I’m not sure of its age, but it’s led a hard life, with a resoldering of a base seam, and a vent I can’t identify, but not Petromax I think. Equipped too with a Phoebus globe. Steel base, crudely soldered seam. Nickel finish long gone, the brass has developed a patina I’m happy to keep. Petromax 300cp jet nipple. J-tube arrangement. Hood was for a lantern to access a fuel mixture adjustment, absent on the J-tube installed. Decidedly Petromax valve and control knob. A ‘bitsa’ no doubt, but at least I can enjoy the phenomenon of the red enamel’s colour change when hot. John
Nice light up. If visible, there'd usually be some hand-scribbled makings at the bottom of the fount on such older Petromaxes. Those markings indicate the date. Design features are those of the 1930s 826. The hood is certainly something else.
That is a Phoebus vent from a 645 (300 HK lantern) from after the war. Otherwise nice example. In my collection, the parts must either look good or function properly. Preferably both, of course. But what doesn't work and doesn't look good is either scrapped or used as a parts donor. I too like those old lanterns with a good portion of patina.
@Martin K. Thanks Martin. So as you said in your post on your Phoebus 645, the post-WWII model had a red hood Your 645. Titoo’s 635. Would the latter have the same hood or would it differ in some crucial dimension?
The red enamelled top cap is actually the same for 635 and 645. But the nickeled part below is different, as the 645 has a larger diameter and height. You may be able to see it in this picture here: As for the age of your 826: I believe it's a late pre-war lantern, but with the corroded bottom it will be difficult if not impossible to identify any scratchings. Regards, Martin
@Martin K.I see it, yes. Very helpful, thank you Martin. One final question please, my modern-era Petromax has a brass base pan but this 826 is steel. Is that usual for pre-war models?
@presscall I would believe that this is correct. I've seen many pre-war models with a rusted centering disk, but I'm not sure whether these steel disks were used even after the war. When intact, these are also much more stable than the brass ones.
What a nice old lantern.. some great history :-) as an aside I seem to remember you saying a while ago you had a pile of lanterns in the shed that you felt needed some attention.. is this lantern from that time or have I got my worms crossed? regards pb
A couple of the lanterns I have show signs of long usage and home fettling with probably simple tools on hand. There was a time when these things were in daily usage and when they broke down had to be fixed fast and some times with what was on hand.
Well remembered. Yes, I’ve had it for the best part of fifteen years. Spot on @Walkop, that’s what’s happened with this one for sure. If it were the subject of a thriller novel it would be ‘The Lantern That Refused To Die’. John
I love this lamp, it looks great and you will never see another one like it. Extra cool for still having the glass from the phoebus doner lamp. The time and effort that someone has spent keeping this lamp running over the years, it is only fair that you keep it going.
I agree @James K, a pristine lamp is a fine thing to have and I’ve one or two that could qualify, but I rate one like this Petromax as more satisfying to own and use because of the tangible connection its age-related wear confers regarding its history and those who’ve owned it. Fondly, almost, I treated the tank to a carnauba waxing.
I suspect the bottom was probably cracked.Then someone soldered a scond lid on top. Is this magnetic ?
