Petromax and Aida Lanterns

    Hello All, Can anybody answer a few questions about Petromax and Aida lanterns? From what i gather, they are were very much the same as far as quality is concerned. I was told that the Aida brand has not been made for quite some time. I do see Some Aida lanterns available from time to time on E***. Are the new Petromax lanterns as good as they were years ago? Any thoughts or comments would be highly appreciated. Christop

    Hi welcome to the board
    You can find two good reading sources here:
    Aida
    Petromax


    Aida and Petromax are well built lanterns and there are several copies with the same brand name today that their quality varies
    if you are looking for one I would go with an original Petromax from the 1960's or earlier


    if you want more let us know

    Steelkingdom, First i want to say thank you for the come back responce to the newbie. I was aware that there were clones of the petromax using other brand names. I just assumed that the ones that had the petromax label were continued petromax traditional quality? Evidently this is not the case? Hmmmm. But what about the Aida line? I was not aware that Aida lanterns were still being made. I assumed that it aws one brand that would still be vintage and not a continued aftermarket immitation product. You say that this is not the case. Now i am really unsure. I really assumed that the Aida brand would be a vintage find. Is the dating system of Aida the same as Petromax, which is marked under the fuel tank? Christop

    steelkingdom, Hey, i really appreciate the come back. The articles that you recomended i read were really great stuff. A whole lot of history about both brands for sure. Finding the early vintage petromax that is in good condition is not going to be easy. The ones that i have seen are usually not in very good condition. Have any advice as to where i might look other than ebay? Kind of undecided as to which manufacture i have preferance to though. Any suggestions or opinions from you would be greatly appreciated. Do you own either of these brands. Which would you think is better? Reading what you suggested really was very imfomative and i thank you for that. Christop

    Hi
    Maybe I was misunderstood but the AIDA brand is no longer manufactured
    they are vintage and of very good quality.
    The are not fully compatible to Petromax and unless you are a collector I wouldn’t go with that because sometimes parts are hard to get.
    The vintage Petromax are also from very good quality and some for some models all parts are easily available
    The other question is what do you want the lantern for and in what part of the world you are.
    I don’t have Aida but have several Pmax's all were found in so-so sate and today look almost like new after restoration
    so if you don’t mind some work some time a bad looking lantern is a diamond in the rough
    Were to find them other then ebay - its again a question were you live

    steelkingdom, I am from Ohio. It is located in the USA. I, like you am a collector of pressure lanterns. My collection currently consist of vintage coleman lanterns. However i am facinated with the german vintage lanterns. From what i have read, they seem to be so much better quality made. Also the parts availability for interchangability seems much friendlier. From what i read, the Aida and Petromax lantern were very closly related, and very identical except for the name. Some believed they were under the same house. Anyhow this all seems facinating and interesting to me. So now i will ask you, where are you from? Also do you have any Coleman vintage lanterns in your collection? Christop

    Hi Christop
    Well I am located not very far from you – only about 7000 miles away :)
    I am located in Israel – and I have lanterns from various sorts
    Coleman, Pteromax, Tilly, Austramax and more (not enough :D)
    The vintage German lanterns are from very good quality – but I would not say they are much better made – the old Coleman’s are also well made to and much more simple.
    The Petromax type lantern has some advantages – There is a lot more to play with and tinker as they are more complex –their principle is very different from a Coleman.
    And that the parts are the same for almost all – is great
    But remember they are kerosene lanterns and not Coleman fuel as they don’t have a positive shutoff valve and the check valve is spring loaded.
    Used with the right fuel and with care these are excellent lanterns too and the 500cp one are awesome regarding light output

    steelkingdom, You are from Israel? Boy how wrong i would have been on my quess? I was thinking Germany? Anyhow i want to say that it has been an absolute pleasure communicating with you. I want to thank you for all your come back input and responces. You have have been very helpful. I will let you know when i finally get that first vintage Petromax or Aida lantern. Christop

    steelkingdom, I do have one more question if you do not mind. I have read an article from Petromax owners. The article was very negative. Since you own the the Petromax mabe you can shed some truth. They are saying that the Petromax gives off a lot of fumes and you have to constantly be pumping up the pressure to maintain light consistancy because the pressure bleeds off faster , more so than other brands of lanterns. they also say operation of Petromax is more trouble than it is worth. Any truth to any of this? Or are they just not operating the lantern properly? Christop

    Hi, Christop I don’t mind the questions, this is why we post here :)
    A lot of fumes – well I never saw any difference between other lanterns and a Petromax on this issue – it could be explained by people not used to 500cp lantern and usually use the 300cp – and the 500cp produces a lot more heat obviously.
    As for the pumping – it is a 500cp lantern and it takes a little more then a 300cp
    But not to much and if you have the pressure indicator you pump it enough each time there is no excessive pumping
    More trouble then it worth that is a good point – if people think that a pressure lantern is more trouble then it worth then they shouldn’t have a pressure lantern
    I don’t have any difference in working with either brands.
    People that use white gas sometimes find that the pre-heating procedure for kerosene is to much trouble but this is true for every kerosene lantern even a Coleman
    Petromax is something completely different then a Coleman and if you like pressure lantern well I may say this is a must
    And as I always say if you have more to tinker with the better :D

    Hello Cristop,


    I guess the petromax of these owners are not operating correct. The Petromax ist a very good pressure lantern and easy to handle. There are many discussions about exploding px and something like that, but it happens only if you dont pay attention that your lamp works correct. This could happen with every technical machine using liquid fuel without caution. But if the Petromax is in good condition and no fittings lose kerosene oder white gas it can´t happen. The thing with the pressure is, if you use the rapid igniter of the petromax (good show effect looks like a blowtorch) the pressure in the fount will reduce permanently and you have to pump to hold the pressure. But after the preheating you dont need to pump further. Another problem (but not only Petromax problem) is if you have to much fuel in the fount that there is no more space left for enough air to provide the working pressure over hours and hours. Fill it only the half pump it up to working pressure and you must not pump while your fuel ist empty after a long night... :D Remember that most of aviable Px are 500 KH lanterns not like Coleman. Most of the Coleman lanterns have 150 -300Hk that means the lantern needs much less pumping to reach the pressure.
    Another thing is if you own a px you don´t need to replace spare sparts like the generator of a coleman all you need is a lot of time for cleaning and some leed washers for the reconstruction of an old px.


    Hope could help you a bit.


    Best regards,
    Burnem

    :bang: Burn`em :bang:
    www.burnem.de
    Wenn das letzte Killerspiel verboten, die letzte Waffe entsorgt und der letzte Fernseher verschrottet ist, werdet ihr merken, daß ihr eure Kinder trotzdem erziehen müßt.

    steelkingdon, Ok, i feel much better now that i have some real answers from some one who uses the Petromax line of lantern. I think you are right that the negative article i read was from a person who really does not completely understand how to completly operate a Petromax properly. Which i quess some people would get frustrated and give up. As for me i agree with you, the more adjustments and gadgets the better. Makes for an interesting challange to succeed and get it to burn right. i really must have one of these. Or mabe two? Hmmm. Thanks again for the responce. Will let you know for sure when i get my first one. Talk soon. Christop

    Burnem, Thank you for chiming in also. Nice to hear from another experienced Petromax user who knows something about using the Petromax line also. One has to wonder though, how can a Petromax be bad when so many people own them and the same design has survived so many years. The newer clones may be copy cats and not as good of quality as the vintage Petromax were. But they are saying something like Wow the Petromax was a super lantern made with exquisite quality and a very unique design that was extremely good. You are right also in your thoughts that they are just not being properly operated. I wonder though. When the Ptromax is started and then pumped up the right way, how long fo a time period do you get before it will need to pumped to restore the right pressure? 10 min. 20 min, 30min, 1 hour or what? Been a pleasure to hear from you also Burnem Christop

    Hi Christop, the time period after that you have to pump again depends to the amount of fuel in the font and the size of the font. Usually i have to pump my 500 CP the first time after 3 hours, my 150 CP needs it after 1,5 till 2 hours.
    You can calculate it a little. When the font is filled 50% with fuel (at a 500 CP lantern about 0,8 liter) and you have a positive pressure of 2 atm. it means there is an amount of additionally 1,6 liter air in the font, so there are 2,4 liter air in 0,8 liter tank capacity. After 3 hours there are still 0,4 liter fuel in the font, and the tank capacity for the air is grown from 0,8 liter to 1,2 liter. So the 2,4 liter air now has a positive pressure of 1 atm.
    Because i usually pump till 3 atm, after 3 hours the pressure is still at 1,5 atm, then i pump up again till 3 atm, and i can wait till the fount is empty.
    Further i confirm in all what steelkingdom and burnem said, i also had never srious problems with a petromax.
    Best regards
    Jan

    2 Mal editiert, zuletzt von Jan ()

    Jan, First i want to say,thank you for your responce and being a little more specific about the repumping time frames. This really makes me feel that you,Burnem, and steelkingdm are all correct and the dissatiafied users just really are not operating their Petromax properly. How long have you had your Petromax lantern? Is it fairly newer one or vintage one? What is your opinion about the newer Petromax Lanterns. As good of quality or is vintage a little better made? Anyhow, so where are you from? Christop

    Hi Christop, i come from germany, but i am dutch :) .
    The lantern i mostly uses are first a Petromax 500 CP, it is about 45 years old, from the german army. It has a metal case, ideal for the transport, i take this lamp every time i go fishing.
    Then i have in the garden 2 Petromax / Geniol with 150 CP, these are better for that use. These are about 20 til 30 years old.
    I had a few months ago a new Petromax, somebody in our neigbourhood bought it. I checked it for him, i had to clean some parts, there were a few splinters in the carburator, and one valve was leaking a little bit.
    In my opinion the new lamps are also good, but you have to check them before using them.
    Jan

    Jan, Wow! You are from Germany? Way to cool! I am glad to hear that the newer Petromax Lanterns are of descent quality. I may end up going the direction of the new line. I really have preferance to the vintage though. Lost a couple of really close auctions though. :wallbash: I think if i am patient enough that i willl eventually get my wish. A genuine vintage Petromax. Almost won on a couple of really nice Aida lanterns. I understand that they are also of good quality. Christop :wallbash:

    Hello Christop,


    i´m from Germany too, i come from Aachen it is a town near the netherlands and belgium. Called the Three country corner :D


    Am I right you won some aida lanterns in some auctions? Then you´re lucky these are very fine and good built lanterns. They are equal to a px but they are more rare. The Aida brand doesn´t exist since many years. There are storys about that "Erich Graetz" is not the real inventor of the px style pressure lantern, but a man called "Jakob Hirschmann" . He was the owner of the AIDA Brand wich was bought in the early 20´s of the 20centrury by Erich Graetz. After that time the AIDA Brand disappears from the market, and only Petromax were build. And yes AIDA have also a good quality. There are only one ore two modells wich make a little trouble. So if you have the chance to look at the lamp first take a deeper look at the fount. Perhaps the fount of older Aidas modells could have stress cracks in thre brass but after a period of time from 60 years and more its normal that not everything is like new.


    But i wish you good luck to get a vintage Px soon. The aren´t really expensive here, so make your holliday in Europe and get back to the usa with a lot of beatyfull new lamps (but dont forget to take some coleman and other american pressure lamp brands with you and let them stay here in germany :D )

    :bang: Burn`em :bang:
    www.burnem.de
    Wenn das letzte Killerspiel verboten, die letzte Waffe entsorgt und der letzte Fernseher verschrottet ist, werdet ihr merken, daß ihr eure Kinder trotzdem erziehen müßt.

    Hi Burnem, You are From Germany? :prost: Way to cool . That is sure a long way from where i am. However you are in the country where availability of vintage Petromax lanterns are probably easier to come by. Lucky you. The odds of me ever coming to Germany are very slim. Although i really would like to. I think it would be very interesting and fun. You seem to be very up on the vintage german lanterns. You like the vintage coleman lanterns also? Coleman did seem to have a wide variaty of models to select from in the earlier years. I have a few of the vintage models. Was there a certain coleman lantern that you really like? I know that the vintage Coleman lanterns were made much better than the new ones they make today. I think you misunderstood me on the Aida lantern auction. I came very close but i was outbid. Oh well, there will be other chances i am sure. Christop