Beiträge von David Shouksmith

  • Used CP500 value? + info sources?

    Zitat

    Originally posted by Neiljohn
    I've an old Anchor copy to learn the basics on so I don't wreck a real Petromax, when I find one, but apart from one expensive (about 15 euros) 13 page manual I haven't found much information on overhaulling or maintenance beyond the basic user manual, any recommendations?


    There's a manual produced by Rob Earl which tells you EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about Petromax and the clones, including servicing etc.


    But IMHO you'd be better getting ex-military Bialaddin and Vapalux lanterns to use. These are easily available and very cheap in the UK. All parts are easily available and they usually have been refurbished by the military before sale. All Vapaluxes and Bialaddins are of the highest quality and are a doddle to use and maintain - that's why the Army have been using them since 1939.


    PM me for more information if you want... :prost:

  • englische Lampen sind auch nicht ganz ohne…

    Hello all. Thank you for the kindness in inviting me to your meeting. Unfortunately, I cannot get there for many reasons. ;(


    It's impossible for me to follow the threads on the site - my German is very poor, maybe etwas Deutsch oder kein Deutsch - even after zwei bier, drei bier, vier bitte usw. :prost: so it's mainly a case of looking at the images and trying to guess what's going on!


    One of my favourite sites is www.spiritburner.com which is mainly for stoves but is otherwise like this one. Maybe some of you would enjoy a visit there. Cheers, David :nacht::sleep:

  • Bilder zu meiner Vapalux

    Here are two pictures of my lantern. Sorry about the messy background - I was re-building my kitchen at the time! The first picture shows a close-up of the tank label. The second picture shows the lantern again with the glass globe stuck together with tape - it was broken in the postal system. I was not happy! I've managed to replace the glass. You can see the hole for priming and lighting. These glasses are very rare now

  • Bilder zu meiner Vapalux

    Hello again! The Vapalux brand name lasted until 1946 when Willis and Bates signed a deal with Aladdin Industries in Greenford (N.W. London) to sell their lanterns for them. So Willis and Bates continued to make them but they were sold by Aladdin under the brand name Bialaddin. Over the next twenty-odd years the lanterns evolved through the 300, 305, 310, 315 and 320 models. In 1968, the deal with Aladdin came to an end and Willis and Bates continued to make the lanterns and started to sell them again under the old Vapalux brand name. This continues right up to the present date although Willis and Bates were taken over by Bairstow Brothers in 1985. In the 63 years since the first Vapalux was produced, these lanterns have been used by the United Kingdom Armed Forces and more lately NATO. So, to answer your question, the Vapalux lanterns will have been used by the RAF until 1946 when they were superseded by the Bialaddin 300X and so on. All of these lanterns have used the same basic parts since 1941 so they can generally be made to run again. Hood and tank shapes changed over the years but they're all interchangeable which means that there are a lot of 'hybrid' lanterns out there made from a mixture of various bits of varying ages. The one in the pictures looks 'right', though - all Vapalux parts of the same date.....

  • Bilder zu meiner Vapalux

    Hello,


    I can't follow the German here and I may be telling you what you already know! That is a Vapalux lantern used by the RAF in WWII. It will have a steel tank due to the shortage of brass during the war. It would have had blue paint similar in colour to the hood. Originally there was a transfer (decal) warning that the tank should be flushed out weekly to avoid rusting. The globe is correct for the lantern and has a hole for priming with alcohol and lighting. These globes are extremely rare now but the later glass will fit and work OK. The collar is correct, too and has a 'flying saucer' hole for the control cock. I've one in much better condition with original paint and transfer. It also has the metal shade that went with the lantern.


    All parts are available for these lanterns so it can probably be brought back into working order if the tank is not rusted out.


    Come back to me (in English, please) if there's anything else you want to know about early Vapalux lanterns.


    Cheers,


    David

  • Tilley floodlight???

    Hi Daniel, By Tilley floodlight I'm assuming you mean the FL6 model which is the most common. The full series was FL1 dated around 1929/30 up to the FL6 which went out of production in the 1970s. There was also a FL10 which was similar but with a life-buoy tank and suspended so that it shone vertically downwards. To answer your questions, the FL series were originally rated at 1000cp but in 1934 were re-rated at 5000cp in the beam and around 3000cp on average. I'm not sure what these are in HK but as a rough guide 500cp is about 450HK, I think. I'll find out exactly for you if you want..... Mine is a late FL6 which uses a two-hole mantle (Part No. 191) - not the usual 164X or 164H mantle. It has two air tubes on the burner rather than the more usual three. It needs to be lit in exactly the same way as the smaller lamps and lanterns using exactly the same type of pre-heater torch. I can sort out some images later if you'd like them. Cheers, David

  • welcome all foreign members

    Hi again, I see you translated the ranks into English now - so I'm to be a 'fledgling' for the next few posts. That's a quaint (kurios?) word, not much used these days, which means a young bird just getting its feathers so it hasn't flown yet. I see my dictionary was correct about Eroberer - 'conqueror' Cheers, David

  • welcome all foreign members

    Hi Jonas,


    Yes, I've got it working better now and I've been able to edit my profile. Some of the questions are still in German but no problem! I remember 'und was sind sie von Beruf?' from when I tried to learn German many years ago.


    I'm from North-East England. I visited Germany in 1986 and 1987 on holiday (Urlaub?) in the Rhine Valley at St. Goarshausen. A very beautiful part of the world.


    I sorted out the ranks a little, too. I think Grunschnabel is literally 'green horn' which is an American term originally meaning a calf. So 'newbie' is about right. The next one has me puzzled, Jungspund - a young 'something-or-other' - it isn't in my dictionary!!


    Gute Nacht


    David

  • welcome all foreign members

    Hi Jonas,


    I clicked on the British flag at the registration page but it just took me back to the homepage. It still does that for every page I've looked at. My German is very poor - I did try to learn some time ago but I didn't get very far so I have to use a dictionary which is very slow.


    I've been to Germany twice. I liked the country and it's people very much. Maybe I'll return some day.....