New to this forum first post. I have stripped down my Tilly lamp X246B. Replaced all the rubbers as per. But I cannot keep the pressure up unless I continually pump. All the filters are clean and the needle is working. Checked the pump under water works well. Cleaned the tank out and it's now all fresh fuel. The only seal I was not able to change was the one at the top of the tank as I'm struggling to get the nut of. For the life of me I cannot see where the pressure is leaking out. Any advice would be most welcome as I'm pulling what hair I have let out.
Welcome, Keith. Pump the tank and place the lantern in water to just over the control cock and see where the bubble appear. Cheers Tony
Keith, I suspect the only replies you are going to get are going to be things you have already tried. Let me be the first. If you have to keep pumping that much it has to be a substantial leak so fill it with fuel, shut off at the control valve, pressure it up and give it a swirl. Edit Huh, not the first
G'day Keith and welcome to CPL As above Alsois the pump working, can you hear air going into the font when pumping? and have you given it 80 initial pumps during startup?
Problem solved. The 'New' washer from the pump to the tank was not making a seal. "second 'New' washer has made a good seal. problem solved. Thank you all. I'm going to get some more lamps and restore them as well. Good fun.
Which nut is this? If it's the large circular alloy one that holds the globe cage onto the top of the tank, that's it's only function - it's not associated with any seal. The only places air (as opposed to fuel or fuel vapour) can leak from is the seal under the control cock and the pump-tank seal. Best advice is as above i.e. do a dunk test of the whole lantern. Drain out the fuel, open the control cock, put your thumb over the jet, pump up the tank and then dunk the lantern in a bucket of water. If you dunk it to half-way up the vapouriser and keep your thumb over the jet it will be obvious where the leak is. If there's no apparent leak, then your pump isn't generating pressure - remove it from the tank and pump it vigourously. It should make a nice farting 'bbbrrraaaaapppp' sound as the NRV (non-return valve) operates at the far end...
Sorry, that's wrong for Tilley - I must have been thinking about Bialaddin/Vapalux. It should have read:- "The only place air (as opposed to fuel or fuel vapour) can leak from is the pump-tank seal."
Thanks it was the pump tank seal. Replaced the seal again and low and behold I have pressure. Thanks for your help.
Hope it doesn't offend the purist but I find plumbers PTFE tape wrapped round the threads pretty well guarantees a seal, works well for sealing a leaking control cock if the rubber 0 rings are not available and the heat does not seem to affect it.
Plumbers PTFE will work OK but better to use the Gas tape which is thicker and designed for use with fuel. Normally more expensive and in a yellow case but readily available. I use it a lot for sealing glands. PTFE does stand considerable heat and is a simple quick and permanent fix. ::Neil::
Hi folks This is the stuff that @Mackburner is recommending: When I had a problem with a seal on my Veritas 350 and was unable to remove the control wheel from the spindle without damaging it Neil suggested twisting gas often tape into a “string” and wrapping it round the spindle a couple of times. Three years later and still no leaks. Regards Jeremy Edit: corrected spelling error!
Yeah that's the stuff. It also has the advantage of a low friction coefficient so you can tighten the gland pretty hard and the spindle will still turn easily. Cheap, withstands heat well, safe with fuel, last for years, easy to fit and available at any plumbers merchant and all good DIY stores. What's not to like? I've been using this tape for many years now and it is a standard in my tool kit.
