Further to THIS post, I’ve made some progress, having acquired a full 6kg Calor propane cylinder and a 1983 Bullfinch catalogue in which their ‘Industrial Lighting’ range features. An email to Bullfinch established that they ended production of the No.1700 floodlamp in the mid-1990’s and the No.1616 Handilight in 2014. Their No.1225 Miniflood continues to have spares support, but I don’t see it listed on their website currently. Turns out I remembered I already have a Miniflood stashed away in my shed and a recent purchase is a Handilight. Together with suitable 1 bar regulators, new hoses and the mantles for the lamps I’m close to a light-up! In terms of light output, the catalogue gives, in order of ascending power … Miniflood: 100 watts Handilight: 150 watts Floodlamp: 175 watts Those outputs correspond with progressively larger jet orifices and increasing sizes of mantles evidently (see photo below). I’ll report back on outcomes. John
Be nice if you can run them and see how they compare to paraffin devices john. Can see the up side no more pumping tank pressure just turn the tap on and its away Cheers pete
@pete sav Regarding a comparison, Pete, on operating pressures of paraffin and propane lamps alone, paraffin lamps should romp away, you’d think. I have in mind that the pressure in the tank of a Petromax (judging by its manometer) is 1.5 bar or a bit above, the 1.5 bar red line, as I understand it, representing the minimum pressure the rapid starter should operate at. The Px manometer goes up to 3 bar but long before then it’ll have got impossible to force any more air in so around 2 bar indicated (anybody’s guess on manometer accuracy) seems to be a realistic maximum. All the Bullfinch lights are regulated at 1 bar, but it seems to be too big a leap to suggest that the greater pressure generated in the tank of a paraffin lamp translates into more output at the mantle than that of a propane lamp. The jet nipple itself is the final regulating device. After all, the point of pressurising the air above the paraffin is to produce a head of pressure to keep the lamp running for an hour or so before more pumping is needed. Comparing like with like, the Bullfinch Handilamp and a Petromax, say, would be an interesting comparison. In collecting and directing light from the mantle the reflectors of the Miniflood and large floodlamp would prove deceptive in gauging ‘brightness’ unless up against Tilley equivalents. I’ve an FL6 with a new (old stock) reflector that I should bring along too. Interesting that, because the FL6 mantle is smaller than a Guardsman’s. I’ve not yet got the large Bullfinch running, but it’ll be interesting to see how large its mantle is by comparison when burned off and inflated. John
Hi john The mantles for the big floodlight are they double wall? I have some here for propane calor floodlights and says they are double maybe its to make them more durable dont seem any brighter running on my blanchards Cheers pete
@pete sav Yes Pete, double weave, tough as a wool hiking sock. Even so, instructions for the Miniflood (available on the Bullfinch website, attached as a pdf, below) suggests care in ‘assisting’ burning off a new mantle by trickling a small flow of gas into it. The Bullfinch catalogue refers to their industrial lamps’ ability to shrug off tough site conditions, so it makes sense that the durability of the double-walled mantle would be a prime consideration.
I equipped the Mini-flood, Handilight and No.1700 floodlamp with regulators, hoses and mantles and they work very well. Here’s the large floodlamp and tripod. 6kg propane cylinder to power up. Piezo sparker ignites the burner reliably.
