Hi all, I've just got hold of an unused (possibly used once and didn't work properly) X246B, i say unused as the vapouriser, burner and cock assembly are mint as is the rest of the lamp but as it seems that all the low to no use B's i get lately have running issues they must be wrong uns! Anyway i've tried three untested vapourisers on it and it pulses, not badly but enough for it to be seen with a mantle fitted, i have tried the hood and burner on another lamp and that's fine and i swapped the cock assembly over as it wasn't very smooth to use, i have rinsed the tank with fresh paraffin a few times and not much debris came out and i used a pipe cleaner on the fuel pick up pipe which came back out clean, its also not a great starter with it popping and lights then goes out, that may be from me keep swapping over the vapourisers, i have a couple of pre 246B ones i am going to try should there be any pulsing whatsoever (even a little) when testing without a mantle? Thanks.
And it does it on an old vapouriser that i know works ok ish, all washers have been replaced and i tested the lamp underwater and there are no leaks, I also topped up the tank (i only ever use fresh fuel) to eliminate that, I don't like this one!
You are much more likely to get pulsing at low pressure without a mantle than at normal operating pressure with a mantle.
Well it started pulsing with a new mantle fitted, i gave it about 10-12 pumps then lit it and let it run for 30 seconds then pumped it another 30 odd, i tried another untested vapouriser and it did the same thing, then i noticed a small hole in the mantle so as others do i tried another two vapourisers without a mantle and they all pulsed the same, not loads but enough to make you see its not right.
@MG Have you checked the burner for wasps and spiders? Also, check that the fuel pick up tube is clear. Cheers Tony
I used pipe cleaners to clean out the fuel pick up tube and the burner and air tubes, they came out as white as they went in so it looks like it was unused, Someone said some later B's just pulse for no reason, its a shame though as i'm not sure i can pass it on when its doing this.
G'day @MG , have you checked the bottom of the font. I had one that was pulsing and the bottom was blown due to over pressurising by the previous owner. Martin
Martin, No its like new, that's the only reason i got it, Tony, Yes i wasn't going to bother but i did ok on the last tidy one that came along so thought i'd take the chance as this one was unused, hopefully i will come across the reason why its playing up.
Well for some reason it seems to be running better now so that's handy, i ran it for an hour today and it seems to have settled down, thanks to all for the advice, its much appreciated.
Cracked it, another lesson learned! fill it right up to the filler level, pre-heat, then pump 25-30 times, then open the tap, it hovered slightly then it was off, pumped another 15 times and its surprisingly bright for a Tilley
Running a Tilley at under half pressure will often result in it hunting. With 1.5 imperial pints of fuel 15 pump strokes to start an then another 85 strokes for full pressure. Total of 100 pump strokes. Sounds a lot but that is what Tilley instructions have. ::Neil::
Really, that much? i thought the B's had weak tanks and would bulge if too much pressure, mind you i found a guardsman with a bulged tank recently as well, i was sort of following Base camps directions but thanks for the info.
Yes that much. That is what the instructions say for the B. The instructions for the 500 series say 150 pump strokes and that is the same tank. Yes they do bulge because of the way the base plate is inserted. Tilley changed the base plate in 1957 so later Guardsman and all A and B models have a weak base. Personally I make sure none of my later Tilleys fail by not running them. ::Neil::
Aha! That design change explains why some Guardsman founts have a deep set base plate and on others it is shallow. The bulged ones are at/beyond rim level and have scuff marks in the center.
Base camp say up to 50 pumps or it could damage the tank so i just followed that, the little pressure needle works on my Guardsman so i pump till that's about level which is between 50-60 i'd say and works fine, The first lamp i bought to light my garage when i started a few months ago was a B, its got a bulging tank but i didn't know about the issue at the time so didn't check but i liked fettling that so carried on, i only buy B's if there tidy and cheap and sell them on once up and running, i much prefer Vapalux now for regular use.
