Not for the fainthearted (gruesome photos of electrified pressure lamps)

WARNING: The images below may be extremely distressful to fellow pressure lamp enthusiasts, scroll down at your own risk!

I overpaid for these two abused lamps, a Kildark (KG232?) and a The Eveneing Star (P92066?). I hoped that I could rescue and restore them.

I knew it was going to be a battle, The Evening Star is missing the vapourisor, both burner tubes and caps, and a lampshade. The Kildark's condition is similar, also shorting a finial, although it does have its vapouriser. I also suspect some components between the 2 lamps are mixed (founts?). Both have no chrome left.

My obvious problem is where to find parts. I suppose I can DIY burner tubes and caps, but glass shades and vapourisers are rare and very expensive to import to South Africa.

Now the dilemma: My dear wife saw how distressed I was when I unboxed them and I explained how someone had butchered the lamps by electrifying them, and how much effort it would be to restore them. She promptly suggested that we used them as is, electric bedside lamps. Since I don't have an immediate way forward, they are temporarily doing service in the bedroom.

I kind of feel like a traitor on the one hand, but on the other hand my wife is happy and the lamps see daily use. I would still restore them to original condition in a heartbeat if I had reasonable access to the needed parts (please advise).

In the meantime they will light up the bedroom.... as I try to cope with the guilt and shame.

Please let me know if anybody has advice about restoring them, or, make me feel better by saying it is OK to have electrified lamps, even if you have to lie.

PS Please don't ban me from the forum

 

It’s alright when you have good intentions.
I wondered who bought those.

 

Well, it's condition looks reversible ???

 

It's seems to be reversible, good find !!!

 

You just need a nice shade on that, more romantic in the bedroom.
On another subject have you come across any of these steel mesh ‘globes’, they came from Zimbabwe. See my recent posts.

 

Thankfully the butcher didn't drill into the tank to run the cable in

 

Ok @JohanOptimus , here goes:
You can think of them as genuine, original electric lamps that have been modelled and made to look like Kildarks. Replicas of the original Kildark pressure lamps.(indeed some unbelievably good replicas).

Some fine day(when the wife's not around), you might to 'cruelly' butcher and convert the perfectly working, electric bedroom lamps into pressurized kerosene lamps.

 

The Kildark has a Coleman valve and burner. The ES has the correct burner casting and valve unit so you just need a generator. The KD generator probably won't fit because that will be a Coleman Q99 I guess. You can find parts for these in the US. All the valve and burner bits are compatible with Akron parts. In fact early ES and KD lamps were imported Akron product. Since Akron lamps are rather prone to stress craked tanks and fuel tubes there are parts lurking with quite a few collectors over there. ::Neil::

 

I have reconsidered the dilemma of these butchered lamps, and am going to launch a valiant effort to rescue them.

I plan to start with the burner tubes and caps. Perhaps fellow members have attempted such a fettle and can share their experience?

A question that comes to mind is whether copper plumbing pipe and endcaps would be suitable?

Another is if I can use an R55 Coleman generator for the Evening Star?

The photo below shows the proper burner tubes and caps, and is from this excellent post by #Tony Press (I hope you don't mind Tony)

The Evening Star (92066 Table Lamp)

 

@JohanOptimus I salute your valiant quest to restore these electrocuted lamps to their rightful state.
Cheers
Pete

 

Yes, you can but that's not the best choice for something's close to the burning part of the lamp. Brass is preferable.
The reason, in my opinion, is that copper has a tendency to oxidize into some black, porous, loosely bound particles on the surfaces under those conditions. The burner tubes would eventually thin off.
Besides that, copper is somewhat too soft for a material to be used for a highly heated, structural component.
If brass tubes/caps are not available, the next suitable choice would be the 300-series stainless steels(304, 310, 316L, etc), which are not that likely to get oxidized. But it'll look less authentic of course.

 

You may be able to adapt an R55 to fit an ES valve. The tube size is the same so just remove the flared end and cut a suitable thread. The cp rate is the same so there is no reason why it should not work well.
Don't use copper anywhere that can get seriously hot. Copper can oxidise when hot and slough off flakes of black oxydised copper. That could fill a mantle and effectively cut off the gas flow and therefore the light. Coleman mantle caps will fit the ES mantle tubes so better to find some old Coleman caps or as a last resort even consider new ones. ::Neil::

 

Thanks Neil, I'll try the R55.

MYN, I note the problem with the copper, how about trying the burner type below? I am not sure what they are for.

 

Happy fettling!

 

@JohanOptimus
If you could secure that in, why not? Proper length would be crucial or you might end up in some 'back-burning" inside the tube.
Its brass and...the white sleeve? Is that made of Alumina or some ceramic?
If it is, sure...not a problem.
There should not any soldering.
Anyway, how would you tie the mantles on that?

 

You may try the Old Coleman Parts site here is the link OldColemanParts.com
They have, in their “Lantern Parts” section, listings for burner tubes that can be used.
I have purchased quite a bit of stuff from them and I have found them excellent to deal with.
Cheers
Pete

 

I would think twice about use in electrocuted form. Look doubtful WRT to electrical safety.
Twin flex with no earth and metallic lamp holders.
A lot of the screw thread of the bulbs is exposed, most dangerous if connected to live of the mains, and far from ideal if connected to neutral.

Might be worth fitting 12 or 24 volt lamps and connecting via a transformer.