tilly lamp - uneven light

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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Joined
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www.keepturningleft.co.uk
one of the KTLers offered me a tilly lamp as a swap for two dvds

it arrived last week

big flames

I could not turn the paraffin flow down

so I bought a kit to replace all the washers

it is now pulsing and eventually goes out

the paraffin is pretty old....

any suggestions chaps?

D
 
Memory lane

dylanwinter said:
one of the KTLers offered me a tilly lamp as a swap for two dvds

it arrived last week

big flames

I could not turn the paraffin flow down

so I bought a kit to replace all the washers

it is now pulsing and eventually goes out

the paraffin is pretty old....

any suggestions chaps?


D
Click to expand...

Did my homework to one of those - it was judged to be the state of the art at the time - just after Noah came back to publicise his book.

Is the jet clear? And the valve working properly. Like outboards they are sensitive to the minutest imperfection and resilient to amazing amounts of maltreatment.

Fresh paraffin was never an issue - it was delivered, to our cottage in the wilds of Wales, every Monday by a man with a van and 'Deserts disease' my mother said. The Alsatian dog did give him a seeing to, seemed to send his brother to deliver after that.
 
dylanwinter said:
one of the KTLers offered me a tilly lamp as a swap for two dvds

it arrived last week

big flames

I could not turn the paraffin flow down

so I bought a kit to replace all the washers

it is now pulsing and eventually goes out

the paraffin is pretty old....

any suggestions chaps?

D
Click to expand...

Would not think old paraffin will be a problem but if having difficulties it make sense to try some new stuff.

If it goes out it must be losing pressure surely .

Did you overhaul the pump ?

Only difficulty I have had with ours (we used to use in when camping and still use it now and then during power cuts) was with the meths burner. The old clip on one fell to bits and the new one is a fixed cup like you have on Primus stove that is near impossible to fill with meths.
I think the old type may be available again. If so I must get one.

IIRC they pulse a bit when the pressure drops off just before they go out. Mentions that in the on-line instructions.

I always found it difficult to make a good job of fitting a new mantle. That's properly fitted and not broken at all I suppose?
 
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The paraffin jet at the top of the central stalk is incredibly fine, and it's cleaned out from inside by a pricker which works whenever you turn the control tap fully off. I suspect that the pricker has got broken, or the hole has become enlarged, or both, so you have too much flow. In that case, the only cure is to buy a new valve and stalk assembly. Check eBay for "Tilley Lamp Vapouriser" - item 111172785202 may be what you need, at £22.
 
I use these extensively at my house - no mains electricity.

You do not turn the paraffin flow down. The knob is a pricker only. To reduce light output let out some pressure.

Paraffin does not go off. I have stuff that is many years old. Dirt in it is bad though.

Are you pumping it sufficiently? 50-100 pumps are needed. Is the pump leather good? It makes a sharp squeak sound as the air goes in if it is working properly.

If it starts well but in a few minutes pulses, goes dim, and then goes out, you are losing pressure somewhere.

The part that needs replacing most frequently is the vapouriser tube. If it's the storm lamp you have it's this part...

http://www.tilleylamp.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=35

A new one of those can transform an old and tired lamp.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
I use these extensively at my house - no mains electricity.

You do not turn the paraffin flow down. The knob is a pricker only. To reduce light output let out some pressure.

Paraffin does not go off. I have stuff that is many years old. Dirt in it is bad though.

Are you pumping it sufficiently? 50-100 pumps are needed. Is the pump leather good? It makes a sharp squeak sound as the air goes in if it is working properly.

If it starts well but in a few minutes pulses, goes dim, and then goes out, you are losing pressure somewhere.

The part that needs replacing most frequently is the vapouriser tube. If it's the storm lamp you have it's this part...

http://www.tilleylamp.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=35

A new one of those can transform an old and tired lamp.
Click to expand...

There speaks a man who knows his Tilley

As he said it is almost certainly low pressure. They take quite a bit of pumping but the base should not be bulging. A we bit of soapy water brushed on should soon establish where but as others say it is likely to be the pump.

How is the meths supply? It used to be hard to buy as the desperate Wegies would drink meths as it was cheaper than whisky.
 
TQA said:
There speaks a man who knows his Tilley

As he said it is almost certainly low pressure. They take quite a bit of pumping but the base should not be bulging. A we bit of soapy water brushed on should soon establish where but as Angus says it is likely to be the pump.

How is the meths supply? It used to be hard to buy as the desperate Wegies would drink meths as it was cheaper than whisky.
Click to expand...

thanks boys

righto take a look at the vapouriser and give it some clean fuel

I did replace all the bits in the pump so I am getting pressure and when I crack the filler then there is a pretty healthy hiss

D
 
Had something very similar with a Tilley that I was given. The paraffin had globules of water in it (condensation?). Clean out tank and new fuel was the answer.
 
Giblets said:
Had something very similar with a Tilley that I was given. The paraffin had globules of water in it (condensation?). Clean out tank and new fuel was the answer.
Click to expand...

fist thing to do I guess

it was pulsing in a rather strange way

and the fuel did look a bit murky

I wonder if it takes up moisture the way petrol does?

it came out of an aladdin lamp but I guess being wicked up is rather different from being shoved through a tiny oprifice

righto

off to find clean paraffin

D
 
As said, pulsing is caused by low pressure. It even says so in the manual! Does the tank hold pressure perfectly or is there a ring of paraffin around the base after 10 minutes? The fibre seal at the base of the vapouriser tube leaks after a time, often not obviously. You can often fix this by simply tightening the joint below the valve. It takes very little loss of pressure to cause pulsing and eventually blow-back.
 
vyv_cox said:
As said, pulsing is caused by low pressure. It even says so in the manual! Does the tank hold pressure perfectly or is there a ring of paraffin around the base after 10 minutes? The fibre seal at the base of the vapouriser tube leaks after a time, often not obviously. You can often fix this by simply tightening the joint below the valve. It takes very little loss of pressure to cause pulsing and eventually blow-back.
Click to expand...

I did put some fairy liquid around that part of the thing to see if it would bubble - no sign of it and I did buy a service pack 1 and fit the rubber washer
 
It should run for hours if not leaking. The vapouriser could be shagged or the brass dome on the burner might have had it. It is worth taking the burner to bits and dropping it in vinegar for a day or so occasionally to clean it up.
 
Vara said:
It was working perfectly....and I have a video to prove it.

I trust the Sale of Goods act doesn't cover barter.
Click to expand...

not complaining......

it is an old tilly lamp after all

and it only cost a few dvds

but the plastic handle on the regulator had been stuck with araldite and that gave way so I could not turn it up or down

I shall try clean, new fuel first and see if that solves the problem

I am £12 into getting it going after buying a new mantle and service pack 1

not sure if it is worth spending another £22 on a new burner jobby

D
 
JumbleDuck said:
The paraffin jet at the top of the central stalk is incredibly fine, and it's cleaned out from inside by a pricker which works whenever you turn the control tap fully off. I suspect that the pricker has got broken, or the hole has become enlarged, or both, so you have too much flow. In that case, the only cure is to buy a new valve and stalk assembly. Check eBay for "Tilley Lamp Vapouriser" - item 111172785202 may be what you need, at £22.
Click to expand...
wow £22 I must list the ones I have.
spurting is caused by to much fuel getting through and not enough heat in the dome on top of the tee piece.
Tee pieces do wear re the tubes once that happens you need new
just as an offering you don't need to buy expensive paraffin heating oil works fine
I still have a little collection of lamps most are early 1950's ish I used em when I worked nights on the railway
cheers
mick
 
Did you read the instructions or find the spares that came with it? Despite the araldite...shock horror...knob could be removed and control turned by pliers.
I suspect manky paraffin and lack of pressure, as all the burning bits/pricker functioned perfectly and are unlikely to be have been damaged in transit, conceivably a bit of crud may have worked its way into the jet, strip and blow through.
 
dylanwinter said:
not complaining......

it is an old tilly lamp after all

and it only cost a few dvds

but the plastic handle on the regulator had been stuck with araldite and that gave way so I could not turn it up or down

I shall try clean, new fuel first and see if that solves the problem

I am £12 into getting it going after buying a new mantle and service pack 1

not sure if it is worth spending another £22 on a new burner jobby

D
Click to expand...
bung me a pm with an address I'll send you a new valve free it's kind of a payback for sharing your films

cheers
mick
 
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