Problems with rapid heater Petromax 500

    Hello,


    My name is Niels I live in the Netherlands and today I bought a used petromax 500.


    Tonight I tried to start it up but I noticed that the rapid heater sprays a stream of fuel and not a mixture of air and gas. As the pressure gauge is not working I pumped 25 times as I read on a forum somewhere.


    I called the guy I bought the lamp from and he said that there is probably to much fuel in, but I didn't fill it up? Could that be the case or does anyone have some tips what to try?



    I soaked the pressure gauge in wd40 in the hope to get it going again. When I put it on a gas can to fill a lighter it works and gives an indication of 2 bar. When I try it on he lamp no pressure indication??



    Am I doing something wrong here or?


    Any tips or help is appreciated, I searched on this forum but couldn't find a solution. If I missed something I'm sorry but please forgive me as a newbie



    Regards Niels

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von Etmnidj () aus folgendem Grund: Changed pre heater to rapid heater

    Hm, 25 strokes can mean everything or nothing. Depends on some more parameter.

    As the gauge works at external test, it seems that the pressure is too less to give any indication on the gauge.

    It is not a precision instrument and some of them need lot of strokes pressure before they suddendly start working...

    If tank is filled with max. 1l , then the remaining air allows to built up enough pressure (liquids cannot be compressed, but air can).

    Try more pumping first.


    If gauge is working, you may check the small holes in the rapid unit. Some of them are hardly visible without a magnifier.

    Have you checked the general instruction for maintenance in the following link already?

    a technical description on how to perform a complete cleaning and restoration of a PETROMAX 829 500

    There are some valuable hints and tips for solving a lot of problems and malfunctions.


    Beside this, I recommend to try the lamp by preheating with alcohol initially (after reading carefully the standard instructions "how to").

    If the lamp is working sufficently with this procedure, you may have an intensive look at the rapid system as next step.

    Grüße


    Andy


    Fiat Lux !

  • Etmnidj

    Hat den Titel des Themas von „Problems with pre heater Petromax 500“ zu „Problems with rapid heater Petromax 500“ geändert.

    to add a small clarifying (I hope) detail to Andy's post:

    The "two small holes" - which add air to the preheaters fuel ejection - can be accessed only after removing the top nozzle of the preheater (which has one boring in the middle), they are beneath this nozzle and out-of-center.

    Prick them free with the needle tool from the lamps accessories.

    good luck

    /Matt

    „Ich finde, es sind die kleinen Dinge, alltägliche Taten von gewöhnlichen Leuten,
    die die Dunkelheit auf Abstand halten"
    (Mithrandir a.k.a Gandalf, "der Hobbit")

    Today I managed to get the lamp working. I took the pre heater apart and cleaned the nozzle.


    Also I got another pressure gauge that works. Found out that I had to pump longer to get the right pressure. Also I noticed that when I use the pre heater the pressure drops quick and you have to pump to keep sufficient pressure.


    Once the lamp burns it keeps good pressure.


    Every body thanks for the tips and tricks. I'm new to these lamps and enthousiastic.


    Plan now to polish the lamp, going to look in the forum for advice how to get it to " shine" again :-)


    Martin bedankt voor het aanbod, maar is inmiddels gelukt. 👍🏻

    hi Niels,

    is your lamp of brass type or chrome ?

    if it is brass, take care with "sharp" polishing / cleaning aids.

    It is sealed with special coating to avoid brass dullness / oxydation.

    (Zaponlack in german, miss the english word).

    Thorough rinse and brushing (not! a steel brush) with normal soap should do, and IMHO some Patina is not bad for the look.

    if it is chromed, any chrome polish from car parts store will do, but no abrasives, pls.

    /Matt.

    Add:

    "Also I noticed that when I use the pre heater the pressure drops quick "

    That's normal and the reason why many of us prefer so called "soft start" with alcohol

    (joke: a dose for the lamp, another dose for the user) :hicks:

    „Ich finde, es sind die kleinen Dinge, alltägliche Taten von gewöhnlichen Leuten,
    die die Dunkelheit auf Abstand halten"
    (Mithrandir a.k.a Gandalf, "der Hobbit")

    Thanks again. My lamp is a chrome one. I also saw that there is cleaning polish from petromax, has anyone used this? Otherwise I'll go for chrome polish.


    Regards Niels

    Yes, I have used it.

    Not bad, but as I said - quite the same can be gotten round the corner in any supermarket or building store with car department.

    Ceran cleaner (ask your wife before stealing it) also works pretty well.:frau:

    „Ich finde, es sind die kleinen Dinge, alltägliche Taten von gewöhnlichen Leuten,
    die die Dunkelheit auf Abstand halten"
    (Mithrandir a.k.a Gandalf, "der Hobbit")