I just bought a Primus 1020, long story, a buddy got it for me in Peru, so it will take some time to get into my hands, he sent me some pictures and I noticed a Preston loop type of generator,now I am confused, as I have seen some pictures and the generator is supposed to be different, is this a service modification from an unknown tinkerer?, or is it a factory option?...here are some pictures
If this is genuine Primus it's new to me. I'm guessing it is a local modification to the original vapouriser. The closest Primus vapouriser in this style is the one for the 1080/1081 and those have a different method of attaching the mixing tube. BTW, the lantern must be from between 1954 and 1956.
I will have to inspect it more closely when I receive it, in the meantime I have learned that Fogas in Sweden and base camp UK has the parts to restore it to original condition, got the parts diagram and will be ordering soon. I have a hunch that somebody in Peru adapted a Petromax vaporizer during the lantern lifetime....not uncommon to see.
Those Peruvian mining types did what they had to when a lamp died. A lot of lamps from there were hard used and are often modified in some form. Mind you they were not always very smart. My Primus 1060 came from Peru and they had brazed on a Primus stove jet to the generator which had lengenthened it, so not only would it never have worked the extra length pushed the whole globe cage over so it looked like a destroyed lamp. Came cheap though and was a quick fix with a new generator. I guess you will find the same that a few parts will fully restore this one. Nice find. Common enough lamp but they are one of the best. ::Neil::
As far as I have noticed I will need a vaporizer, pricker and gas tip to restore, I just hope they did not braze the Petromax generator to the fount, that would complicate things a bit... I am from Peru, so I have an idea of what they are capable of doing to a lantern....
The top of the vapouriser is all Primus so I wonder if it is just a Preston ring from a Petromax vapouriser that has been grafted onto the original one. Actually, if it works then there is no need to change it back. It is part of the history of the lamp.
Good news!, got the lamp, and started to restore it, the generator is the standard Primus 1020 one, but it seems somebody attached a homemade Preston loop to it, with a somewhat crude brazing job, the pump leather was dried up irreversibly, tried to oil it but after an overnight soak it just crumbled, I may also need to replace the pump check valve pip, but I haven't tested it. Does anybody know the part number for the pump leather?
The pump leather is a pretty standard part. I'm pretty sure the pump tube is 17mm so a 17mm pump leather with an 8mm hole should be fine. I believe the Fetle Box has them under stove washers. You can get a new pip for the NRV there as well. Now that you have the lamp, what's the date code?
A lampcollector and a good friend of mine is right now bringing home a Primus 1020 from Faroe Island where the lamp was at his mother in law for 40 years. The 1020's seems to get around a bit. Claus C
The Lamp is a code AUZ, so it is possible it is from 1955, I just made a temporary leather cup with some leather I have in my tool box, but it seems the Check valve pip on the pump is not sealing well (leaks a little), I will remove it later and see if a Petromax pip works in it, I have some spares. The gas tip and pricker it has right now are 500CP from a Petromax, it seems to work sort of OK, but to see the full potential I may have to test it at 50 to 60 pumps without leaks. Will post pictures later
That's not good. The thread is different from the Primus thread, so there must have been some modifications there as well. If it fits and is tight then you can always use a Petromax 300/350CP jet. Same with the cleaning needle. AU is 1955 and that fits with the style of the lantern. A Petromax pip should work. I believe they are 4mm diameter instead of 4.5mm, but this doesn't affect the performance. As far as pumping goes, the right pressure is to pump until your thumb hurts.
I am going to order a service kit for the Lamp, from Fogas, the link is here http://www.fogas.se/shop/1769---servicesats-till-primus-1020/ I may want to replace the generator as due to it's hard service life and modification it may be unusable, does anybody has a link to where I can find one?... My plan is to restore to it's original design.
I notice it says "BAHCO" on it. Earlier lanterns said "A/B B.A. Hjorth & Co." Not sure of the date this changed but I think it was in the 1950's. Dan
The name changed during 1954. You can find examples of lamp and stoves from 1954 with either B.A.Hjorth or BAHCO. As this lantern is from 1955 it fits with it being BAHCO. Other changes that happened at this time (on the 1020) were the removal of the inner top and consequent lack of a top nut, no patent text on the globe cage base, a slightly shorter handle (same handle as used on the 991) and the text change on the tank. Maybe I've forgotten something, but that's the main points.
OK, I have the lantern working, because in its previous life it was modified to run on a Petromax jet and needle, I got a 250 HK jet and needle, changed the filler cap gasket as it was hard as ceramic, fabricated a new pump leather cup, made new pips for the pump NRV with firewall gasket ( airplane stuff, silicone) and now it is working nice!...now I may need to search for a globe o make one with Mica sheets.... Another question, what is the average burn time of this lantern?, say, fill to filler neck, I think it may be able to go for ten hours on a liter of Kerosene? lots of testing coming my way.
Don't fill it right up, it will need a good air gap at the top as do all pressure lamps... Obviously it's highly variable, but 1.5 pints will probably last 8 hours or more on a single burner lamp.
Last night I had it running for around three hours on 1/4 of a liter and still have some kerosene in it, it is pleasantly quiet compared to a Petromax 829 or a Coleman 200a..even quieter than a Coleman 275, wife likes it and unfortunately she claimed it as her own I guess it will run even better with a globe.
In general pressure lamps use far less fuel than you would expect... well certainly less than I exected when I first got into this. As I say 1.5 pints or about 800ml to you is normally enough for a full night and more. Great to see it running
Oddly enough I have an identical vaporizer setup on one of my Primus 1020. I just assumed it was a modification made by the previous owner.
