I have never bought a brand new lantern, so i got one of these, it has so many similar characteristics to other lanterns. I'm impressed. Bright and shiny. Just thought i would show, if any one wanted to see.
What's the build quality like would you say? Anchor? Solar? Sea Anchor? I find my Light brand very good and my Anchor 350cp also very good. The Anchor 500cp is not as good as the 350cp version but not bad. There's a guy on Preloved selling brand new, boxed, Sea Anchor lanterns for £25 each but for collection only.
the workmanship seems very good no burrs or sharp bit or edges, good tolerances not sloppy, I know its not made like older vintage lanterns, brass knobs and wheels and bits, comes with tools spare prickers and jet nozzle, funnel and mentholated spirit pre heater bottle and two mantles. it has a ceramic burner tip, in all its a cool lantern, budget priced, if your not into name brands and just love the lanterns I recommend looking into one just because it's cool
It looks nearly identical to an Anchor or perhaps Egret? Probably identical in terms of quality. I do find that in general, the built quality of Anchor, Light, Tingkwon, Eye and Butterfly are good. Most are made of steel and can be prone to rusting if the Chrome plating is compromised. There are a few made of nickel-plated brass too. If you are not unlucky enough to get a bad batch, these are just as bright and operate as well as the original German-made Petromax, Standard, Continental or Aida lanterns. In Asia, these clones used to be the most practical lanterns (workhorses) in terms of light-output, price, reliability and availability. These features were crucial for day-to-day use in the then developing nations(most of Asia). They were meant to be as bright as one would get by burning the cheapest, most available fuel (kerosene) back then.
Nice lantern and a model I was not aware of. I see it's 350cp but I can't see if it has a rapid preheater torch. I would like to see a shot of it from the control wheel side please. ::Neil::
It has a metholated spirit bowl, but a small hollow tube attatched inside the bowl. I will take a picture and post it when i can
All my Chinese P'max clones have preheaters but I seldom if ever use them. Some work, some don't and even if they do, you run the risk of blowing a hole in the mantle.
I don't really like the pre heating torches, but some Pmax lanterns only had the torches, no spirit cups. One can buy the cups but they are expensive for such a simple item (at least, the Pmax ones are, Chinese ones cost barely half the price but don't fit straight in. One has to drill an extra hole and hope for the best). On lanterns having both spirit cup and torch I always use the spirit cup.
I prefer the spirit cup for startups too. They are certainly more mantle-friendly. I only use the rapid preheater torches just for checking that they are still functional or in cases when I do not have any spirits(denatured alcohol) at hand.
I'm sure you know, but just in case you didn't, the spout holds a few seconds worth of meths/alcohol to give you time to light the mantle. The flame comes out of the top of the brass tube making it closer and more likely to light. At least that's what I assume anyway.
