In the Bialladin 300 range is the 310 the least common? Just curious as I haven't seen that many come up...
310 was made from 1954 to 1959 so just 5 years or so. 315 was made for maybe a year longer at about 1960 to 1966. The rare one should be 320 because that was only made in 1967-1968 but of course because Vapalux continued to make a 320 it appears to be common. However you are right and 310 does seem to be a shy bird. For my money the best looking of them all too. ::Neil::
Yes, although I don't have one myself yet I see more 320s than anything else I think. A lot of them being sold virtually unused... The 310 is the one I'm hoping to find next.
When you do, make sure it has the correct, curved-shoulder globe. These are probably worth as much as the rest of the lantern. The replacement globes with the angled shoulder fit and work fine but they're just not 'right'... Ray, a letter I have (probably, we all have!) signed by Peter Sunderland gives the dates of production of the 320 as 1965 - 1979. Presumably these would have been badged as Bialaddin until the deal with Aladdin Industries ended in 1968. Mind you, the same letter states that W&B first started producing pressure lanterns in 1912. Neil?
Hmmm. 1966/67 must be right 'cos it says so in the PLC. Mind you I have no idea where that piece of evidence came from. 1912? Yes right of course they did. I suspect W&B probably made parts for some manufacturers and may even have made complete lamps but they will be other makers brands and we will never know exactly what they did. It is possible that W&B made lamps for Kitson for instance but who knows? ::Neil::
No, that's a 320 with the correct globe. I don't know the difference between the vapalux and bialaddin though.
Mark, only the Bialaddin 310 (and table lamps) had the round-shouldered globe. On balance, that lantern's going to be a Vapalux 320, I would have though, especially with the black control knob (if original) - aren't they much later, 1990s? It does have the earlier hood, though but that could be a replacement too. According to the former Bairstow Bros (1985) website - now defuct of course - W&B made lanterns and parts for Petromax and then Tilley. I've always thought that was why the E41 was a sort of Petromax/Tilley hybrid - mainly Tilley but with the burner in a separate gallery and 'empty' hood like Petromax. Pure conjecture, of course...
You mean defunct don't you? What you put is something completely different. Ok I' think you we're right, I'll grab my coat.
That makes more sense. I figured that it was a correct Bia 320, very similar to the M320. Thanks guys. m
Well, if we assume that the civilian 320 (in whatever guise) has been in production since 1965 i.e. 48 years, and production has been the same every year and only the first three years were marked Bialaddin, then only around 6% of the entire production would have been so-marked. In reality, I think any 320 you find today will have a far less chance of being Bialaddin because, given they're the oldest, relatively more will have burnt out, damaged beyond repair, thrown out etc. My guess would be that in a random sample of a hundred civilian 320s, maybe 1-2 would be the Bialaddin version. That's wot I finks, anyway...
Aside from the name is there any difference between the Vapalux and the Bialaddin versions? And I just realised I spelt Bialaddin wrong yet again in my thread title PS. I've just seen that a very nice 310 has appeared in the Reference Gallery recently...
In construction there is no difference between the Bialaddin 320 and the first Vapalux 320. The Bialaddin has a transfer on the tank and Bialaddin stamped in the end of the control cock. The Vapalux had no transfer but Vapalux stamped in the control cock. There are some examples in the gallery. Cheers....
My Bialaddin 300X has a "V" stamped on the control knob... Presumably the original knob has been replaced with a Vapalux one at some point.
Hi Gneiss, to my understanding, it is not a "V", but a pointer showing the position of the pricker! If I'm wrong, someone will come and pull my ears... Best regards, Wim
Gosh Wim I always thought that was a 'V' for Vapalux but as everyone here on CPL will know I don't have a clue!
Good news that it is probably original then, thanks. It's things like that that you can only find out here
