Found in local antique store partially disassembled in box. It is my first pressure table lamp, quite happy with it. Tank had congealed & dried mix of what smelled of mix of several different liquids (Kero,auto gasoline and/or Denatured alcohol). Let soak in white gas & mess came out like gelled sterno & boogers. What wouldn't dissolve in that did in several hot soapy water rinses. Shop owner had pump for this lamp sitting on old kitchen stove display away from the lamp parts proper, had to convince them it wasn't an antique Turkey baster just to get the pump included in the sale price (whopping $5 U.S.!, I think they just wanted the stinky tank out of the store!). After a full dissassembly, ultrasonic dunk,reassembly of lamp, pump re-leathering, and rebuild of the generator (( I took out asbestos & old wire from generator and replaced with some new wire & glass strands from inner core of Hardware store cheap tiki torch replacement wick from the outdoor garden section. It was a real pain getting past the loop in the generator! In a nutshell, I unscrewed the generator tip, pulled out the old wire with pliers, 2nd ultrasonic dip, flush with compressed air, blew 50 lb test spider wire fishing line through empty generator tube, tied to new wire & glass wick fibers, pulled back through... voila!)), The rebuild was worth the hassle for $5... if just unto me.
Great stuff. Well over 80 years old and still works like it was meant to. "Improved" many times down the years but never bettered. I always think these are a bit boring but that is because there are so many survivors which is a testament to the build quality and simple elegance of the design. No collection should be without a working CQ. ::Neil::
Thank you, it was actually my first antique or vintage pressure lamp, tabletop, indoor or outdoor model. I did a lot of reading on them before ever finding a lamp and then studied up on this one in particular before doing the rebuild. I was surprised how bright it ended up being. It burned with the shade a creamy colored dull light prior to the generator rebuild. The hiss of the first vapor, the adrenalin rush of the first lighting, the uncertainty of if I would escape with my eyebrows intact.... it made it all worth the endevor. I would have paid double ($10, lol) for the learning experience!
I agree, the simplicity of the curl in the generator as a solution to have a "quick-lite" without much wait is genious. No more additional parts needed made nor special factory tooling upgrades for the desired effect. What a shame they not only don't make stuff in that spirit anymore but, they don't make many people who think that way in business anymore either!
