HI I'm after some more novice advice as I have just bought an R1 heater to keep me warm when I'm in the garage fettling my Tilley's as and when they arrive. lol. It had been serviced before I got it (not off evil bay) and it started up lovely with a nice bunsen type flame. I was surprised at the amount of heat coming off it. But after about 6/7 mins the blue bunsen flame got longer and moved away from the burner itself. There was no flame coming out the mantle but no matter what I did to the pressure or the control cock I couldn't that the bunsen flame back so I turned it off. Once it had cooled off I fired it up again and the same thing happened. I contacted the shop and they said that operation was normal because as the burner got up to working temperature the vapour was superheated and that's why you can't see the flame at the burner. Am I worrying over nothing and should just get on with enjoying the warmth. Any help/ advice is greatly appreciated. Please see the pictures below. Thanks Mark
As long as the flames are inside the mantle, you have nothing to worry about. Enjoy the warmth ! The better the shine on the reflector, the more efficient your heater will be. Use either something like Duraglit or a cream (Autosol is popular) to achieve a mirror finish and a coat of high temperature clear lacquer to keep it that way.
But the mesh mantle continues to glow red? Flames lifting off and going out is too lean a mixture - aka running out of fuel! John
Thanks for all your advice but it was playing on my mind so I tried something. I lit it up again and as the flame started to come away from the burner I put the the preheater back on the vaporiser. Within a minute the bunsen flame was back up to the burner and stayed there for about 5mins before the flame moved away again. This suggest the vaporiser is not keeping hot enough or transfering enough heat after preheating the vaporise the fuel. I'm going to try a 606 vaporiser that I know works (see what happens) and then try the heat quench method on the 149 to see if any carbon comes out and polish up the outside and give it a try. Watch this space.
1.5 pints of kero and provided the pump's in good working order, 70 to 80 pump strokes and stand back.
Thanks for the advice. I stripped and cleaned the burner, put 1 1/2 pints of paraffin in and put 70 strokes of the pump in and it ran like a dream. Thanks a lot everyone this site is brilliant.
Well done @Rockabilly Mark - preseverance nearly always pays off with these things. re: pressure - when pumping the centre of the "pip" on the tank should rise when you are at the correct pressure. You will see that is recessed when there is no or low pressure. In your original picture on this thread it is not "up". They can fail, but normally I find that they still work. Anyway, an excuse to light it up again ? Chris
I've just acquired one of these too from a charity shop. It seems in reasonable condition and being used to Tilley lamps I can pretty much work out what might need replacing, but can someone please explain the bit of pipe sticking out horizontally at right angles at the top of the burner, and does it matter which way it points? Cheers.
Welcome @Andrew Simpson - it is an air intake - and it will work in any position. Happy fettling - and remember to let us know how you get on, or ask questions if it does not go according to plan. cheers Chris
Here is something else to be aware of, carbon building up on the pricker wire affects the flow of the fuel and air mix and it will have a negative effect on a pressure heater or any other pressure product. Rockabilly Mark
You have better charity shops than I do! Ours are forbidden to sell anything that can't be certified 100% safe under all potential scenarios! This is why they only sell books and old china! Oh and tatty clothes too.
Hoping that Mark doesn't mind me continuing to hitch a ride on his thread as we are similar stages, I've given mine a good clean, replaced all the seals (finally worked out that the control knob was a screw-on one not pull off or grub screw type!) and it works a treat. Lit at the first attempt so all the advice and encouragement was greatly appreciated. It's clearly lived a bit, there seems to have been an attempt to repaint it in a different shade of cream - the blue is just a drip - and the blackened burner in particular won't seem to clean up (it's more than just soot!), but it works and even my wife is happy as it can sit outside the door of her posh shed looking quirky and wafting a bit of warm air in. I'll be getting a new cage as the old one was rusted through and bent; an attempt to make it fit just snapped off a leg. I do wonder though if it's more for the mantle's protection than the user's as touching a hot cage will be almost as bad as touching the burner itself. The only thing I can't shift whatever I try is the locking nut holding the mantle on, but it's in good nick fortunately. I might just have to replace the whole unit when the time comes. Some remaining questions: It has a fitted preheater ring that I'm more used to seeing on Primus stoves but with some absorbent material in it. It worked fine when filled with meths instead of using a clip-on torch, but is it a home-made accessory? The pump clamp ring has a tiny hole on the side, through into the pump cylinder. What's it for and should it be sealed by the internal washer? The current one doesn't quite cover it so at times there is a slight escape of air. An estimate of age? Now to the Fettlebox to replenish my spare parts, and shall I try to make a preheating windshield or see if I can buy one at a reasonable price far better than I could make?
@Andrew Simpson The priming cup is not a Tilley product but they are very useful. It probably came from another lamp or stove. The hole is the air release when unscrewing the pump. If air is escaping your pump is not sealing properly. Don’t block the hole. Cheers Tony
A lager can works surprisingly well in the short-term although you need to be careful with the edges if you leave them rough. Cut a slot up the side for the air intake and a loop of some stiff wire poked through a pair of holes on each side of the top acts as a handle. I wouldn't worry about cleaning the burner. As soon as you use it, it'll go black again...
@Andrew Simpson You may find this post interesting. Tilley R1/R1A - Draught shield dimensions If you intend to repaint the tank, the Rover car colour Arrum Beige is as near to the original as you can get.
Halfords Rover Arum WHITE Car Spray Paint 300ml (5) Manufacturer's Paint Code : NMF / 449 Year : 1981-1985 Used this myself and as @Henry Plews says it's as close as you can get, even with my poor eyesight!
