Hi there, I have some problems with my Tilley lamp. First off I can't seem to get any pressure. I have replaced seals etc in pump with new ones from the service pack but still don't seem to be building any pressure. My first question is how can I test this? I'm currently giving it 10 pumps then opening valve (burner removed) and expecting to see a squirt of fuel. Sadly none appears. Then I give it loads (80ish) and unscrew the pump expecting to hear a small hiss and again nothing. Am I right in thinking there's no pressure? I have replaced the seals between control cock and tank, and I have a new vaporiser with new seal so I don't think I have leaks. Is there a good way to test whether or not the pump is working? I will really appreciate any help as I'm off on honeymoon camping on weds and was hoping to give the Tilley a run out!
Take the pump out of the tank and operate it whilst holding in your hand - If its working you will hear the air coming out the bottom of it - Good luck.
Hi Stuart, I have tried this method but I can't really tell if there is air coming out and if so, where from. I have submerged the end of the pump in water and pumped it, I cannot see any bubbles coming out. If I remove the NRV then I get bubbles.
I have tried soaking the leather plunger (brand new part from sp1) in vegetable oil for a couple of hours and still don't seem to be able to pressurise.
Have you replaced the rubber seal inside the non-return valve at the bottom of the pump? That could account for why no pressure builds up in the tank, but you should still expect to hear a noticeable spurt of air emerging from the pump on each stroke. If you get no air and can feel no resistance when pushing the pump handle in, then something's wrong with the washer. It should be open-side down...
Hi Phil, many thanks for your response. The spring and rubber seal in the NRV are both new parts and seem to be working ok. The Leather washer is open side down as you say, this too is a new part. I'm not getting any resistance when I pump, so clearly it's not making a seal. I'm stumped because they're new parts installed in the right way as far as I can see.
Well there's very little else that could cause the problem. If the leather pump washer is a good tight fit in the pump bore, the only other thing is that air could be escaping through the leather washer's central hole - check that the arrangement of metal washers and locknut are as per the diagram on the SP1 pack. Phil
I have the components assembled on the pump handle as follows: spring, flat metal washer (curved lip at shaft facing leather washer), leather washer (open side facing away from handle), brass horseshoe, brass nut. This is the same as in the diagram. I tightened the nut to eliminate air leaking through the middle of the leather washer to no avail.
You sometimes need to spread the leather a bit to make it a little larger than the pump bore and squeeze it into the barrel for it to give a good seal.
I have tried spreading the leather washer slightly to create a tight fit. When I put the plunger back in the pump barrel the fit seems pretty good to me, I have to squeeze and press the leather washer on all sides to get it in to the barrel. When I remove the plunger there is a 'pop' as it leaves the barrel which makes me think the fit is ok. Problem being I still don't get resistance when I pump. Air must be coming up through the hole in the middle of the leather washer somehow?
I had assumed air entered the chamber around the outside of the leather washer on the back stroke. I thought the leather washer itself acted as one way valve due to its shape?
Is the leather washer hard or is it a good quality one from the fettle box? You will have no end of problems with it if it is not a good supple leather!
The fact that the leather washer leaves the pump barrel with an audible 'pop' suggests that the washer is too big, and is not allowing air to rush past it on the up stroke, ready to be compressed on the downstroke. The plunger should pull up easily yet resist on the downward stroke. It's odd that this is happening with a new leather washer from an SP1 kit.
It does pull up easily, but also depresses easily. Air is definitely getting in to the barrel, I have tested by removing NRV, submerging end of barrel in water and pumping. Under these conditions I get air from the bottom of the barrel on each stroke as you would expect. Put the NRV in however and no bubbles. This makes me think leather washer is leaking somewhere, air is coming out somewhere when the plunger is depressed, it's just not coming out through NRV.
Your pump set up seems correct and if the NRV wahser is facing the right way to present a flat to the nozzle hole it all seems right. I have seen these pump tubes with stress cracks before. You might want to hold the whole thing in water with just the end in air and without the NRV hold a finger over the end hole and see if pumping gets you air from the side of the tube. If you are unable to work this out then you might consider paying me a visit sometime. London is a big place but I am only just North of the M25/M1 Junction so maybe 25 - 30 miles. If the pump is scrap then I will have a spare we can fit. One way or another if it comes here the lamp will work. ::Neil::
Thank you for the fantastic offer of help, I certainly would have taken you up on it, if not for the fact that I seem to have resolved the problem! I left the leather washer in olive oil for 24 hrs, and on putting it back in the pump I had the same problem. I submerged the whole pump (NRV and all) in the sink and pressed the plunger. Air bubbles came streaming out of the handle end of the barrel. I had a look at the bits and pieces I had left over from the SP1 and the old parts I had removed. I compared the resistance of the old NRV spring versus the new NRV spring and realised that the old one offered significantly less resistance. I put this older spring in and hey presto, air came wooshing out of the correct end of the pump when I depressed it! I took the leather washer out and gave it a coat of vaseline on the outside to enhance the seal, put the pump back together and reassembled it into the lamp. Gave it a few strokes, opened the top and fuel came squirting out of the top. Success! I don't seem to be getting any fuel leaking back up the pump handle so hopefully the old NRV spring is still up to the task. Incidentally, there are 2 springs in SP1, which look identical to me. One for the NRV and the other for the control cock. Is it possible that they offer different resistance and I had the wrong one in the NRV? Many thanks to all for their help and advice. Off camping tomorrow and will be proud to take the Tilley with me! Just got to learn how to light it next!
Resistance is futile! Anyway, you're not really a collector until you've made the 'haj'... Reading the instructions is good...
Now forget about the lamp, Adam, and concentrate on your honeymoon! All the best for the future, Phil
Proberbly a few years late, but always had pressure problems with mine, finally cured it by taking 3 coils off the spring, now get air out when i pump under water, tried 3 different springs from 2 service packs and always same problem, cured it straight away
Well that seems counter-intuitive - normally the spring needs to be lengthened slightly rather than shortened...
