I have three Anchor lanterns that I'm very proud of (strange I know, but I love my shiny Chinese lanterns!) but the thing is, the two 500cp 950 models are burning a little too orange and when first lit there is a faint halo of fuel burning outside the mantle. I think this because the fuel/air mix is incorrectly set but I'm not confident enough in the science to start fiddling with it. Could a kind soul run through the regulator gap distance in the top burner tube (J tube?) and tell me which way makes it more lean so the flame burns bluer. Actually, have I got this correct? I assume that making the gap smaller reduces the intake of air but is this correct and if it is, can I alter the distance in real time while the lamp is running or is that foolhardy? I know these may sound like noob questions but the 350cp 909 burns so brightly it puts the other two, supposedly more powerful lamps to shame. To explain, when I got these two the J tubes were loose and I tightened them without realising the significance.
From memory the gap for both 350 and 500 should be about 15mm. Much less than that and the mixture will be too rich and give you the yellow flames you describe. I have never tried to alter the gap on a running lamp and I don't recomend doing so. You have to remove the hood to do this and that changes the air flow so you may not be seeing the truth in the burn. Also check to see if the lamps have an adjuster paddle in the J tube. Fiddling with this can affect the burn quality. ::Neil::
Thanks Neil, I will have a fiddle and post the results. I'm well aware that Chinese 'knock offs' are cheap and chearful and not well regarded for obvious reasons like build quality, tolerances and general corner cutting but I have a soft spot for mine... goodness knows why. I have a very nice quality Canadian Ash Flash coming my way soon so maybe I should change my forum name to Colin the Chinaman!
I've fiddled similar 350...500cp lanterns, i.e., Petromax, Butterfly with the air gap adjusted between the supposedly optimum 14.2mm to about slightly below 18mm. The effects of improvements in light quality were more apparent when I was using somewhat worn jets. Other than this, I just felt it was necessary to adjust beyond 15mm, especially when I was using the heavier diesel instead of kerosene as fuel. No real harm trying.
Hi @ColinG the Chinaman, I have an Anchor 385, a Cat Brand and a Light Brand and a chinese made Col-Max 555. Would that qualify? We can start our own branch! Gleetings, w!m Forgot to mention, an Optimus 300 with all the inner works replaced by Butterfly (this was because someone started to electrocute the lantern when I found it......)
@ColinG yes, precise gap would be 14,2 mm. But you can increase the gap in steps of 1 mm up to 18-19mm. Too saturated/fat fuel/air mix caused normally by worn or inprecise, large jets. You can even increase the gap while live operation. Remove the hood; start lantern; put screwdriver under the u-turn of mixing tube; loosen the mix-tube-fix-screw; vary the position of the mixing tube; find optimum; tighten the screw again; put on hood while in operation for final optimum position check. :-)
Hello again lantern chums! I listened to everyone's advice and had a good old fiddle with all my Chinese beauties and this is the result... pretty much perfection. I even managed to free the seized butterfly J tube restrictor on one of the Anchor 950s. I adjusted it while the lantern was running and although it does make a small difference the effect is minimal at best. Left to right, we have an Anchor 950 500cp, a light Brand 350cp, an Anchor 909 350cp and finally another Anchor 950 500cp. My wife came out to bring me a cuppa and even she was impressed with the light output. To be honest it was blinding.
Yes, that's exactly what I find with 500cp lanterns - up close, they're just too bright to be of much use. For me, it's the amount of useful light that's important and even a (claimed) 300cp lantern is improved beyond measure by putting a translucent globe or shade on it...
Hmmmm, my long term plan is to get some shades for a range of my lanterns, by which I mean one for the main types, so 1x Anchor fit, 1x Tilley fit and 1x Bialaddin/Vapalux fit. The Colemans are all so different and they don't come out to play much these days anyway. BUT... being me (I love making my own components wherever possible) I will find a source of cheap, dish shaped, metal lamp shades that I can cut and trim to fit. IKEA is already looking like a strong possibility but the internet is so full of bargains I'll find what I'm looking for soon enough and when I do, I will document the results! Watch this space!
@ColinG I’m not that interested in the gap; just the set up. It may help me on another project. Cheers Tony
Here they are... these are from the two 950s, both of which were running very orange and 'flamey' before I adjusted them. To my surprise they are both 17mm - less than I thought. All of the Anchors use a screw/pressure plate mechanism on the opposite side of the J tube, whereas the Light Brand uses a large but thin hex nut above and below the cross member. This is not as easy to get to or adjust but seems to be a better, more engineeringly satisfying solution. Actually, I just remembered, the two 950s came from the same source so it's not surprising they'd had the same amount of wear. They previously belonged to a Scout Group and the guy I purchased them from had obviously looked after them very well.
I've just noticed... the entire burner assembly on the first image isn't located properly in the frame so the measurement is not accurate at all! So what are you looking for Tony? I can take some more specific photos if you like? It'll have to be tomorrow now though!
They sound like reflectors rather than shades, Colin. Putting a translucent shade on a Tilley table lamp is an absolute revelation...
Tony: glad to help! David: I got confused between shade and reflector!!! Now I understand, I'm definitely going to try a frosted globe now! Can you buy them or do you have them sand blasted?
Oliver Stork, Mastholte, Germany, might have frosted globes for Anchor lanterns. or this one: Lampenglas Borosilicat mit Anchor Logo (halb mattiert) - Anchorlampen very robust glasses. Chrome Top reflectors for PX and Clones, you get here: Santrax Lampenschirm A Bundeswehr Shop Räer Hildesheim
Thanks bp4willi, that is very cheap for a Lampenschirm. Do they post to the UK I wonder? Also, the Anchorlampen.de shop only charges €9.99 for 2x Sea Anchor lamp glasses! That's incredible! There are lots of other cheap things on the site too, like funnels, J tubes, jets, hoods, pepper pot burners.... for so little money! When I come back from holiday I will need to investigate further! Thanks!
@ColinG if they don't ship to UK, I can assist. the Lampenschirm is the same quality as the original Petromax top reflector. attention: The original sea anchor globes easily crack, when rain drops on hot glass. better use the German quality globes from that shop.
Ahhhh, there had to be a reason why they were so cheap, in which case they might be good only for display and use another, better glass when they are lit. When I return from holiday I will look into these matters further and I may be accepting you kind offer of assistance!
Hello my friend , I live in the UK and I need a clear glass cylinder for my Petromax 829 HK 500 model.. I know that I can order the glass from a few lamp dealers here in the UK ... but I wondered if you could direct me to a www.. sites in Germany that you know that would supply and post to the UK an original part at good value.. Thanks for your time. Albert
Hi Alby I have bought a lot from Hytta.de The website is a bit confusing but Google chrome can translate to English. Very helpful guys there and prices are reasonable
Thanks for that I will look at the site next few days I have had goods from Germany before Deutsche post is real good and delivery good and DHL as well
@Alby Here is a place to start at hytta.de Detailseite: Ersatzteil- und Zubehörliste "Petromax 500 HK, Geniol 500 HK und Hipolito 500 HK Have only good experiences with them.
The spanner I got with my Petromax 289, has a tapered "gap feeler guage" feature. This is 14, 2mm. I found that increasing the gap significantly, would make it more difficult to start the lantern. Also a smaller gap would make it burn more yellow .
Before I ran my Hipolito H502, I measured the gap as above and it was 16mm, left it as it was and works beautifully. I also bought a spilt reflector for it from Sturm Kappe, off Ebay, and it needs it. Tim
Thanks for sharing this info. I also played around with this gap on a Sae Anchor ⚓. I took off the ventilator and lifted the burner assembly up and town, with two small screwdrivers, until I found the maximum lux level. (I use a App on my cell phone and a purpose-built rig, to measure lux levels in a repeatable way). I measured this gap which was 15, 6 mm. I then adjusted the gap to this value. I tested for easy start-up, and it was fine! I gained 600 lux, by increasing the gap from an original 11 mm! I find that every lantern can be optimized for maximum light output, as no 2 lanterns are the same!
My gap seems to be set at around 10mm, and I’ve never been brave enough to adjust it! I get a brilliant white light when using Coleman #11 mantles, but it’s a pretty noisy lamp to run. Not roaring, just a loud hiss. I’m wondering whether to be brave and try to raise the gap to 14mm or just leave it all as it is. (If it ‘ain’t broke…..)
