I've had this VL1 for a while now. The original orange vase had two large chunks missing out of it on the top and bottom rim and I had it repaired with OK results but I recently got a nice blue one for it. I think the blue vase must have been a factory reject as when I got it the tank would not fit in the vase as there was a thick band on the inside of the vase. See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtHqjWPDynQ I was able to grind the band down using a Dremel so the tank would fit. Took bloody ages.
You'd better send those to me for safe keeping. Nice lamp and spare vase, you'll have to get a tank made up for it now. Did you get the blue vase as just that? With a bunch of plastic flowers in.
Well worth the effort and time. You seem to be missing the tank top ring. Makes the lamp sit a bit low in the vase. ::Neil::
I placed a layer bubble wrap in the bottom of the vase to protect the vase from the bottom rim of the tank.
I think these tanks can vary slightly in height James but the ring will stop the tank from banging on the base or on the sides of the vase. I had one like that a few years ago and stuck it into auction as I wasn't sure what to do with it. Annoying now to learn that for a few measly £s I could have made it usable. It was an old gold one by the way, wonder who ended up with it.
See page 83 in Jim Dick's book. Also the internal diameter can vary as James has found, although only at the top in my experience. My feeling is that the vases were hand-thrown so there will be variations in dimensions. Perhaps the specification 'drifted' through time or there were differences between potters. Possibly it was an apprentice piece or maybe even just another bit of decorative Bretby (i.e. Henry Tooth & Co.) pottery - if you look at their other vases made and sold for homewares, a lot of it was a broadly similar design. I'd always assumed the tank sat on the base of the vase and the metal ring at the top was there to disguise any gap between the tank and the ceramic. In that light of this thread maybe that's wrong and I'll need to do a little further investigation later on...
When sold these vases always had a packing of wood wool in the base. I believe they were always intended to sit on the upper ring and never touch the base. Makes sense as it prevents damage to the vase if the tank is dropped in a little too heavily. ::Neil::
I haven't seen that stuff for years and had forgotten about it! I'll have to keep an eye out for some. In the meanwhile, I'll go with Jeff's suggestion and use bubble-wrap... Yes, after a quick look-see, I think that's correct. If I have a problem with the inner diameter of the vases, it's because it's too large at the top i.e. virtually the exact opposite of what James found with his, and the rings sit too low...
When I acquired my VL-1 there was wood packing in the bottom of the vase, but it was stinking so I cleaned out the vase and used bubble wrap instead.
