I bought an Anchor 909 and can’t get it to light!

Drop some sewing machine oil in the pumptube and press it in the tank.
That will lubricate the parts without getting the valve out. Or blow the dirt out with some alcohol via the same principle.

 

Pump juddering sorted!! It moves nice and smoothly now (and smells nice) AND I got the old NRV changed over for a new one.
My boss machined me a brilliant NRV removal tool, which worked first time and I’ve replaced the old valve with a new one that has a simple flathead slot in it.

I also learned a valuable lesson - never ever EVER remove a non-return valve when the fuel tank is full, and there’s even a tiny bit of pressure in the tank.
My shorts are covered in paraffin, as is the table, my gloves, the tool-kit……

 

NRV removal tool!

 

Not trying to steal this thread, but a question popped into my mind. Hurt too......

Regarding ColinG's image above.......my Anchor's original mantle was destroyed when the burner unscrewed and fell to the bottom of the lantern. I replaced the burner with another, then used an Austrian made Luxor 500cp mantle. Upon relighting, the first thing I noticed was that the Austrian made mantle burned with a distinctive yellow color whereas the original Chinese mantle was very white. The fount pressure was almost at maximum during this burn.

Are the Chinese still using thorium in their mantles? Or is there some other reason?

If this topic belongs in a separate thread, please advise and I'll delete then move it.

 

That’s intriguing.
I wanted to ask about mantles anyway, as the Anchor ones I bought for the lamp seem to work well but shrink to a teeny tiny size in use. Seems such a waste of that lovely big lantern area. Their light is clean and white though.

 

They are still available in both thorium and non-thorium/yttrium types.
If the Luxor is of later manufacture, it might be non-thoriated perhaps due to greater restrictions on manufacturing and waste disposal in Europe.

 

I'm guessing we've all done something similar, I know I have, but you only do it once! Made me chuckle when I remembered the time when I worked on a full lantern and got covered in paraffin!

 

Oh no @ColinG - more than once
I use the thorated mantles from Juliands for bright light, and Peerless Type III or Petromax Helox for "nicer" light. If you can get an Optimus 2731 mantle (the same as 4a) they are very nice but pricy in the UK.