I was losing the will to live for a while during the whole creaky process but found it very informative due to a friends request on how to light one which he had just received today. Thanx for posting.
To prevent the flames and smoke as seen at 03:50, you should pre-heat the lamp with the valve open and once preheated, give it about 5 strokes on the pump. Once it's lit give it another 30-50 strokes and you're done.
Wow, thanks for sharing. I have an old lamp that I inherited from my Father in Law. It is still in the box in mint condition, it is a X246A if that means anything. I was going to use it for some hunting trips coming up, but after watching this video, I think I will go and buy a Battery LED lamp.
They do take some time to light, but they are worth it in the end. I am pleased you friend found it helpful, but if he needs any more help, lighting instructions can sometimes be found on e bay.
your right there mate ! you could of done with a bit more pre-heat, lucky yer net curtain didn`t go up !!! lol. they are a great bit of kit , i use one all the time for night fishing. ;-)
Thank you so much for posting this. As a complete novice it was really helpful. I have a question: How long would you expect one tank of paraffin to last you? Thank you.
I am not a nurd, or for for thar matter a nerd. I am just the owner of five pressure lanterns that I use for garden lighting in the summer. Nothing wrong with that.
@chas4551 Paraffin is less than £1.50 a litre and these lamps are for use where electric and gas is not available! They are much brighter than a campingaz light too and much nicer looking if used in a log cabbin or such to.
my lamp lights but after a few minutes I get paraffin leaking back through the plunger spindle I have changed all the washers . have I missed something obvious or do I need a new pump assembly
I just bought an old tilley lantern...But mine did not have the cup that you first lighted and put in thr lamp to heat up the kerosene...it must be a missing part..or Is it something that you came up with?
I beg to differ, I have a stock of tilley 164H mantles that state quite clearly that they are non radioactive. I believe nobody now makes thoriated mantles. If you have seen packages that do not state that they are non radioactive, they are most definitely old stock.
@jcardrosebud Dont get me wrong, there are some modern things of quality, yet it is scarce to find built to last products. I do love my fenix torches or eka knives, but for instance when it comes to things like good old lister engines vs 3000rpm honda gennies, you will be hard pressed to get the longevity, quality and ruggedness of the vintage gear.
@RocketScientist79 I also have two willis and bates made lanterns,one vapalux branded and one bialladin branded model 320's. They are also much better than the tilleys. That being said, I still love them.
@fouloleron2002 If mantles are non radio active it should state on the package NON RADIO ACTIVE. The Tilley lamps mantles don't so therefore he is correct.
@chas4551 I have an extremely powerful LED Lenser Torch but for camping and outdoor continuous light these are the best, better than the coleman or campingaz lights, they burn for over 12 hours of 1 pint of paraffin and are extremely bright as well as being very cheap to run.
By the way, your poist tends to indicat that you are a pressure lamp owner yourself. If you did not own one, how would you know what it says on a tilley mantle package?
cakeyspig is a work colleague, and thus sarcasm is a requirement! Reference to The Dambusters is an in joke, but chas4551 was getting abusive to unacceptable levels. I do not like the idea of blocking, but if that is what it takes, then so be it. It is no skin off my nose.
Shame that some people insist on getting the last word in and in order to do so, block others (chas4551) denying them the chance to reply! You all obviously feel VERY strong about your Tilley lamps, almost to nerd status and I can understand why fouloleron2002 made his sarcastic rebuke to the joke by cakeyspig, in relation to this being more exciting than dambusters!
@fouloleron2002 Never said I wasn't a Tilley lamp owner but not to nurd level like you. The 164H mantles I bought direct from Tilley only last week DO NOT have NON RADIO ACTIVE on them. So much for super Tilley eh!
@fouloleron2002 sarcasm is a requirement where you work? Who determines levels of verbal abuse you hear what he stated on TV all the time these days, it's hardly frowned upon nowadays - even the "ladies" are at it and that's also on national TV.
@chas4551 These are pressure lamps, and are very low odour, Meths is easy to obtain and the mantle problems you mention are not a real problem. As for mantles being radioactive, I suggest you do some reading on the matter, as most mantles sold now are non thoriated, and as such are NOT radioactive. That being said however, the radioactive thoriated mantles are pretty harmless anyway. Like I said, go and learn some facts before you start pontificating about things you clearly know nothing about!
Unbelievable. A novice demonstrating how not to do it. Dip the torch in a small jar of meths, never drop the meths onto the torch (do you know why? It has nothing to do with "cleanliness", meths leaves no residue). If there's a flare up from the mantle (common if pre-heating is insufficient), the curtains will soon join in and then the local news. Fix this up... if your house is still standing.
They do take some time to light, but they are worth it in the end. I am pleased you friend found it helpful, but if he needs any more help, lighting instructions can sometimes be found on e bay.
