Storm Lamps

[Doc]

I'm told the radioactive mantles are only a significant hazard if you eat them.


I bought a pair of Feuerhands from Pellam, and they shipped them well packed (no broken glass) and very quickly with typical German efficiency. They even enclose a disposable lighter free of charge for you to light them with. Sehr gut.

 

[sandbender]

I bought a pair of Feuerhands from Pellam, and they shipped them well packed (no broken glass) and very quickly with typical German efficiency. They even enclose a disposable lighter free of charge for you to light them with. Sehr gut.

A Petromax 500 HK is winging its way to me from Pellam, it will be my main source of light for the next few months, I'll post a review when I've used it for a while.

 

[wanderinstar]

Can you get a light deflector as on the Petromax, to fit a Tilley. How much light should you get from a Tilley? I know a difficult question to answer, but I have one and it doesn't seem too bright. Should it be same light as a 40,60,100 watt bulb in an average sized room.

 

[PC2K]

no experians with this, one but at 20,99 quid (or 30 euro for other euries) here is cheap one:

http://www1.uk.conrad.com/scripts/w...&page=1&p_catalog_max_results=10&cachedetail=

or try http://www1.uk.conrad.com/ and search with "paraffin "

 

[Greg]

Can you get a light deflector as on the Petromax, to fit a Tilley. How much light should you get from a Tilley? I know a difficult question to answer, but I have one and it doesn't seem too bright. Should it be same light as a 40,60,100 watt bulb in an average sized room.

I think it all depends on how much pressure it has but the lamps we used to use threw out quite a bit of light, enough to light an arctic 5 man tent anyway. I wouldn't know what WATT rating though, probably at least 40-60 at a guess.

 

[sandbender]

Can you get a light deflector as on the Petromax, to fit a Tilley. How much light should you get from a Tilley? I know a difficult question to answer, but I have one and it doesn't seem too bright. Should it be same light as a 40,60,100 watt bulb in an average sized room.

The big Petromax throws out up to 400w!!

It may be possible to engineer a method of fitting a petromax reflector to your tilly, as long as it doesn't end up localising the heat at any point on the tilly frame/tank.

Get one here...

http://www.pelam.de/product_info.php?products_id=266

 

[mojofilter]

I'll stick my neck out and say that I think that the vapalux / bialladin lamps are far better than the tilleys.

They are simpler and better performing imo, and the preheater is buil tin, so yo ucan't lose it!

 

[rik_uk3]

Welcome back, Andrew.

I havea veritas and it is good but a bit temperamental. After 40 years the leatrher washers on the pump have dried a bit. Interestingly the mantle is strikingly radioactive when tested with the Geiger counter.

When I was in India every stall had a 'Petromax' - actually an Indian made copy of the German original.

Although a wick hurricane lamp is not nearly so bright, it is rather more reliable. The Feuerhand is far superior to the cheap Chinese ones and is still available from Pellam. They are new with tags and in wrappings, but stamped West Germany - so presumably not of recent manufacture.

Pellam are a good shop and ship from Germany. http://www.pelam.de/index.php?cPath=28_40

Hi Doc

The very old mantles were indeed radioactive, but the new ones are not. I also go with you on the Hurricane lamps, a lower output, but as reliable as a Trangia (I got a batch from my local pound shop for,,,, well, a pound each last year).

Pelam is a really good company, they ship quick and don't sting on shipping, also look at this site, for all sorts of stove/lamp/bushcraft stuff, again German, again very good (I'm not associated in any way with either company)

http://www.hytta.de/

I also agree with Mojo, I think the build quality on the pressurised Vapalux/Bialaddin lamps is better than the Tilley

All the best