosene - fact is hard to discern from opinion. Somewhere recently there was a comment similar to the above one of mine. I make no warranty as to its accuracy. But... in the USofA good quality kerosene is fairly easily obtainable, from what I gather. Cheers Tony
I think the main point is that the lamps were designed and built to use more volatile kerosene which, irrespective of the "quality", isn't generally available today. It would seem that over the decades, the proportion of heavier, longer chain hydrocarbons has increased at the expense of lighter, shorter chain ones. Not only is today's kerosene relatively more difficult to ignite and burn, more importantly perhaps, it requires relatively more oxygen for complete combustion. This is extra oxygen (or effectively, air) that the lamps aren't designed to take in. However, the situation can be relatively easily ameliorated by adding a proportion (~10%) of lighter, shorter chain hydrocarbons e.g. naphtha, thus restoring the volatility of the fuel to former levels...
As Tony suggests, sooner or later, you'll be missing your eyebrows if you continue to use naphtha in any Tilley lamp. In a word, DON'T!
@David Shouksmith Both the points you make in your last two posts are entirely valid (especially your last post!). I use Jet A1 (jet aircraft fuel), because it is the best kerosene I can get here. I do add 10% Shellite (= Coleman fuel) for my lanterns and lamps. Cheers Tony
I understand the risk in a lamp and proximity to font- the table lamp is on new seals and miles away from font. Fire extinguisher on hand Vaporiser/ jet is new old stock.
