Hello. I'm posting this in the hopes that everyone will share their knowledge with me, as I'm ignorant about this. I just got my hands on a Radius No. 143. When I looked at my No. 143, the glass and other parts looked original, with the Radius logo, but I couldn't find the plate (which appears to be between the tank and lantern). Many No. 143s posted to the CPL gallery have this plate. I therefore thought that my No. 143 might be missing the plate. If that's the case, I'm planning to make a replica out of brass and attach it. However, when I looked at the Radius catalog, No. 143 did not have the plate, but No. 146 did. I have a few questions here. 1. How does this plate function? 2. Was No. 143 originally equipped with this plate? If so, why doesn't it appear in the catalog picture? From here on, this is just my own speculation (imagination). I'm almost 99% sure I'm wrong, but let me explain anyway. I've heard that the No. 143 and 146 lamp kits were originally sold as kits only. I also understand that the 143, 145, and 146 all have almost the same parts. So when they were first sold as lantern kits, I imagine they were sold as a single set with all the parts so that they could be used for both the 143 and the 146. And I imagine that after installing all the necessary parts, buyers of that kit also installed this plate on the No. 143, contrary to the instruction manual. I also suspect that this plate is a heat shield to protect hands from burns. This is because, according to the catalog, only the 146, which has no handle, is equipped with it, and since the 146 has no handle, you have to hold the tank, so I thought this plate was attached to prevent hands from getting caught around the connection. If I get the correct answers to questions 1 and 2, I'll probably throw this fantasy in the trash. I would be grateful if someone with more knowledge could enlighten me.
These are very difficult questions to answer as there is not much information available about these models. Radius always had a lamp adapter available from at least 1930, but these early ones used an upright mantle. A lamp adapter was introduced in a 1931 catalogue that begins to look like the 143 but had an enamelled hood and the wings or arms (you call it a plate) have a different shape. These were sold only as adapters with numbers 121 and 123. Here is a screen shot from the catalogue. A French pamphlet from 1937 lists adapters that look like what we know, but only list them under the adapter numbers 130, 131, 140 and 141. What the difference is I can't say as I don't read French. Here is a screen shot. Then we have the catalogue from 1939 that you show a screen shot from. Here they are listed as a set with the stove tank (maybe the stove burner and legs came with them, but I don't know) using the numbers we are used to. What the wings are is not described and I have not been able to find anyone that can say for sure. My guess is that they are for when the lamp is removed from the tank, then it can stand on the wings and control wheel without falling over. Why some pictures show them without is strange and I don't have an answer for that. For reference, the wings are made of nickel plated steel.
@Nils Stephenson Thank you for letting me know. Your opinion that it's to allow the item to stand on its own when the lamp attachment is removed seems reasonable. On the other hand, why it's not written in picture 143 is still a mystery. It's written in picture 146, so I don't think it was just "forgotten to write it." But at the same time, I don't think the picture is completely accurate. I guess I'll have to ask someone who bought it back then. Thank you for all the information. I appreciate it.
I have just had a thought that the wings weren't needed on the 143 and 145 as they have a handle and can be hung up when not attached to the tank.
My 143/145 (I think its a 143), has the wings/legs, as well as the bail/handle. But seeing the advert above, perhaps its a 123 as it arrived on a No.21... It takes a No.200/Primus 991 sized Glass anyway It also has internal and external threads on the connector, so it can attach to both a No.21 and a No.100 Alec.
@Rangie @Nils Stephenson Thank you! It seems that the plate is basically available, so I will make it myself out of steel. If possible, I would appreciate it if you could tell me the approximate length and width of the wing-like plate in millimeters.
@Rangie @Nils Stephenson I was told by a collector that this part was not included in the early production run of the 143 model, but was included in the later production run. Since the 143 I acquired was determined to be a later model based on the shape of the hole, I realized it was simply a missing part. Now that I know the dimensions, I'll try making one myself. Thank you everyone for your help.
