Hi there, this is my first post and I'm at the beginning of my attempt to fix an old X246 and I'm hoping someone might help me! I seem to have got stuck at the very first hurdle I can't get the burner out of the hood. I assume I need to remove the screw attachments at the ends of the air tubes but they are seized up. I've tried soaking in WD40 but thats made no difference. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks,
Hi dibblette just be careful with the flame on the enamel it sometimes flies of it like chips put some glasses on just to be safe keep the blowlamp turned down warm it as hot as you can and the rapid cool in a bucket of water good luck pete
WD40 is pretty good stuf but it is not a penetrating oil and does not perform well in that role. In the US Aero-Kroil is the best you can buy but you can make your own easing oil which is actually better than anything you can buy. A 50/50 mix of acetone and Automatic transmission oil makes a very good penetrating oil which will outperform all the rest. Mind you none of them work well on old brass. Heat and quench is best by far. ::Neil::
Steady as you go! I've got a couple of burner heads in the shed beyond help after just a bit too much strain placed on the air tubes, after heating, unscrewed them from the head. The material is quite thin the threads damage easily and would not thighten back in properly. The later type burner is in my oppinion an improvement as its far easier to remove. wilf
Ah now that is one thing you don't do. On an older burner if you take out the air tubes they almost never screw back in. In use the threads get burnt and degrade to the point where you will destroy the threads on removal. No way back from there. The modern burner may be easier to play with but really is a piece of junk compared to the engineering of an older type. Trouble is all Tilley burners die of old age so in fact a modern one may well work better than an old one but you will be doing well to get better than 150m cp out of it. The old originals did 300 cp when new. You can clean out an old burner by removing the dome top but leave the nozzle and air tubes in place. You will need to heat the burner body to dull red and quench in cold water once or twice before the dome will remove easily but once off you can clean out the burner body and brush out the tubes before screwing the dome back. Mind you if the burner has seen a lot of use it may be beyond help. Hard call this because I hate the modern burners but sometimes they are the only way to restore a lamp. Reason for leaving the nozzle in is twofold. First the threads get burnt like the air tube thrads and once out it may not replace. Second there is a burner type where the nozzle is actually a single piece which removes upwards through the body of the burner and the air tubes are screwed into this one piece nozzle and burner centre part. This will not unscrew with the air tubes in place and for the reasons given you don't remove those. Better to be safe and leave the nozzle where it is. ::Neil::
how come there is a difference in candlepower? are the burner designes not the same size? I thought the vapouriser jet was the prime factor in light output. I've never intentionally stripped a burner only damaged the air tubes when trying to remove the spiggot nuts to get the hood off . I usually just boil them out in an old sauspan with a little washing powder. wilf
Hello Wilf, the modern build quality is poor. Check out the link below and you will see the difference in light output, between a standard X246B and my improved one, Jeff. http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/1452
Thanks for all the advice. I'll try boiling it out Wilf, thanks for that suggestion. I've managed to wiggle the burner out of the hood without removing the nuts. It looks like someone has been meddling with the burner before me as the cover is quite squashed. So I have two questions. Will this matter - it the burner likely to work? And, I have another burner I could use from another lamp which has two the air tube nuts broken off (pre my ownership), will this affect the burners efficiency. It won't stay in the hood of course but will this matter? I'm reluctant to put in a new burner as this is my little restoration project and I want to keep as much of the lamp as I can. I guess the obvious answer is to try it out, which I will do as soon as my set of replacement washers arrives...
It will work OK because they always do it is really a question of how well it does. Over years of use the inner dimensions change and the threads leak more and more so there is a gradual reduction in efficiency. In simple terms they die of old age. I have tested and measured light output from a lot of "Modern" lanterns and a fair average for X246B is around 150 to 180 cp. Older types from the early 1950s did 300 when new although it is rare now to find an unused one to test. I did however measure one B type that had been lightly used at 275 cp which was exceptional. My guess is that the quality contol is poor and manufacturing tolerances are sloppy so there may be considerable variation in performance in new burners. An older well used Tilley can give between 60 and 120 cp and it may well be that fitting a modern burner will improve the light. You won't get the 300 cp advertised but still a useful light power. As you play with these things you will find it is not worth bothering about. You will have some lamps that work well and some that don't so use the good ones and display the rest. ::Neil::
my best light output is from a 246A (early 1960,s I think). I've never been able to work out why this one seems to knock the socks off the rest, I keep meaning to swop parts about to discover its secrets but thats a job for the winter evenings. wilf
Have tried most of the tips, the burner dome came off easily after heat/quench. Am currently soaking the brass parts in lemonade - seems to work really well and not damage remaining paint. Will wait 'till my washers arrive and try out all the different bits and see which combination works well. I shall post a photo once I have it working Much to my husbands dismay I am well and truly hooked.
So I put it all back together and it works! Pretty well I think, its pretty bright and the pressure gauge even works. Thanks for all the help and advice.
So we won one then. Pretty kool. You got round to teaching Scouts to use these things or has the curse of the elves got to Scouting since I was last a working leader? ::Neil::
Mackburner You'll be pleased to hear that our Scouts still all learn to light and use Tilleys. My son who was 10 this week wanted his own Tilley for his Birthday and knows how to light it and use it safely (Of course he is well supervised)
Well that is good to hear. My last warrant lapsed around 15 years ago and I have been very much out of touch with how Scouting operates here in the UK now. ::Neil::
So now I am on lamp #2 and have noticed that the fuel pump has been banged at some point and the tank has been damaged, causing an air leak just above the pump screw fitting. Any advice on how I can fix this? Soldering I presume but any hints and tips would be gratefully received. Oh, and I have a 171 glass and a tilley stamped glass, the 171 glass is much more shaped at the base and comes down to within 1/2" of the control valve. Which, if either would have gone with the original loop-framed guardsman?
Soldering on Tilley lamp tanks is to be done with care. All the fittings are originally inserted from the inside and if you get the tank too hot then all sorts of other bits can fall in. If you have a minor leak then trick is to fill the tank with water to leave just a small volume of air under the part to be soldered. In the case of a pump this is easy because you can fit the pump and hang the lamp from it with a piece of string. Does two things. It ensures the air volume left is under the filler and perhaps more importantly it also ensures the filler boss cannot drop into the tank if you get a bit too enthusiastic with a blow torch and run the solder around it. The older the lamp the deeper the dish in the globe. Deepest of all was used on the 1940s X246 pork pie types. ::Neil::
