No one said this hobby was addictive !

Around 3 weeks ago I had never owned a Tilley lamp..... What Happened, I cant walk past one with out buying it and bringing it home

Is there any help for this condition ???

 

That it is. I got my first 829B in 2014 and it started there. Must have one of the largest collections of Petromax in the country if not the largest at this stage. I'm building a new house at the minute and will have a nice area set up dedicated for work and display.

 

Quite a few of us have the same problem. Not a bad haul for just a few weeks. A couple of pieces of junk better known as X246Bs but some nice examples of 1950s and early '60s Tilleys there. The two Coleman are nice as well. Relatively modern but Coleman generally are well made and they should work OK. ::Neil::

 

The lamping bug bites again!

 

The coleman lamps have been my main lamp for years, I have 3 in total and always take them camping. Are the X246B's the ones with the plate at the bottom of the cage (I'm still learning) One is a 1971 model (a fantastic year ;-) ) so ill keep that one for best.... the others will get used

The 3 at the front were picked up today, I don't know anything about them, not even had a good look at the base, I think the one in the middle is the oldest? there is a BR lamp on the right 2nd row back.... I need to find a colour match for a respray but all the seals have been done so not far off from lighting up....

Just need a few extra bits.....

 

Best cure for "lampitis" is a straight jacket with strong belts! Must be worn at all times to be effective!
All kidding aside, it's a great hobby, just don't take it too serious.

 

I'm really enjoying it... will be so much better once i can work out how to fit a mantel and light one of them LOL

 

Andy,
your lost

 

Always lol

 

Actually in 2004 I only wanted to have a lamp for camping... Now I have more than a whole room full of lamps and still not enough...
"Virus Petrolius"

 

The problem is I have found a little lady who is clearing out her husbands shed. So every weekend I visit a local boot fair where she has a selection of lamps or lamp parts (today was a bag with the 3 lamps in the front of the picture)... she thinks there are a lot more to come so every week mt collection grows.........

Where it will stop is anyone's guess lol

 

The X-246-B lanterns are the ones which have the plate at the bottom of the cage and they can be made to function, but their build quality is not as good as the build quality of the earlier Tilleys, but they are a useful source of spare parts.

The lanterns at the front are from left to right, Tilley X-246-A, X-246 Guardsman lantern and another X-246 Guardsman lantern.

 

It's a guardsman lantern which was made for British Rail.

 

Hi, believe the "BR" stands for British Rail; infact, what's left of the color (yellow, I think) possibly indicates "Southern Rail". (?) Great find!
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

JEFF :- LOL its that simple lol Guardsman - BR simple LOL

George :- I think your right and it would make sense as I live in the South East of the UK. I will have a closer look at the other two for any trace of colour, but i assume if they aren't marked BR i guess i need to find another colour ?

Cant wait to see what other treasures are in this lady's shed :-)

 

Collecting of lamps is a wonderful hobby, and one’s knows when one is hooked when they make the following statement to their spouse or friends
“I can stop at any time”.
I hope you find as much enjoyment and companionship that I have found with lamp collecting and with this and similar forums as I have.
O’ “I can stop at any time”
Cheers
Pete

 

Andy, ask th elttle lady, if she needs help with the shed, I would offer help with cleaning out any lamp shed.
You may even offer to buy it all but more important learn about the story of the lamps.

In fact the man who let me in his shed to repair my first petromax, which was in fact half of it, offered me years later the content of his lamp shed.

 

I did offer but I think her husband has recently passed and she is clearing the shed out...I don't want to impose so ill pick up whatever she has offers and make the best of the bits.... I will ask some of the history as hr did seen to have quite a lot of stuff

 

Hi Andy, well, it had to happen. I've avoided being a collector all my life, never understood collectors at all. Not many months ago I had a normal non lamp life, now I'm bitten!
I'm enjoying the lamps very much, the learning, fettling and so on. Beyond the lamps are the people and I've come across some truly amazing folk through this site. You are among friends.

I knew nothing a few months ago, now I know a very little, it's a huge subject. Don't be afraid to ask anything, there's so much knowledge here that is readily passed on. Treat yourself to a copy of Jim Dicks book 'Tilley, A Versatile Vapour Lamp'. It'll start to put the Tilley side of things in to context.

Picking up old lamps and parts is what it's all about. I can get genuinely excited at a battered old box of old lamp parts, I mean, how sad is that? well, Not at all! Before you know it you'll be well versed in what's what.

There is no no turning back....

Stevie

 

That BR is quite a find. All the BR types are hard to find. Tilley made three BR lanterns for Southern in about 1959-60. All were painted in yellow which was never a standard Tilley colour. Yours is the standard X246 type. Then there is a taller model with same tank but extended legs and a paraffin preheater. That model also used a different black hood normally seen on model X359. Then there is the rare one which is the same extended globe cage and preheater but a taller tank which holds around three pints of fuel. Looks like you may be tapping into a fair collection. ::Neil::

 

Hi all,

A few yers ago i found a Petromax 829 on the sidewalk for 5€ i bought just out curiosity because was the signature
of the big German glass factory Shott Mainz on the glass globe.

I use the Shott Duran glass and other in the laboratory for my job of chemist, but i
did not know that he made glass for the lamps an lanterns.

I put this lantern in the garage for several months, i took the time to analyse the thing and arrived here at CPL
then i discovered a kind of treasure cave.

At present there are lamps and lanterns in all the house there are showcases and also a kind of waiting room for the doctor's visit with a dozen patients waithing.

Maybe this Petromax 829 of November 1961 contaminated me with a virus
Hello doctor is this serious you have a medicine for me

Regards,
Titoo.

 

I have the bug, it started with one lantern, small fire , then a bigger fire, then some desperate and dangerous moves, but when it all died down there was a small bright light shining through where a bit of soot about as big as a penny had fallen off. I looked in and the rest is history,

 

Old lanterns/lamps, are basically, like many other old, obsolete collectible items, CURSED!
Once one gets acquainted with them, it'll normally be 'one-way-tickets' for those so-fated. Together.. till death do us apart.
After that, the Spirits of the Lamps would lie dormant for a while until they could hook-up on their next prey(the subsequent owners).
So for those who are more generous to give away theirs, the 'cure' would be a little more probable.

 

The dark is much darker now that you have seen the light.

 

Very well said @dwillie
Cheers
Pete

 

@Andy-H

Despite the Tilley X246B not being such a good quality manufacture as the older lanterns they still make a useful workhorse. True, the design of the base plate is not as strong as others in my experience I have never had one balloon or dish on me. This usually happens through lack of knowledge. When a vaporiser (or burner) is near to the end of its working life the lamp will become less bright and those not in the know are likely to over pump to try and rectify it. My set of X246B instructions state ten pumps to ignite and top up with a further ninety pumps and to date this has never caused me any problems over many years of group and family camping.

Looking forward to seeing some photographs of you lamps in action.

Regards Jeremy

 

Morning All,
I have really enjoyed reading your comments, its good to know I'm not suffering alone and there is help and support there when needed :-) I was wondering if there were any support groups for those who live with the Tilley afflicted? I know My partner would like to know if there was anywhere i could be sent for respite care...... She said she would come and collect me in a day two....... But she mention this while looking at holidays on line???

Anyhow... Today's bounty
Has anyone got or know where i can get the cages for Guardsman / Br lamps and the X246A lamps ???

 

I usually buy even some wrecks for the spare parts, they are usually very cheap. Also some members in your country, England, may be able to help out with swaps etc.
A lot of the fun of our hobby is searching for that elusive part, it’s the fun of the chase. There’s so much enjoyment and satisfaction when you find that missing part and you complete your fettle and light it up for the first time.
So enjoy the chase, and good hunting.
Cheers
Pete

 

The lantern Curse comes inclusive of the following:- irresistable, additive and normally gets in-grained into the DNA of the hapless and then manifests itself in the form of a 'new hobby'.