Hi all, This is my first post to this forum as I only joined recently. I am a totally blind tilley lamp enthusiast and can tell by sound and smell whether any one of my three lamps are burning correctly. As the subject implies I have afew questions for you pressure lamp fettalers, but first I have to thank Stu for his amazing account of restoring his FL6 flood light, b....y amazing. As quality paraffin is getting harder and harder to obtain, does anybody use paraffin extra available from Basecamp, and if so is this product any better than Bartoline Premium Paraffin. From doing a little research on the web I find that Paraffin Extra is, if not the same product as rolf lamp Oil. I ask because I can only buy 16lts at a time and I don't want to shell out for Paraffin Extra if it's just the same as Bartoline Premium Paraffin. Second when fitting washers anywhere on a pressure lamp do you guys and gals use a thin smear of greese or vasalene to ensure a good seal? Third can mixing domes be bought separately for a standard X246B tilley lamp burner. I wanted to find out exactly what was inside my beloved x246B tilley lamp burner and crushed the mixing dome on top of the burner whilst trying to unscrew it. Just wondering if these can be purchased separately from anywhere or is it a complete new burner. fourth where are Scotts tilley lamps he took to the north pole, I mean did anybody ever bring them back? are they in a museum somewhere?, what kind of lamps were they?. Warm regards. Martin
First of all, welcome. Regarding Scott using Tilleys, I must say I'm sceptical. Did Tilley even make lamps at this early stage? I thought they started in the twenties, or thereabout. I would rather assume that they used wick lamps on those expeditions. However, they did use some pressure apparatus for sure. Primus! But then only in the form of a simple stove... Base-Camp sell burner parts, but it doesn't look as they sell the mixing dome separately. Service pack 3 (SP3) contain this dome, but you will also get the injector tube and spigot. And it's not cheap, so perhaps the best would be to scan eBay or local thrift stores for scrap X246B's to use as a donor lantern. Or with a bit of luck, someone in here has one laying about, just for you.
Scot died trying to get back from the South Pole not the north in 1911 and at that time there were no pressure lanterns available. Certainly not Tilley who made their first paraffin lamp in 1920. They used an acetylene hollow wire system in the main base hut and for portable lighting they used flat wick hurricane type lanterns. ::Neil::
Welcome aboard Martin, I use central heating oil in my lamps and it works fine and the paraffin which is sold in 4 litre drums these days, looks exactly the same as central heating oil. However, it's all heavier (thicker more oily) than it used to be. I have dicussed this topic with several collectors and they all concur. I recall reading somewhere, perhaps in an issue of the Light Imternational journal, that Blanchaed lamps were used on the ship or ships wich took Scot and his team to the south pole. Jeff.
Quite possible because Blanchard were certainly making lamps by 1909. I had that thought as well but I couldn't find any evidence for Blanchard at the Polar expeditions. Maybe I will have a trawl through LI and see if I can find the article. ::Neil:: I found it. Light International Vol 3 issue 3. I was right that Scott used Acetylene. It was Shackleton who took Blanchard lamps south in 1914 but he never got to use them on land because the Endurance was crushed and sank. They did use the chandelier on board ship before it sank. ::Neil::
Thanks for clearing that up Neil, I did recall that the ice took that ship and everything in it, Jeff.
Well there you go. Somewhere on the sea bed of the Southern Ocean there are several well preserved Blanchard lamps waiting to be salvaged. ::Neil::
Hi all, Well thanks for all your responses thus far particularly on what lighting equipment Scott took to the South Pole. I knew somebody would pull me up on my mistake of the North Pole, but I had pressed send and there was nothing I could do about it, Never mind smile, of course, after all your responses I have more questions. What is a hollow wire system?. I have read about this with regards to early doughnut cieling lamps. I would love to get a close examination of such a lamp, I have never seen one. As I am totally blind, can somebody on here describe one in words?. What are Blanchaed lamps?, are these the flat style hurricane lamps kniel mentioned earlier ibn this post?. Slightly Off Topic: Why is everybody so down on the X246B? I mean I know it's not a solid brass construction like my TL10 table lamp or my Guardsman, but come on, I think it's an OK lamp. I have run one for 10 years with no problems. I use clean fuel, all ways use the strainer in the paraffin funnel, and service it regularly. Personally I think it's a case of old verses modern, and people don't like change. I mean the parts are cheap and plentyful enough if you need to replace anything on this lamp. I run all three of my my lamps regularly, but I have to say I run my X246B more so because of the reasons stated above. Warm regards. Martin Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I will remember, Let me do it and I will understand.
The hollow wire lights use a tank like a large old fire extinguisher presurised with a pump similar to an old car type with air space plus 5 gallon petrol fed through 3mm brass tube and permantly installed to fixed suspended ceiling and wall lights. They are lit with a wad soaked in meths on a rod when pre heated the chain operated valve is opened.They operate in similar fashion to Tilley and Coleman The lamps were used by those that could afford them in the early 20`s in some places until mains power was available,you will find some sales pamphlets in USA ebay if you have someone to describe them. Graham.
Martin here's an interesting link ,pics of te lamps on the shelves; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1374428/Ben-Fogle-finds-inspiration-Scotts-Antarctic-base-camp.html
Blanchard are British made paraffin pressure lamps, like Tilley. They tend to have ornate designs, particularly the early ones. I have a model 1215 market stall lamp. The fount is brass and shaped like a bell. The fuel pipe comes out of the top of the bell and divides sideways into two arms on the end of which are the burners. The burners have enamel reflectors and large glass bowls underneath. Each arm has a tap so the burners can be controlled individually. There is a nice write-up on them here: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/munwai/blanchd.htm
Tilley made paraffin burning system lighting (hollow wire) and kitchen stoves could also be connected to the system. I misspelled Blanchard in an earlier post, in fact there were two typing errors in that post. In my opinion, the build quality of the X-246-B lantern is so poor that it's not fit to be called a Tilley, Jeff.
Well here is a picture of one of there Blanchard lamps running on the ship A early market stall lamp with one smashed globe long way back to uk for a new one tho!!!! cheers pete
Hi all, Jeff, you say that the quality on the X246B is so low that it can't even be called a tilley: WHY? the only thing different about the X426B is that the Guardsman has a solid brass control cock and if your lucky a vaperizing tube with brass ends. come on man your just sceptical or old school, lets have some reasoning behind such a sweeping statement. Warm regards. Martin Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I will remember, Let me do it and I will understand.
Hello Martin, there are many more differences than that between a Tilley Guardsman tank and a Tilley X-246-B tank and there are many differences in the build quality of the parts too. There are also many differences between the different periods of Tilley Guardsman tanks and all of those subjects have been discussed at length on this forum and if I can find any of the relevant posts then I shall add the links. My opinion is based on the experience which I have gained during 19 + years of collecting, restoring and researching Tilleys and other pressure and wick lamps and I was born to the light of a Tilley wall lamp and I grew up with lamps being used daily. So my opinion will not be changing and I'm not alone in holding said opinion, Jeff.
Martin ! You mention your a totally blind Tilley lamp enthusiast ! Well thats one thing you have in common with the Tilley lamp company on the day they invented the red based storm lamp X246B ! The X246A was a wonderfull advancment on the X246 and to me was their most asthetically pleasing storm lamp , but to think a company with so much history of lamp making should end their historic days with the lamp designer coming out of his office clutching a new red prototype !!! ....how depressing can it get ? mick
I'll have a couple of pints of what you're drinking, Mick. Well it's all a matter of taste, of course, but surely that accolade belongs to any of the X246 pork-pies.
Hi ! I don't really mind where the accolade should be hung ! The Tilley storm lamp history is facinating to see from a 1920 advert in a " Buck and hickman catalogue " for " HL 16 " up until the x246A . mick
Hi ! David are you trying to tell me you don't own a copy of " The Versatile Vapour Lamp book " All the work Jim Dick , myself , Neil and input from various other collectors around the globe helping to create this " I must have a copy " and what more can I say David ? except try looking on page 31 . ( when you have brought a copy ) incidently over 800 books have been sold ! I found this advert in the British library and it shows the Hurricane lamp very clearly. Yes I have other adverts for this lamp with the Tilley code below . However I can not post a pic as my computer won't send attachments in any form ! or photo,s no idea why ! mick
Hi all, Jeff, I see what you mean after reading the post on tilley lamp tanks. You will be glad to know I bought two vapalux pressure lamps last week and await there arrival, but no doubt all this white stuff we've been having will slow them getting to me. I have to agree all so that my TL10 table lamp is far more well made than the X246B which does have the bottom of the fount with the ashtray bottom shaped soldered in right way up. I'd hate to try and desolder a tank bottom, I think even my turbo torch using Mapp gas would struggle with that, and my poor finger tips would definately not like oxy Acetylene. Martin Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I will remember, Let me do it and I will understand.
I have a copy which I've owned for several years and have read many times, including page 31. What I don't have is a copy of the Buck and Hickman catologue you were talking about and I was referring to. It's not mentioned anywhere on page 31 of Jim Dick's book, despite the impression you're trying to give. You could have simply said that the illustration of the HL 16 you found in the Buck and Hickman Catalogue is reproduced on page 31 of Jim Dick's book. That way we'd all have understood what it was you were trying to communicate...
Dear David ! The illustration of the HL16 I found in the Buck and hickman catalogue is reproducedon on page 31 of Jim Dick's book. mick
