A Huricane lamp that will keep alight in a force 4 !?!

sharmajm

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Martlsham Heath, Ipswich Suffolk
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I have a huricane lamp purchased from a local chandlery that I use for an anchor light. Last season I anchored in probably no more than a force 4 and couldn't get the lamp to stay alight.

I have tried to look around for a better lamp, but have failed.

Has anyone found a good source for huricane lamps that do what it says on the tin!!!
 
I use one of these albeit a slightly smaller version, also bought on ebay. very difficult to light the burner on deck in a breeze, (so I normally light it in the wheelhouse) suspended top and bottom so it can't swing too violently, it never goes out until i blow it out or it runs out of fuel. More than enough fuel for a summers night too - I reckon about 10hours on a tank...
 
The Tilley Storm Lamp at tilleylamp.co.uk is probably the best of that type. Not cheap though.
 
I seem to remember reading a recommendation (from the Pardeys?) that to reliably stay alight such a lantern needs to have an internal glass chimney. Basically a complete oil lamp within a dioptric lens.
 
[ QUOTE ]
What you want is one of these

[/ QUOTE ] I have been wondering about those for sometime. I like the fact that it takes four decent sized (D) batteries. I wondered if the fact that it can take a mains adaptor, but heaven knows why it does, and the dimmer control make it less than really watertight. I looked at something similar in a local camping shop a while back but I found that the 12 leds were aranged in such a way that the light was concentrated in N,S,E & W directions, if you see what I mean, with a much lower brightness in between.

Have you actually got one (or two) and can you allay my fears.
 
No I don't have one but thought that they looked good for the job at a non-boaty price. The Force 4 version is advertised as waterproof but looks as if it has a dimmer switch. The huge price difference may be the answer. At least you get two goes for your money!
 
Thanks. I think I posted the details of the Coopers offer on here ages ago. I seem to remember I had several offers to take the free one off my hands! It was the poor light distribution that put me off the one I saw locally. If they all use the same LED array then they will all suffer from the same problem although hopefully that won't apply to one sold as an anchor light.


Re Tilley Storm Lanterns the cheapest of the versions is now about £90 so I am taking good care of mine.
 
How about a Coleman that anglers use?

Lantern

LANTERN-COL-282-700.jpg
 
The problem with both Tilley and Coleman lanterns as anchor lamps is the fragility of the mantles. If the lamp is swinging around freely then they're too prone to breakage. They will work well, however, if you set up a bridle of sorts around the base and fasten them top and bottom.
You then get the problem that after about four hours they'll need repressurising. Whilst they make great cabin lamps and provide some heat at the same time, unless you're prepared to get up every four hours and pump up the tank again they're not much good as anchor lamps...
Decent rebuilt Tilleys are usually available on ebay for about 30 quid - go for an older model if possible (The ones with the wire globe cage as opposed to the alloy frame) as they're much more substantially put together. Parts are available for just about every Tilley ever made from Base Camp.
 
We use a brass hurricane lamp made by Dietz (or is it Deutz?), better than the real cheapies that rust away. I light it in the shelter then hang it from a line between the backstay and the grab handle on the sprayhood, 2 other lines go to the wheel pedestal to stop it swinging too much. This keeps the lamp in the wind shadow of the sprayhood yet it's light illuminates the cockpit and the coachroof quite well, it always stays alight. Before anyone says it has to hang at the front of the boat, it doesn't, read the relevant regs properly! In any case, in my view at anchor and lying to the wind the risk is more from newcomers arriving in the dark and they will most likely do so from astern as I will have anchored in the lee of the shore.

We also have a Davies ultra low amp light (0.25A) with fresnel lens that we can use but I prefer the flickering paraffin lamp.
 
Would that be a different model? The one I linked to[ QUOTE ]
# Single Mantle Model 282-700
# Runs on Unleaded or Colemans Fuel
# Lasts for upto 15 Hours from 1 tank of fuel

[/ QUOTE ] and they do a twin mantle model.
 
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