My Tilly Lamp Drama - pic

dylanwinter said:
are you saying that this is not a Tilly

i fitted SP2 for tilly lamps

everything fitted as per instructions

D
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Having been down to the cellar to check - it is, indeed a Tilley (it says so on the pricker knob).

The Bialaddin is green, has an integral preheater, is lower and a far more robust than the Tilley (and easier to light).
I would still maintain, however, that Dylan is too hasty and impetuous in his approach to lighting pressure lanterns.
 
charles_reed said:
Having been down to the cellar to check - it is, indeed a Tilley (it says so on the pricker knob).

The Bialaddin is green, has an integral preheater, is lower and a far more robust than the Tilley (and easier to light).
I would still maintain, however, that Dylan is too hasty and impetuous in his approach to lighting pressure lanterns.
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impetuous and hasty is good at 58
 
charles_reed said:
Silly bu**ar, you pumped it too soon, before the preheater had a chance. You've probably ruined the mantle as well.

I was brought up with Tilleys and Bialaddins and still keep a couple her in the UK for those times the power-cut comes. As with so many childhood- inculcated skills I find it difficult to understand anyone having any problems with a pressure lantern. Same with reversing a trailer!!!

PS That ain't a Tilley - it's a Bialaddin and no wonder you're having problems. Two different beasts - you should have a sprung wick that clamps onto the vapouriser which you soak in meths and light. Sometimes you have to have two goes with pre-heating the Bialaddin, it's more tricky to get going than the Tilley as well as being bigger and more fragile. The only part for the two which is interchangeable is the mantle. Camping Gaz ones can be used in extremis.
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I too learned the skills of lighting Primus cookers and Tilley/Bialaddin lamps in my child-hood, and am quite sure I could do it with no trouble. A few years back, though, I was doing the induction course for camping in Antarctica, and was quite surprised to find that they thought it necessary to teach people how to start a Primus stove!

The advanced user can start a Primus without using meths; the same technique might work on a Tilley/Bialaddin lamp but would certainly shorten the life of the mantle and reduce its efficiency. The trick is to slightly pressurize the tank, allow a little paraffin to dribble out and light that. Big smoky, yellow flame - but it will preheat the burner, and after a while you can pump it and it will light properly. Messy and prone to flare-ups, so not to be recommended on a boat. Spent 8 weeks in Spitzbergen starting Primuses that way, because the expedition organizer didn't allow meths to be sent - I think he thought we'd drink it! No chance - his efficient secretary made sure we had a case of whisky that for some reason didn't appear on the inventories :rolleyes:
 
Patience is required when lighting a tilley. If the vaporiser isn't hot enough, you get a squirt of neat parafin and a flame thrower. Same with a Primus stove - the cause of many tent fires.
 
Vara said:

This is the same lamp before Dylan got his sticky little mitts on it.

The shot of the meths burning is a cinematic tour de force.

In the same series is an equally riveting clip of a kettle boiling.
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How nice to see a true professional at work! :p
 
Despite comments about the proximity of a thatched roof, I was pleased to see that Dylan is practicing to acquire the necessary skill out in the open away from the boat. He has missed a trick, though, it was a perfect opportunity to practice using the fire blanket!

It all takes me back to dinghy camping from Calshot - they made us strip, check and polish the Primus stoves every day.

Rob.
 
rob2 said:
Despite comments about the proximity of a thatched roof, I was pleased to see that Dylan is practicing to acquire the necessary skill out in the open away from the boat. He has missed a trick, though, it was a perfect opportunity to practice using the fire blanket!

It all takes me back to dinghy camping from Calshot - they made us strip, check and polish the Primus stoves every day.

Rob.
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seems a bit excessive forcing kids to disrobe before cleaning a lamp

sounds all very dodgy to me

D
 
charles_reed said:
I would still maintain, however, that Dylan is too hasty and impetuous in his approach to lighting pressure lanterns.
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I have one simple golden rule for lighting Tilley lamps: Preheat twice. The meths held in the standard preheater is only just and no more enough to get the vaporiser hot enough. Let it burn out. reload, relight, wait a minute and instant lighting is guaranteed.
 
I ditched the meths pre-heater thingy a long time ago and now use a gas blowtorch on my Tilley (and also on my Taylors stove).
A couple of minutes of burn on the evaporator tube and then away it goes.

BTW the Tilley, like the Taylors, will run nicely on central heating oil (the 28 sec. kerosene variety).
 
JumbleDuck said:
I have one simple golden rule for lighting Tilley lamps: Preheat twice. The meths held in the standard preheater is only just and no more enough to get the vaporiser hot enough. Let it burn out. reload, relight, wait a minute and instant lighting is guaranteed.
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The main criticism I have of the video shown above is that the operator is shown flicking meths in the reservoir back into the jar before lighting. I do the opposite, make sure the reservoir is swimming in meths before putting it on the lamp to ensure the vapouriser is fully heated. I never open the valve until the pre-heater has almost gone out.
 
vyv_cox said:
The main criticism I have of the video shown above is that the operator is shown flicking meths in the reservoir back into the jar before lighting.
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It lit didn't it? I rest my case...but then I've only been lighting paraffin vapourising devices for 45 years, so what do I know.
 
Vyv, I agree except that I keep the valve just open, just so, and the plunger collar loose. When preheat is complete, I tighten the collar and pump. Once it is alight, I then remove the reservoir. I do as you do. I present the reservoir to the vapouriser filled nearly to the brim, not drained. I have three of these beasts in working order and am now restoring another 4 for some chums who have become Tilley Enthusiasts.:D
 
VO5 said:
Vyv, I agree except that I keep the valve just open, just so, and the plunger collar loose. When preheat is complete, I tighten the collar and pump. Once it is alight, I then remove the reservoir. I do as you do. I present the reservoir to the vapouriser filled nearly to the brim, not drained. I have three of these beasts in working order and am now restoring another 4 for some chums who have become Tilley Enthusiasts.:D
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is there a secret handshake for Tilley Enthusiasts

D
 
Ah ! Viv...I must tell you this, I have just remembered...
The reason for the collar on the pump being kept loose is the subject of two preferences.
1. The change in barometric pressure while the lamp is not in use will not cause the fuel to syphon up the vaporiser.
2. Twiddling the plastic knurled knob to and fro will wear out its cohesion to the screw thread to which it is fixed.
By storing it with the pump collar slightly undone it avoids both these problems.
 
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