Hello. It's been over a year since I got my hands on this junk 824N. Since it's missing a lot of parts, I haven't had much motivation to fix it, so I just put it back in the box. I finally decided to start repairs last month. Looking at the back of the tank, I saw marks where a marking needle had been used to mark it, "y 25,4,28" or "y 2,54,28". I looked it up on CPL and found out that old petromax tanks had numbers like these. Does this mean it was made in 1928? Or is it some kind of production lot? If anyone knows, please let me know. Thank you.
@Camp numao I’m aware as you are that a date was often scratched on the base and 1928 seems right judging by the period look of the lantern. Others more knowlegeable will confirm an answer, but I have a question for you. My question is whether your Petromax came from India? The globe with the glass strips was my clue. John
@presscall Thank you for always teaching me. >My question is whether your Petromax came from India? The globe with the glass strips was my clue. Yes, that's correct. I was told by CPL that there are a lot of old Petromax lanterns in India, but also a lot of counterfeits. So a year ago I was hesitant to buy it. In the end, judging from the engraving, I think it's a genuine Petromax. Although it's not the subject of this post, I'd like to know something about it. Why did you realize that they bought it from India based on the shape of the glass?
@Camp numao Regarding the globe made up of glass strips, I’ve noticed that it has been common practice in India to fabricate a replacement globe in that way. There’s one on my Prabhat, which I found necessary to repair.
I am missing a lamp like this in my collection. Even if it is in great need of repair,it is definitely worth preserving.A real challenge for you. For me the date is very clear .25.1.28 I particularly like the striped glasses.I have a Hungarian lamp that also has these striped glasses.
Definitely a special and very rare lamp that is worth preserving and repairing. Congratulations! The special feature of this lamp is that there is a kerosene preheater, which is supplied from a separate reservoir with a pump. There is a somewhat elaborate tube for this, which has to be threaded into the centering base. Not easy to do. There is a German site by Torsten Scherning, where the lantern and its repair is described. Good luck and happy fettling!
@Camp numao Thanks for posting that interesting lamp. Good luck with restoration. You can find some helpfull info including ancilliary pipeline photos and dimensions at the bottom of that thread: Fixing Petromax 823/6 vaporizer As you can see your "junk" is in pretty good shape comparing to that 823/6 Feel free to make two sets of these pipes and send me one to Poland Some pics of ancilliary reservoir pump and pipeline are also included here: Petromax 823/6 I can provide you more photos and details if required for your restoration. all the best, Piotrek
@presscall Thank you for letting me know. I see! It certainly does look very similar to the globe that comes with your lantern. And you even cut and make the glass yourself! I'm always amazed at your skill. Thank you.
@Reinhard As you say, it might be a 1 rather than a 4. It seems that the 824N has been manufactured since 1927, so I think the 28 might represent the year 1928. If it's a 1, it might be January. A Hungarian lantern? So this type of glass is used outside of India as well. That's interesting. I'll look into the Hungarian lanterns at CPL later.
@Martin K. Thank you! Actually, I also found out about the 824 through that website. I was fascinated by its functional shape. It was a very expensive piece of junk, but I had been looking for an 824 for a while, so I bought it. It's pretty worn out and missing a lot of parts, but I'm currently making parts to get this old lantern lit up again. It's almost finished, so I'll post it on CPL when it's finished. (It's not perfect, though, because it contains some of my own parts.)
@Camp numao Here's an interesting fact: According to the documents, in 1927 the 824 still was a lantern for burning gasoline/petrol/benzene with a spirit cup and a positive fuel shutoff valve, similar to the 825 of 1930. In 1928/1929/1930 the 824 looked like the 824N with the special kerosene preheater. The 824N appears in 1930 and can be found until 1932. So if your lantern is from 1928 that is consistent to the documents, and it is an early model.
@Piotrek Hello! I remember your post about the 823/6 very well. At that time, I already had a worn-out 824, so I was happy that you managed to fix the 823/6 and get it to light up. Now it's my turn to fix it, so I've been doing it since last month. Now I'm trying to prevent the vaporizer from leaking to ensure complete combustion. > "Fixing Petromax 823/6 vaporizer" I didn't know about your post! Oh, if I had known there was such a good post, I might have been able to fix it more easily. I hope you'll link to your post about the 823/6. That way, it will be useful information for people who repair the 823/6 in the future. Thank you for teaching me so much!
@Camp numao I see that you did a good job I did not repair my first 823/6, I "just" bought another, complete lamp... The first one has more serious problem with cracked tank bottom, so it is still waiting for its turn to be fixed.
@Martin K. That's great information. Until you told me, I thought this lantern was an 824N. However, I had doubts because there were some differences in the shape from the 824N that other people have. For example, the shape of the notch in the frame. The handle of the preheater of the 824N seems to have a horizontal notch so that it can be moved horizontally. However, this 824 had a different notch. I had thought that this frame might be a reused part from another lantern, but on the other hand, there was a notch at the bottom that allows the pipe to escape, which is a characteristic of the 824N and R826. This fact made me think that this frame was for the 824N or R826. Also, since the R826 does not have a handle on the preheater, I thought it might be a minor change of the 824N. Thanks to your extensive knowledge, I was able to determine that this lantern is an 824 and not an 824N, and the mystery was solved. I love CPL because there are so many knowledgeable and kind seniors like you. Thank you
@Piotrek Hmm? It seems you have two 823/6s, one of which is difficult to fix, and the other one lights up beautifully? Having two 823/6s is a miracle in Japan.
Sorry, I have to correct myself: The 824N can be found until 1937, and not 1932. Yes, it seems that there were various little changes to the design during time, but it is difficult to tell because there are only so little survivors which could be compared in detail. I have also seen in the pictures that the arrangement of the fittings in the tank is partly different, but I cannot say whether this is only the case between 824 and 824N, or even within the respective series.
@Martin K. Thank you. I know no more than you do, so even a correction is useful. As with all lanterns, the older they get, the more mysteries there are. But I think that speculating about and talking about those mysteries is also part of the fun of old tools.
Hi at all, I've just posted some interesting leaflets concerning the 824 N which are in my archive. Kind regards Jörg
@Jörg Wekenmann Unfortunately I'm not a subscriber so I don't think I can see your archives. I'm glad everyone's knowledge has increased. Thank you.
@Camp numao You restored the 824 well. How do you find the effectiveness of the preheater pump? The one I have needs an excessive amount of pumping to get paraffin to the preheater.
@Andrew T Hello. The amount of kerosene delivered with a single pump stroke is indeed small. So, I press the pump at least 20 times or more each time I light it. Well, I didn't buy it brand new, so it’s possible that it isn't operating quite normally. Please take this as just one example. Thank you.
Thank you. I pulled the pump out and flared the brass cup a bit . It took very few(around three pumps) to fill the preheater. I have not bent the tabs back as one of them broke off. I press fitted a piece of brass pipe over the shaft to prevent the pump rising out of the tube . The drilled holes are to hopefully prevent paraffin exiting the cap.
@Andrew T Does it fill the preheating cup in just three strokes? That’s impressive. I didn't disassemble that part because it looked like it was crimped shut. It seems you managed to take it apart further and repair it—that’s amazing. Thanks for letting me know.
@Camp numao Please be careful. The tabs break off easily. I am wondering if the can be heated with a rod before straightening and bending back to make them more malleable . Should have done this myself.
@Andrew T OK. I have no intention of forcing it open to attempt repairs. Thank you for explaining the structure.
