At what point in time did Petromax start producing lanterns made in China? Likwise, are the military versions also made in China? Just curious. I seem to recall Britelyt stating that Petromax is made in China in their Q&A section. Ron
I am not sure exactly but Petromax production in Germany ceased in 1975 and was continued in Portugal up to the early 1990s when production moved again to Hong Kong. ::Neil::
Hi Neil, so around the 90's the petromax was produced in Hongkong. Has anyone who owns a new petromax if they still date stamp at the bottom of the tank? Also, what was the quality like? Just curious so I can make a visual comparison to a '65~ Petromax. Ron
The parts are near identical and as far as I know HK product is not date marked. It is therefore not at all easy to tell where any Petromax was made. HK quality is not as good because Quality Control is poor but if you buy one from a German supplier then they are OK because the retailers make sure they inspect and fettle them before they sell them. The lamps made in Portugal were good quality as indeed were the Hipolito lanterns made in the same factory. ::Neil::
Hi Ron, I was told by a German collector friend that there is a way to tell "German" manufacture from "Chinese". Look at the number of "points" on the sunburst stamping. The "German" has 10 points. The "Chinese" has 11. Bob
only in the 60´s there are 4-digit date stamps at the bottom of the tank. stamps of newer petromax lamps with 6 digits indicate no date, it´s only a serial number of the manufacturer. petromax lamps have been manufactured in the 80´s and 90´s by hipolito in portugal. as well some military models named "geniol". by the end of the 90´s, production was transferred to china. probably the chinese manufactured still some military lamps für the german army, but with lack of reliability. actually, they are produced by silveray http://www.silveray.cn/en/index.asp for pelam ltd. who hold the trademark petromax.
Sorry , I am new in Petromax tehnology but what represent your avatar ? I ask you because I see an image on http://www.geocities.jp/gkpllantern/26_Germany.html with a metalic label with accesories and the draw is similary with your avatar .I had a possibility to buy one like this but i was not sure . Thank you
Just to make sure you know, Britelyt lanterns are made in China, The only thing American on them is the Flag on the label... caveat Emptor. If you want a real petromax, made in Germany, with real quality materials, get an old one. Good lanterns all around are: Old Petromax,Geniol, Aida, Hipolito, Optimus, Radius, Primus, Hovik verk. So so quality: Santrax, Butterfly, ( made in China)Britelyt included in the so so, with their absurd and dangerous claims of being "multifuel" Also, there are some Indian Brands that seem to have much better quality, better brass, and beefier than the Chinese. Be wary that the Petromax design was never intended to use anything more volatile than kerosene, they do not have positive shut off on the valve, the pump rests directly into the fuel ( unlike the Coleman lanterns that have a "snorkel") and any failure of the non return valve in the pump, will leak fuel directly outside.
Damm this tale nevers ends. The last petromax lanterns where made in Altena Germany and production stopped 1970-1975 like Neil wrote. After this time petromax STYLE lanterns where made by several companies. Now a days by pelam in china. They own the brandname so the mark almost everything with petromax.
It would be a nice gadget to have basic information under the lampcompanies in the lamp-reference gallery - some sort of data-list with the lamps stories. I like lamphistory but some more fortunate members might find it boring to tell them over and over again and I think a data-list would take the tip of the iceberg here. Or did I miss something? Claus C
Wim is right it seems never to end. New collectors search the web for info and get confused. There is nothing we can do to change this because so long people like Britelyt have fiction on their web sites the question is always going to come up time and again. There is no point in getting irritated about this because there are no dumb questions and if a new guy wants to know we will continue to have to respond. Incidentally we all owe a huge debt to people like Wim and Anton Kaim who have done extensive research into Petromax and Aida history. ::Neil::
