In praise of the Pressure Lamp

[Doc]

Recently I acquired a paraffin pressure lamp (a Falk Veritas, but Coleman, Tilley and Vapalux are similar.)

It's maybe 30-40 years old and big but good for car camping or power cuts.
It runs for 12 hours on a pint and a half of paraffin/kerosene.
Paraffin is cheap.
It gives out a lot of heat (I have read about 0.5 to 1 kilowatts)
It is very bright - 350 candlepower on the label - I'd say akin to a 100 watt bulb.
Very nice kit. I think you can buy surplus but new Coleman or vapalux on ebay for about 30 to 40 quid. They often appear in junk sales in variable condition. a new tilley stormlight is £80 plus though. Unfortunately they attract collector interest which bumps up the price for those who want to use them.
It's difficult to get parts for the veritas so one of the other makes might be preferable.

Roll on the next powercut!

 

[jdlenton]

I've had a tilley for some years and love it but my parents moved to rural France and wanted it so the old boy has it now.

great kit

 

[M@rk]

I have a Coleman and have to agree they are great. The only down side is that it makes quite a bit of noise when on a high setting.
It would interesting to know if this is the case with the other types.

 

[jdlenton]

yup the tilly makes a nic roar too

 

[M@rk]

yup the tilly makes a nic roar too

That’s a shame it’s the only thing I don’t like about mine. All the same when you need a bright light they really do the job.

 

[Doc]

As does the Falk Veritas.

They do need a bit of TLC - new mantles, screw threads tightening, jet cleaning - and priming with meths to start them going - but this is part of the attraction. and they are many times brighter than a wick hurricane lamp or battery powered lantern.

When I was in India every street stall had an Indian made copy of the German Petromax lantern blazing away illuminating their wares.


Like the kelly kettle they are no use for backpacking, but for car camping they are excellent.

I am often surprised about how poorly prepared most folk are for powercuts. I suppose they don't happen often enough.

As well as candles and the Veritas I have 12 volt lighting with flourescent tubes. They are 8 watt and MUCH dimmer than the Veritas. A 7Ah 12volt battery will light the fluorescent tube for maybe 10 hours. A gallon of paraffin weighs not much more and gives you 64 hours of very bright light, and heats the room a bit too.

Now to buy a generator.......

 

[stevec]

doc, if you are on the look out for spares, i posted a link to a good site in the links section. www.base-camp.co.uk

ps i should point out that i have no affiliiation to them
sc

 

[Rebel]

I have one of the newer Coleman lamps that runs on unleaded petrol.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=285-700&categoryid=1015

Works a treat and gives off the equivalent of about a 200 watt lightbulb. I can read by it at night and it's not very noisy on full power either.

I used it for emergency lightiing in the house one time when a JCB cut through the powerline going to our house. We also had plenty of candles from Ikea and had to give some out to unprepared neighbours who didn't have as much as a hand torch.

 

[Povarian]

I've got a Tilley and I think they're great too. I got it from my old man, and have fond memories of it during the 70s power strikes. Not used it since I got flourescent tubes in the workshop, For short term power cuts, I find the gaz lamp more convenient, and almost as bright. The advantage of not having to prime or pump it wins out.

All of which reminds me that it's overdue for a service what with the supply/demand/peak oil issues which mean power cuts are likely to be increasingly frequent over the next something years.

 

[M@rk]

I have one of the newer Coleman lamps that runs on unleaded petrol.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=285-700&categoryid=1015

Works a treat and gives off the equivalent of about a 200 watt lightbulb. I can read by it at night and it's not very noisy on full power either.
.

That’s the same one I’ve got. I’m surprised you don’t find it noisy when on the highest setting. Maybe mine needs cleaning or something sounds like a blowtorch.

 

[TwoFourAlpha]

Tilleys do a bloody good job of keeping a 12x12 tent warm overnight on Hohne Ranges, too, as I recall.

 

[Tantalus]

lovely forum here for old lamps and stoves

http://www.spiritburner.com/

if they can not find or make you the replacements you need then i doubt they exist any more

they also have a market place and ebay deals

wonderful thing about these old burners is that they were so well made they still work excellently if they have been looked after

there is nothing nicer IMHO than the light from a tilley lamp and the most wonderful midge killer i have ever seen, they swarm into the light and get frizzled

Tant

 

[Phil562]

That’s the same one I’ve got. I’m surprised you don’t find it noisy when on the highest setting. Maybe mine needs cleaning or something sounds like a blowtorch.

I have one too, does make a slight noise but nothing like a blow torch, you may have to replace the generator

 

[george]

I have a couple of old tilleys and two coleman unleaded lanterns. The tilleys are my favourite. They give off an unforgettably evocative smell that always takes me straight back to the tropics where every house was lit by a petromax.

The colemans are good and bright but I do prefer to burn parrafin.

George

 

[Rebel]

That’s the same one I’ve got. I’m surprised you don’t find it noisy when on the highest setting. Maybe mine needs cleaning or something sounds like a blowtorch.

Maybe, as somebody else mentioned, you need to replace the generator. Mine does give off a pleasant working sound but nothing like a blowtorch. At night we often have conversations around it and don't find it disturbing at all.

 

[Celt_Ginger]

I have a Coleman Powerhouse which is over 10 years old, and has never let me down, even when it has to run all night at frequent sea fishing outings in the dead of winter. It's bright and warm. great for bringing some life into frozen fingers at 4 in the morning.

 

[Ben Trout]

We're knocking down the garage at the moment. Took the old lantern of the wall and thought 'either it's worth something, it's worth fixing and having or it goes in the skip'. One slightly battered old Vapalux. Got the OEM spares through Saturday morning, so thats my latest project! Looking forward to getting it going, sounds like it should be worth a little effort.

Incidentally, anyone have any thoughts on where I could get some suitable paint? It is the green 'Army' version. Is it worth getting some heat resistant paint? I've used a car restoration supplier before who stock engine block and exhaust manifold paints. Possibly overkill.

Thanks for the thread, Sir.

 

[pierre girard]

I am often surprised about how poorly prepared most folk are for powercuts. I suppose they don't happen often enough.

As well as candles and the Veritas I have 12 volt lighting with flourescent tubes. They are 8 watt and MUCH dimmer than the Veritas. A 7Ah 12volt battery will light the fluorescent tube for maybe 10 hours. A gallon of paraffin weighs not much more and gives you 64 hours of very bright light, and heats the room a bit too.

Now to buy a generator.......

Funny thing, we loose power several times a year, usually for fairly short periods of time (tree falls on the line, or squirrel gets in the transformer). We have five or six Coleman gas lanterns, several kerosene lanterns, and one or two kerosene lamps (decorations) in each room of our house. When the lights go out, we invariably end up lighting candles. Go figure!

PG