pressure lantern advice.

[Mike8472]

I have recently been bitten by the bug and bought myself a few of ex army vapalux m320 lanterns.

One of them is pristine and will stay in its box as a collection piece, the othere 2 are old but look in pretty good shape considering they are ex army.
I want to service them and get them in top form, as I have never had any prior experience of any type of pressure lantern I don't want to just start dismantling them without some form of guide.


Are there any videos out there on the net or any step by step pictorial guides on any of the dedicated forums that could help me?


Do I need any special spanners etc to service them?


I have already bought the service washer kits/mantles etc (from base-camp.co.uk after seeing a few recommendations on the forum for them).

Thanks in advance for any help.

[norca]

you tube may have a vid

[rik_uk3]

Have you lit them yet?

[Mike8472]

yes lit them both when i got them and they work in that respect. I cant see any bubbling paraffin from any of the joints when I pressurise the tank. The lights do pulse alot though!

I don't know exactly how old the lamps are as there is no date stamp on them and I was thinking about the service because I don't know how old the rubber seals are or how long they last.

The shop I bought them from has had them in storage for a number of years before I bought them.

[santaman2000]

The rubber ones last pretty much forever. It's the leather seals on the older ones that needed to be oiled (and replaced)

[Mike8472]

the pump is a bit stiff but does move freely. when i get to the end of the pumb it doesnt quite sit back in flush the housing. it pops back out about 1cm.

[santaman2000]

the pump is a bit stiff but does move freely. when i get to the end of the pumb it doesnt quite sit back in flush the housing. it pops back out about 1cm.

That's normal; it means there's pressure in the tank.

[Mike8472]

thanks santaman, i thought it might have be broken.

[Mike8472]

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Heres the pics of the lamps.

The green one so far all I have done is give it a wipe over its working ok.

The white one though I've changed the spirit cup because the wick bit was falling apart. I have ordered another one of the bits where the mantle sits as one of them is all corroded and the screw threads are pretty much non existent!

I pulled the pump body out of the white one and the pump leather looks a little dishevelled and wavey around the edges. Do yo think a soak in some oil would rejuvenate it or should I change it for a new one? If oil what would be best to soak it in?

[santaman2000]

If it's just "wavy" and not cracked then a soak might well do the trick; worth a try anyway. I always used 3-in-1 oil back in the day. Most any oil wil do though.

[rik_uk3]

I use olive oil, no real reason, just habit.

[Mike8472]

PLEASE HELP!!!!


Ok I am in need of some advice now!

I have just finished servicing the lamps. changed all the washers and pump leathers. I put a tilly 164H (happy) mantle in the white one and a veritas mantle in the green one.

The green lamp pulses but is very bright.

The white one with the tilley mantle lights and roars with a steady light but the light given off is faint. ???WHATS GOING WRONG???

I have read on a few forums the tilley mantle gives off more light but mines not doing much.

[widu13]

Not enough fuel getting through? Did you clean the jet?

[Mike8472]

I took the jet apart, washers changed and the cam moves the colum up/down ok to push on the vapourizer. I must admit I didnt check the jet tube itself.

What would you suggest? blast of WD40 through the jet tube?

[Silverhill]

It sounds as if your vapouriser tube is either corroded, or full of carbon deposits. You can soak the tube in carburettor cleaner to try to remedy this, but in all honesty you're probably better of buying a new one. Even if you do manage to clean the vapouriser internally, and remove the deposits, there's a good chance that the vapouriser jet aperture at the top has become enlarged with use, and that will mean a new vapouriser tube anyways.

[para106]

I'd have a shufty on here - http://www.classicpressurelamps.com/forum/ & get a new vapouriser from Basecamp if you think you need one. Then, once it's working, leave the bloody thing alone. I don't hold with all this 'take it to bits & re-assemble' malarky. They're built with your average squaddie in mind & shouldn't need much faffing. I've changed the pump leather on mine & left it at that - thank heavens I've had no problems. The lanterns in your pics look to be in excellent nick.

[Mike8472]

Changed the vapouriser tube today, it was one of the new ones made in korea.
It wouldnt fit within the hood mantle tube so i had to go out and buy a new korean manufactured one. It is very annoying that the new stuff doesnt seem tobe compatible with the originally manufactured stuff!

[rancid badger]

why did you buy the Korean vapouriser in the first place?

why not just buy an original?

here you go:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAPALUX-LA...item3a7431bff2

[ateallthepies]

PLEASE HELP!!!!


Ok I am in need of some advice now!

I have just finished servicing the lamps. changed all the washers and pump leathers. I put a tilly 164H (happy) mantle in the white one and a veritas mantle in the green one.

The green lamp pulses but is very bright.

The white one with the tilley mantle lights and roars with a steady light but the light given off is faint. ???WHATS GOING WRONG???

I have read on a few forums the tilley mantle gives off more light but mines not doing much.

I have used Happy mantles in my Vapalux's and found them to burn dim. I was told from base-camp that they are not too suitable for Vapalux's as the ash ball once burned down is too large and was designed for Tilley lamps. I now use just the standard Vapalux mantles. Installed as per the instructions they give good light but for greater brightness I sometimes just fix the top loop and let the bottom loop hang during burn off. This makes the mantle shrivel down and be closer to the tube and is brighter.

Pulsing is mostly caused by the vapouriser being full of crud or damaged. I have had success cleaning them out with a combination of a solvent plus heating the tube red hot and tapping the carbon out. Not had to buy a new one yet and yes a couple of my lamps pulsed badly at first.

Make sure you clean out the tanks before using them after a long period of storage, there could be crud in the tank causing problems and getting sucked up and blocking things.


Steve.