Hello again, my 829 is giving me ulcers well before my time LOL..... What is the right procedure for lighting? Tonight i tried the soft start way I have read about... two bowls of alcohol and NO PRESSURE was added until the 2nd was about 1/2 consumed. When I opened the valve, it poured orange flames which sooted the mantle and the lantern never really recovered so i simply extinguished it. Now last night i lit it using 2 bowls preheat and it had 1.5bar in the tank when i opened the valve. It lit fine. It has a new needle, but using a original older jet. I have tried a new Pmax jet and it seemed to only make it worse. Is there a fool proof start for these? Maybe i should have stayed with my Colemans.(Im kidding) I am enjoying the challenge! Its just, some nights it starts fine and with ease, other nights, doing the same procedure for lighting, its all flames....
When it's cold more preheating is required and if you have a method which works, then that is the one to use.
I have yet to find that method! its 65 degrees f, not what Id call cold... but maybe I am adding too much pressure too soon
I am no expert here, and had a lot of trouble until I got the whole Coleman mentality out of my head. Try to just add the pressure when you start. No pressure at all, and start to pump when the second cup is almost consumed. That worked for me.
A third spirit cupful is only needed when you're running your Petromax with pure diesel. Something's not right on the other areas.
I've had a dozen P'max and clones and the nature of the beast is constant maintenance and tuning of the lantern. With that you can learn to trouble shoot some of the common issues, even then it can be a real who dunnit as to why the lantern may not be lighting. You have to really have the aptitude , fondness and patience for mechanical work to run them. A PMAX for a light up? , forget it. They never run with the ease and reliability of a Coleman, Tilley or Vapalux, etc. ,perhaps because they are a more complicated lantern with more to go wrong. I could pull any kind of lantern out of my attic , oil the pump , fuel it and light it up. A P"Max , never,never , never. I solved my problem by selling them mostly all off, except for 2 .Felt like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I could once again go and enjoy life .
Strange, my various Petromaxes light up perfectly first time every time even when they have been standing for months. If the mantle is intact and the pump leather is oiled they just work. I do empty out the founts before I put them on the shelf if I know they will be standing more than a few days. And all of them were completely rebuilt with new seals etc. after I got them. Granted, it is not cold here and I start them indoors, usually soft start with meths and no pressure.
I'm with @phaedrus42 all the way. Also, even outdoors, unless it's blowing a howling gale or the temperature is hovering around freezing, one (spirit) cup full of spirits is usually more than enough to sufficiently pre-heat vapouriser for a smooth start. Henry.
Just to re-iterate, soft start means: full fount with no pressure, pressure release screw open, pricker control wheel down, pre-heat with a full alcohol cup away from wind, hood and globe in place, then when alcohol is almost finished, close air screw, pump slowly and mantle will light. Then continue pumping slowly for 20-30 seconds or so, and then pump normally up to working pressure. If the above procedure fails to light it, there is something wrong with your alcohol, kerosene or your Petromax. Oh, and by the way, use the biggest mantle you can lay your hands on. Peerless 111 minimum, even on the 350cp models.
proper soft start and PERFECTO!!!!! Well, So i did the process as described above and when I began to pump up, the flame was a dull yellow... then it took another 30 sec or so before the mantle was all white and glowing evenly.... maybe i pumped too much too fast?
But: In the video Martin starts to pump early, which would require a fully operational vaporizer foot valve. Instead, leaving the air screw open and just closing it prior to the meths be extingiushing and only then start pumping would even allow to start a Petromax with a defective foot valve.
Please consider: even a small amount of liquid fuel leaking from the gas tip will cause heavy sooting and yellow flames during the start procedure. To check proper operation of the vaporizer foot valve remove the hood and inner chimney, close the valve and pump the lantern to some pressure: Even after a few minutes there must be no fuel visible at/around the protuding needle. At some Petromaxes I've experienced big problems to get the foot valve to work properly.
Thanks for the tip Martin, I'll try that and check.... even if the foot valve gasket was just replaced.... maybe a speck of dirt is keeping it from a solid seal? I wonder when I took the generator rod out to adjust for the new needle at the jet, the rod is not seating properly at the foot valve end?
I've had problems with the foot valve sealing too. Despite using new Viton, they sometimes don't seal up solidly. Make sure the nrv's spring and internal pip is free to move within the tube. Sometimes they won't centre nicely onto the seat if the Viton / pip is just flush on it. The Viton's a little too hard to deform sufficiently by the spring's compression. I simply replaced the Viton with natural crack/channel-free cork, which was soft enough. Sealed perfectly after that.
The video shows a good normal start technique, with pressure, valve closed, as one would also start a Coleman. But it does not show the soft start procedure. A soft start is done with air screw and valve open and no pressure while pre-heating. Only after pre-heating is the air screw closed and pressure pumped into the fount. The valve will remain open/pricker down throughout the whole process.
So it is. In your first attempt I read that you have had a closed foot valve. there fore fuel was heated up and became under pressure inside the vaporizer and inside the pick up tube. Once you open the valve this relative cold fuel will not become gas all the way and fire ball you have. When using a pressure lantern of any kind you should know what happens inside. It is after all a machine with all kinds of parts. One, two or three cups depends on the temperature not of the air around you but of the fuel you use. When I use kerosene from a cold cellar mid summer I have to pre heat. Having wrote this: even the warming up of fuel inside a lamp in the sun will increase the pressure and can cause "leakage".
Also make sure that your generator is free of carbon. The carbon build up acts as an insulator preventing the fuel from heating up sufficiently.
