I'm sure was the subject, the kerosene to diesel or petrol to diesel lantern converting. I'd like to know, possible build a pressure lantern to the diesel?
no it´s not necessarily to hevay. lot of petromax users light their lanterns with diesel, due to it´s cheaper than kerosene. i have a petromax 829 which i run on diesel myself. BUT diesel has a lot additives which are necessary for automotive fuels. these additives are responsible for more coke and dirt in the carburator and the fumes are harmful. fact 1: you can use diesel in a pressure lamp (at least in a petromax) but you have to extend preheating. fact 2: it´s not the ideal fuel for these lamps.
I have heard reports before that Petromax will run on deisel so I have no reason to doubt this. I do know that a Tilley will not though because I have tried and failed. In general I would not recomend it. It will not be a danger and in an emergency perhaps essential but it will clog the generator very quickly and I suspect the light will not be as good either. ::Neil::
Thanks the answers. What the situation, with the petrol, or E85? I ask this things, because, the kerosene rare thing in my home, and if i found the price is high. ~4 euros/ liter the diesel is 1,4. So i'd like to convert a lamp to diesel or petrol. The petromax military version for the bundeswehr run on diesel or petrol?
My advice is to shop around and to find paraffin/kerosene at a cheaper price. If you want a good petrol lantern, then I suggest that you obtain a Coleman lantern which is designed to burn either Coleman fuel or unleaded petrol. Coleman petrol lanterns have a positive shut off valve, the Petromax type of lantern does not. There may have been a modified Petromax lantern though, Jeff.
The Coleman 242-B is an excelent petrol lantern, the link below shows Christer's example, Jeff. 1937-42 Coleman 242B
The 242 might be an excellent petrol lantern, but not car petrol. The sdditives will clog up the generator pretty quickly. I don't know if Coleman have successfully made a lantern that will run on car petrol and not clog up. I usually find that the cheapest kerosene around is for kerosene heaters. Probably half the price of kerosene labelled for other use, but it's basically the same stuff.
both fuels are possible. history: the first Bundeswehr Petromax 829 (since the 50´s) were to run with petrol, but later models since the 60´s were ordered to run on kerosene and had another carburator. even the petrol versions were "converted" via decals which say "NUR FÜR PETROLEUM" (for kerosene only !) but in fact a petromax is quite a multifuel lamp which can run on petrol, kerosene or diesel. BUT with petrol you have to make sure, that all rubber washers are petrol-resistant and in good order ! i know, most american lamp users fear a Petromax running on petrol, but lots (me too !)of german Petromax users run their Petromax with petrol.
hhmm, I doubt this. I guess it depends on which forum you logon to. Petromax design is not a muti fuel design ! I know the BW did use gasoline/petrol/benzin with the straight generator. The Swiss army did this also. BUT if you look in the E&G catalogues that are available you can see that the manufacturer of the lanterns offered different generators for different fuels. For petrol and co. that was with a positive shut of valve. I would suggest that ideas and "is possible" are kept of a public forum since you never know how "handi" a person is or who the user is.
Have a look here http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/238 I wrote that some years ago and I see no reason to change anything. Wim is an experienced user of Petromax and we are both very well aware that Petromax will run on gasoline but also that it is not safe to do so. It is all very well suggesting that all the seals and such are in good order but with a lamp in regular use seals fail when the lamp is being used and all it takes is one to fail and you have a problem which might even be life threatening. There are a few design features that are not compatible with gasoline in a Petromax but the major one is the pump check valve. This is a spring loaded rubber seal and if that lets go then you get a tank full of petrol discharged right next to a burning mantle. It WILL go bang if this happens and it can and someday will. I have had pump checks of this type fail in Primus and Tilley lamps in use. Makes a mess with paraffin but if it had happened with gasoline I would probably not be here. As ar as I am concerned Gasoline/Petrol/Benzine in a Petromax is a big NO NO. ::Neil::
I concur with Neil's last comment! If folk want to use petrol in a lantern, then they should obtain a lantern which is designed to use that fuel, Jeff.
that´s what i meant, the old story everyone is responsible for what he does himself ! @wim a petromax is not designed as a multifuel lantern, but in fact, she is one. especially with the "kerosene generator", she burns nearly all kind of fuels.
This subject has been discussed many times and we know that the Petromax type of lantern will work with other fuels. The point which we are trying to get across, is that it will not work safely with any other fuel. Jeff.
Yes, diesel can hardly be dangerous to use in a paraffin lantern, and if it works... well then it works. Strangely enough, I haven't tested diesel in any of my lanterns, even if I have intended to do so many times. I think I will have a go with that some day soon. Not that I see a reason for me to use it as an optional fuel, but it sure is interesting to test!
The Petromax type of lantern is designed to operate on paraffin/kerosene only! It may well run on diesel, but as Neil has already stated, the vapouriser will clog up quickly and the lantern may not burn with such a bright light. In my opinion, one of the aims of this website, is to offer advice on the proper type of fuel for each type of lantern, Jeff.
I totally agree with the earlier posts made by some very experienced lamp collectors. If you deviate from the fuel that the lamp was designed to work with, you will either encounter extra maintenance problems or, worst still, SAFETY problems. Please be very careful. Steve.
Guys! This topic was, just as Luminator pointed out, about if it was possible to run a lantern on diesel. Everyone already knows, and agrees, that a lantern of course run best on the fuel it was built for! People aren't complete idiots... And we know that wrong fuel can increase the build-up in the vapouriser. But since there's absolutely no safety issues with diesel (as it is with petrol), why don't let people experiment as they wish without lecturing them? And we have already stated the disadvantages with the fuel-switch in this topic, so it's not like we are tricking any newbies by stating that diesel should be a perfect substitute for paraffin. Incidentally, I just tested a Primus 1020 with new jet and cleaned vapouriser on diesel, and it worked fair enough. It didn't even smell. It was easy to lit, it ran with a decent light but significally less bright than on paraffin. But it started to burn outside the mantle with yellow flames after some minutes when I brought it outside. It's -13C, so pretty hard to keep vaporisation up with a heavy fuel. I swithed back to paraffin and had it relighted within minutes. It burned much brighter to the eye, and it was also able to run in the freezing cold outside again without problems. So the 1020 is obviously not very suitable for diesel, pretty much as I expected. But it was interesting to test. I like to experiment. The 1020 has a straight and simple vapouriser, however. I'm sure the Petromax types with a preston ring performs much better. Or rather, I know that they do since people already has told us that this type work on diesel.
Christer, As a very experienced collector I am sure that you can test any new ideas you have safely. However, some less experienced member may think of trying things that are not at all appropriate for their experience. Some of the comments are only directed to being responsibly cautious, and trying to instill safety awareness, in case a very new lamp enthusiast gets the wrong idea and perhaps endangers themself. The discussion is good , and the ideas equally interesting , but a cautious warning surely is not inappropriate . Best regards - Steve.
I can recall discussion of reasonably recent times of bulging and ruptured vaporisers seemingly from incorrect fuels labeled as Paraffin or Kerosene so surely diesel would be asking for problems.
That is quite right you are indeed responsible for your own actions but we have a responsibility to give advice that is safe because there are people reading these posts that have little experience of pressure lamps and they see many of us here as experienced experts whose advice is worth following. I know I tend to over react on this subject but if you scroll back we were asked if Petrol was suitable in a Petromax and we have told you that in our opinion it is not. Nice thing about advice is you don't have to take it but another piece of advice I will give you is to make your will first. ::Neil::
Steve, you are of course correct. A cautious warning is never wrong. But it shall be objective and based on facts. To warn about inconveniences that follow by running a lamp on inappropriate fuels is a good thing. And to warn about dangerous hazards is of course a very good thing! What I am objecting to, is just the categorical assertion about danger, even when there's no cause for it. It's not applicable when we are talking about diesel, as in this thread. The inconvenience it might cause is one thing and has been covered, but just don't come and say that it's dangerous.
There's a youtube video of an ethanolconverted Radius 119 running on E85 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V9X31R2S8o Turn the sound off!!! This is no recommendation to try running on E85 - but as the video shows, it works. I also think diesel fuel is very different in different countries. The swedish MK1 diesel is "lighter" than in most other countries. It was even better as a kerosene substitute a couple of years ago - before the renewable RME was added.
