Newbie with a new (old?) lamp and questions...

    Hi guys,


    Found this forum through Google, and looks informative, so I thought I'd give it a try.


    My name's Tim, and I have just received a Petromax Rapid (super?) 829/500CP from eBay after looking for a few months. I have no idea whether it's good or not, but I'm sure you'll tell me.


    So, I have a couple of questions - hopefully you can help me get it running: It came with no mantle, but I know where to get one of them ;) . I have just done a pressure test, and it seems to pump up okay, but I can hear air coming through where the adjuster? wheel is. Can this be fixed? If I can fix that, along with a new mantle, then I'll try fire it up.


    The other question is, how can I tell how old it is and where it was made? It has a serial number, 595920 on the base, and the pump handle is metal (chrome plated brass, maybe) where I've noticed new ones have a plastic handle. Oh, and the glass says "Made in West Germany" if that helps. From what I've been reading, the glass on the new ones say "Made in Germany" and most of the lamp is apparently made in China. Is this correct?


    Thanks for any help you can give.


    Tim.

    Hi!


    There is a simple procedure to localize your leak:
    remove the upper parts of the lamp, pump some pressure and put the
    whole lamp in a bucket with water - you will see the air bubbles.
    If the air is coming from here (picture), you can easily fix it.
    First try to put some pressure on the hex nut -
    if this doesnt work you will probably need a new graphite-packing
    which is located between the hex nut and the handwheel.

    Hi Tim and welcome to the forums.


    In fact, the metal pump-handle indicates an older lantern, but the fount serial-number links more to Hipolito in Portugal or Santrax in China as the manufacturer.


    If you can hear air coming out of the nut of the hand-wheel you can tighten the M10-screw a little bit. In there is a graphite-package which will be more compressed. Then it should be ok.


    You should obtain here in the shop the needed packings for the vaporizer-ground-valve and for the Rapid-heater as well.


    Then the lamp should be ready to startup again.


    As mentioned above by jlo, a photo would be usefull to date the lamp, or at least parts of it, more detailed.



    Cheers,
    Wilm

    si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses

    Wow, quick responses!


    Images there shall be:


    _DSC3324_Lamp.jpg


    _DSC3334_Lamp.jpg


    _DSC3326_LampLabel.jpg


    _DSC3331_LampNumber.jpg


    I'll try the water test later, thought it prudent to ask before taking spanners to the lamp. ;)


    Regards,


    Tim.

    Tim,
    thanks for providing us photos of your lantern.


    The pump-handle looks more or less like a modified Coleman-handle. The lantern with the blue plastic applications seems to be a Hipolito lantern, probably produced during the early 80th.


    Getting back to your term "adjustment wheel". There is no adjustment possible for this type of lantern. Either on or off ! Those irritations are coming for an US-dealer which indicated, that the lantern is light-adjustable. In fact, that's wrong.


    So don't hesitate to go on asking.


    Let her shine again :)


    Cheers,
    Wilm

    si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses


    As to that wheel, I assume it should 'click' in the up and down position? It feels a bit loose - should I just go ahead and take it apart to see what's in there, or would the assembly need replacing?


    And, yes, it will shine again - though it looks quite well used.


    Another thing I noticed - the ceramic bit at the top also say's "Made in Germany" but I don't know if that means anything regarding its origins.


    Thanks for all the responses so far.


    Tim.

    Hello Tim,
    if your wheel feels a bit loose, tighten the nut a little, as shown in the answer of Fiesie.
    When the little triangle of the wheel show upwards, the valve at the lower part of the generator is closed, and the needle on the top of the generator comes for about 0.2 till 0.5 mm out of the nozzle.
    Now you can check, if there is nothing leaking. I always pump up the fount to 2 atm and then i wait for several hours. If there is a leak you will see it on the pressure indicator. To find the leak you can hold the lantern in a bucket with water. For that i always remove the pump handle, and the upper parts of the lantern, including the upper part of the generator.
    Regards
    Jan