last week in Victoria arrived at the gold fields last Thursday to do some gold prospecting with a couple of mates, only to find the State Government imposed a snap lock down due to a covid-19 breakout. we decided to stay put and make the most of the situation. weather was not too bad for this time of year, a couple of passing showers, cold nights, but generally fine and no moon so the night skies were star filled. but it was as black as the inside of a dogs guts away from any light source. cut up plenty of firewood so there was a roaring fire every night to sit around, and with my recently over hauled Austramax 3/300 it was given a good work out, about 6 hours each night. worked perfectly. also had a Feuerhand Baby hurricane lamp hanging off nearby tree branch acting as a night light for when one has to get up at 0400 to, err, well you know. one good thing about using a pressure lamp inside a tent, it acts as a little heater and it is amazing how well it takes the chill off the air. plus, having recently purchased a new Coleman dual fuel 533 single burner stove it was given a good test and passed with flying colours. who needs propane! my prospecting mates dont understand why I like using pressure lamps, suggesting led solar powered lamps and other such boring things, but I noticed they did not complain when I supplied the best illumination while we were sitting around the fire. the lamp lit up a large area around the camp fire and it became especially noticeable when one night it ran out of kero, the night was so dark you could not see ones hand in front of ones face except for the flickering light from the camp fire. below is my camp set up. also manage to find a couple of small gold nuggets so all in all a good few days.
Excellent! I’m heading off next week to the north east coast of Tassie: standard kit for us is two pressure lamps, two pressure stoves, and cooked meals every day. Cheers Tony
Excellent camp! I've got a couple of 533's and they're brilliant little stoves. I run mine on CF substitutes (either brake cleaning fluid or panel wipe - both naptha based fuels) so the jet doesn't get blocked. They really chuck out the heat and do a great job! When it's cold and dark there's nothing like using a pressure lantern. LEDs are great, don't get me wrong, but the warmth and glow you get with a pressure lantern... that's special!
Sounds like a great place to avoid Covid. I like using a lantern while camping but I have to say, I probably enjoy it more when it's absolutely pitch black and the only thing I can see is the campfire light.
A nice camp setup and yes have had people waving their blueish dim glowing LED camplights. The Austramax is blinding by comparison. The nuggets are a extra bonus.
it is blinding, especially when taking a photo of the lamp in action. below is a shot I took that had to be taken with it behind a tree branch otherwise it showed up a flash ball of light and below a shot taken full on, just shows as a flash of light. the lamp lit up quite a large area around our camp fire
Nothing like camping for a week or two using the older gear. I use a Coleman 249 Scout, kerosene, that gives that ambiance of the bush. Enjoy your camping as I have done over the past 55 years and still going. Enjoy Pete
…. We are heading off tomorrow for some wild winter camping… I’ll start a thread tomorrow as we leave. Cheers Tony
