Good day fellow pressure lamp enthusiasts, I picked this up at ex RAF airfield Ta Qali in Malta, I am stripping it apart and have ordered new seals but can anyone tell me what model it is? I have a modern Tilley lamp with chrome add ons but this has an older version. There is noting embossed on it and it has a small grease nipple type of protrusion on the tank. I also picked up a British army type 2 cooker. It weighs a tonne!
That appears to be a 1950's Tilley X-246 Guardsman lantern and it should restore well enough, if it's a late 1950's lantern then it will be date stamped on the bottom of the tank. That protrusion on the tank is a pressure indicator not a grease nipple.
G'day Castillojer, Have a look at this post Pressure indicator . It explains how it works and some of the problems it might have.
Many thanks, in the meantime,I have dismantled it all and I reached the cock, how would I know if I need to change washer valve 155 which goes on top of the spring inside the base of the unit? It looks ok, but not sure
I would recommend replacing all the seals so that you know the lantern is good for the next few years. The X246 you have should have a brass cup that takes a small coin shaped rubber pip. One is under the control cock and the other on the end of the pump tube. On the X246B, they dispensed with the brass cup and the rubber pip clipped directly onto the spring.
Gents upon dismantling the vapouriser, it seems to hvae a little corrosion on the side, but I cannot see a hole at the top for the pressurised paraffin to go through, Should it be visible to the naked eye? or does the paraffin esacpe from the side of the vapouriser?
Right in the very centre at the top there will be a tiny hole which should be visible, the thin wire pushes up through the hole when you turn the control valve.
The hole is not visible to the naked eye, I have tried running it against a sharpening stone, still nothing what do you suggest? Keep grinding until I see the hole?
Don't do any grinding to the top part. The hole is tiny, if it's corroded it's possibly beyond repair. The vapouriser is a consumable part that won't last forever.
You mentioned that you have a modern Tilley, Take a look at it to see what the top of the vapouriser is like. The hole in the top is very small
Take a look at the link, it shows two vapourisers, the one on the left is of a stove vapouriser and has a bigger hole the one on the right is what you should see when clean https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tilley+vapouriser&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=simvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjToqPt7ejPAhUROsAKHbLvBeMQ_AUICCgC&biw=1024&bih=671#imgdii=lMfe5GceAWUtWM%3A%3BWsGYtWVHn0I5cM%3A%3BWsGYtWVHn0I5cM%3A&imgrc=WsGYtWVHn0I5cM%3A
Sorry, scroll down to the lower photo to see what I mean. Did try to edit but I was too slow and it timed out.
I suggest you've probably completely ruined the vapouriser - assuming it wasn't already ruined. Nohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The hole in the top of the vapouriser is very small and difficult to see when you don't know what you're looking for or if your eyesight's a bit dim. Try using a magnifying glass next time! It's easier to feel the pricker poking through the hole by gently running your fingertip over the top of the vapouriser when the control cock is closed. Otherwise, with the burner removed, you can pressurise the tank and open the control cock. If there's fuel in the tank you'll see a nice jet of kerosene shooting vertically a metre or so into the air. If the tank is empty, you'll be able to feel the jet of air escaping from the hole in the top. Mind you, all these tests show is that there's a hole present in the top of the vapouriser. They're no proof that the vapouriser is going to work correctly when the lantern is re-assembled. I think you probably need to get a new vapouriser by now, anyway...
