Like you, someone gave me a Bilalladin 300X pressure lamp about a year ago, it must me around circa 1950's, so I replaced all the seals, and vaporiser tube, it's a wonderfull lamp.
Just this week, I received a new Glass for it, as the original had developed a large crack.
I run it on Paraffin Extra, which is the low odour stuff.
Most times I can get it lit no problem, but every now and again, it will flare at first lighting, not sure why it does that, but it's not a worry, as you just release the pressure, and it blows itself out.
got all my parts from a firm called basecamp, I recon I have spent £50 on that old lamp, well worth it though.
Check out the link, even with a brand new lamp, it can go wrong.
Failing to light first time is probably because the top end was not hot enough. Try and do the pre heat stage out of any wind, which will cool the top down. Also you get 1 kw of free heat !!!
My Vapalux always lights first time, but in the colder months, my Tilley does not. I double pre heat to solve this problem.
------------- Canvas tent, paraffin light, petrol stove. Heaven
I'd rather be kayaking.
Spent up, not pent up, just had my new tent up.
always good to open and close the control knob a few times before pressurising it to clear any carbon from the jet.
gone off tillys the old versions were far superior and had built in pre heaters ,i now like my petromaxs ans aidas which do
£100 for what is a basic lamp compared to the past is a rip off for a new tilly
we get a fair few power cuts here and only if they are looking to be overnight do i bother to light our pressure lamps (mostly we have one in every room so the neighbours think our electric is still on as they shiver around their candles )
but we use our brilliant aladdins with the mantles that are totally silent ,silence is very rare today its nice for a couple of hours
the price of new ones of these is appalling all ours were under a fiver from boot fairs and my mums one
I have 2 and I love them,though I use an ehu as it's more practical.To make sure your Tilley lights,as others have said use a good grade of paraffin,and give the pre-heater a good soaking in methylated spirits.Wait until the mantle is giving off a good red glow,if possible wait until it's nearly white hot,even if this means re-fuelling and lighting of the pre-heater.Only pressurise the tank with 9 or 10 pumps,as over pressurising can cause the vapourised fuel to come out too quickly making the lamp flare,and give a lot of smoke and fumes until the pressure is stable.Plenty of preheating is the key.
------------- If the moon reflects the suns light,why does it not reflect the suns heat?
I have two and so does the brother in law. Neither of his are working at the moment despite help from UKCS members. One of mine is starting to "play up" but the other is fine for now. I am thinking of moving away from them for rechargeable electric for in the tent and I've recently bought a stellier R for the 907 cylinder which is a great lamp and I guess will replace the Tilleys eventually. They are a bit faffy to light at first but you soon get used to it - I'm heading more for reducing the amount I take camping now but just can't quite bring myself to let go of the Tilleys yet...
Just bought one myself on ebay for when there is no EHU on site - I luv 'em. Never had one before. Fired it up as per the link above - a proper blokes gadget.Needs a little fiddling to get the pressure right. If you think it's losing pressure, twist the black knob anti clockwise quite hard - it activates the 'pricker' which clears the tubes, and the light brightens without giving it another 30pumps.I get about an hour from it without pumping it up again. What a tool - light, heat, and a work-out!
First evening i used it, my wife was on mornings - I walked into the bedroom holding the lit Tilleylamp at midnight (she had been asleep an hour) to show her how bright it was! Needless to say, she didn't share my enthusiasm and my luck was definately not in. When I first lit it, I thought the hiss would get on my nerves, but it's fine. I can't wait to go camping and try it out proper.Enjoy!
Last Saturday night at our Guy Fawkes bonfire (yeh I know its a week late) I had both my Tilleys going and a more recent purchase my Coleman Northstar.
The Tilleys had not been used for 2 years and required a little fettling. On one the valve at the bottom of the pump was jammed and needed dissembly, on the other the nut securing the leather washer had come off. Not particular problems but ones better dealt with in daylight
A more serious problem was the pre-heater that had corroded so the two preheat cups were no longer connected. I therefore had to hold one lighted preheat cup in position under the mantle. As previously posted they often take a lot of preheating and what I was doing was not sufficient, so I used the old trick of letting a little paraffin through the on/off valve to assist. Done carefully there is not too much flare up and eventually both units correctly vapourised and ignited
The Coleman in comparison is far easier (of course it is fairly new) and only requires fuelling with unleaded, pumping to pressure, turning on the valve and pressing the igniter button. So easy, bright and controllable.
Interestingly the first couple of times I used the Coleman there were some not very pleasant odours coming from it. However when I used it in the well vented tent at the Major Bridge meet it was fine.
The picture shows to extreme left the much brighter Coleman, next a little led camping lantern and at the far end of the table one of the Tilleys.
-------------
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell
Do you have a picture of the Coleman next to the Tilley for comparison? I take it from the above pic that the Coleman is much brighter? Is it as noisy as the Tilley?
Hi, I had a Tilley and it was a lovely lamp but a bit of a faff. Ended up buying the colman and even the single mantle is much brighter than the tilley and much less of a faff.
Saving all of that i still loved the Tilley mainly nostalgia!
Do you have a picture of the Coleman next to the Tilley for comparison? I take it from the above pic that the Coleman is much brighter? Is it as noisy as the Tilley?
Regards,
Bob.
Hi Bob,
I presume you mean to compare the brightness. Sadly you've got all I have. However I would say the Petrol Northstar is probably twice as bright and probably a little quieter. Just remember there are many versions of the Coleman petrol lamp with a wide range of outputs and sizes. Easy to start and using readily available fuel the attraction of the Coleman is obvious. They just don't have the nostalgic element of the Tilleys and others of that era. And they cost a bob or two
-------------
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell
Dont want to be the "spectre at the feast" but a serious warning about using tilley or other pressure lamp. Do NOT ever use any kind of aerosol spray anywhere near the lamp. Some years ago, a girl in our scout group was using a hairspray near a lamp The vapour ignied resulting in her death. Tilley lamps are a really usefull piece of kit but be aware of the potential risks
------------- hawk
"Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone"
I have the body of a greek god - its in my freezer
Absolutely right general. There are serious risks in using pressure lamps, gas stoves, electrical hook ups and cleaning chemicals. Sadly children get little experience of risk outside the home with the obvious consequences.
-------------
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Tilley Storm Lamp
)
