1990's Vapalux M320

Here's an unmarked surplus M320 dating from the 1990's and requiring a bit of a cleanup.

 

I found a marking on the underside of the tank. It reads "BS 2049 Willis & Bates England Never Use Petrol"

 

here's a shot of it lit up.

 

Very nice, congratulations on getting it all fixed up.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it a bit more... why did this get dated "the 90's"? It's identical to the Bialaddin 320 from the 60's.

 

Hello Mark, your lantern is a Vapalux not a Bialaddin and that later hood is a bit different and your lantern is fitted with that polished aluminium disk and the short straight glass.

If I recall correctly, Willis & Bates started using that combination in the 1990s, but Ian will have more precise information.

The meths torch does not have the lifter fitted to it and there may be some other minor differences, Jeff.

 

Thanks Jeff. I was asking because I was trying to determine the vintage of a Bialaddin that I saw a picture of. My understanding is that Bialaddins from the 60's were just as robustly constructed as the Vapaluxes.

 

Yes, as Shakespeare himself would have it:-

What's in a name? - that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet...