Good evening. I picked up a reasonable condition Tilley. Seals were hard, pump cup perished but otherwise looked great. It needed a pre-heater (no clip on with it). So got a seal kit and mantle and cup and got into it this weekend. Test fire with no mantle seemed ok with a good blue flame. Fitted mantle and must have got a bit eager as it flared up, seems they like a good heat up. So now it’s fired up, can hear a good steady hiss, holds pressure for 2hrs at least but just not bright. Pulled the vaporizer out again and really cleaned well. Good streak of fuel when valve cracked. It’s my first Tilley so no prior reference. Could I just be suffering a cheap mantle? Pics shown next to a Handi for comparison. Any thoughts or ideas appreciated. Thanks
The fuel feed tube may be partially blocked, it's soldered to the bottom of the socket which the control cock screws into, I use a length of tying wire to clear it and afterwards I give the tank a good rinse out with water. The build quality of those aluminium control cocks is poor and they often restrict the flow of the fuel and air, those aluminium pumps are not great either. The vapouriser and the burner may be just about knackered. The link below shows a thread which shows an X-246-B lantern which I improved by fitting it with older parts. Nighttime tours at Fort Liezele
Just checking, it takes about 80 good pumps with a full fill of fuel to achieve the optimum pressure and brightest. https://classicpressurelamps.com/threads/stormlight-model-x246b.18900/ But dont exceed that otherwise you run the risk of popping the bottom out. https://classicpressurelamps.com/threads/tilley-stormlight-x246b.18897/
Thanks @JEFF JOHNSON, that’s exactly what I did last night, the pickup tube was definitely restricted. I also tore down the cock again, hit it with some carb cleaner and with those combined works definitely got a stronger jet of fuel and improved brightness another 20%. Based on the pressure info shared by @ROBBO55 I’ve not pumped it sufficiently either. I’ll get a quality bright mantle, and good pressure and see how it responds. Cheers for the replies.
