Tilley Lamp - Recommended?

[ged]

hi lads, i have just ordred a hurricane lantern, where is the best place to find the fuel for these please?

As Martyn says they run on paraffin (don't be tempted to use any road fuel) which can be had at garden centres, hardware stores and a few supermarkets. I haven't bought paraffin in the UK for a long time so I don't know if it's the same here, but in France you can buy "deodorized paraffin". It's quite a bit more expensive but does indeed smell a lot less strongly when it burns. You can even get scented stuff e.g. citronella but I think that's going a bit far unless you believe it keeps the mosquitoes at bay. I'm afraid that hasn't been my experience, but I'm a mosquito magnet.

 

[Martyn]

Yes Ged, most the stuff they sell in B&Q and the like as greenhouse heater fuel is much cleaner than it used to be and doesnt stink so much. It's expensive though. The stuff with scented oils added or even the stuff sold as lamp oil, works in hurricane lamps fine, but is not recommended for use in vapalux/bialaddin pressure lamps.

 

[TrickyT]

AVOID Tilleys, they are frankly rubbish. How they have got away with producing such poor quality junk for so long ( and continue to do so) amazes me, they really are the "British Leyland" of the pressure lamp world. They are pig ugly too and the performance of Tilley's is typically poor/variable at best,as is the quality of the components.

The really amazing thing is; that as far as I'm aware, Tilley are still running!!! while Vapalux has died and has been sold off to the South Koreans!
The "Tilley lamp" is just another classic example of Jeremy Clarkson's "that'll do" British manufacturing, sad but true.

The trouble is, that the "general public" are prone to calling any pressure lantern "a tilley lamp" for some inexplicable reason,which leads to folk continuing to buy the junk they turn out.

Buy a Vapalux M320 or if you want something a bit more nostalgic, a Bialaddin ( the Bialaddin would not be my first choice but is way ahead of any Tilley). You'll get a much better quality piece of kit at a reasonable price, which will chuck out loads of light ( apx 60 watts)_ and plenty of heat ( apx 1400 watts)

Thanks for this information. I was under the impression the Tilleys were the 'rolls royce' of laterns, that is why everyone has one due to the british engineering.

Regard

Tervor

 

[dasy2k1]

More like the biro, of pressure lampa, everyone has one because they are relatively cheap and easy to get hold of

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[udamiano]

Bialaddins are excellent lanterns. I'd rather have an old Bialaddin 310 or 315 straight out of the shed than a Brand new Tilley out of the box..

Like most stuff now the newer versions are not a patch on the older stuff, the Tilley lamps (7in total) I've got are all 20year + old and apart from the occasional replacing of the seals on a few, They have given excellent service.

like many things these type of lamps need to be serviced every so often, I find that most of the complaints that I've ever heard usually boil down to the person leaving paraffin in the lamp over long periods of time, or using a petrol based grease that corrodes the seals,,etc. Take care of the lamp and it will give you years of service, in my case decades, and they get used every week

 

[Martyn]

More like the biro, of pressure lampa, everyone has one because they are relatively cheap and easy to get hold of

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

...and if Tilley are the biro of pressure lamps, Vapalux are the Mont Blanc - well, maybe not (that honour would probably go to a vintage Petromax) but Vapalux are a nice Parker at least.

 

[rik_uk3]

...and if Tilley are the biro of pressure lamps, Vapalux are the Mont Blanc - well, maybe not (that honour would probably go to a vintage Petromax) but Vapalux are a nice Parker at least.

Old petromax are OK, new ones are pee poor in construction. Have a look at the older Optimus lanterns Martyn.

 

[Martyn]

Old petromax are OK, new ones are pee poor in construction. Have a look at the older Optimus lanterns Martyn.

The 300's? Yeah, nearly pulled the trigger on one so many times, but just silly money - I've seen em fetch £300+. Purely a collectors item. I might get one eventually, just to keep by the fireplace.

Ranked in quality....

Vintage Optimus
Vintage Petromax
Vintage Bialaddin
Any Vapalux or Bialaddin
Vintage Coleman
Vintage Tilley

Agreed?

 

[rik_uk3]

If we are talking paraffin lanterns, I would rate the humble Hurricane lantern top of the list based simply on its utter reliability.

 

[johnboy]

The 300's? Yeah, nearly pulled the trigger on one so many times, but just silly money - I've seen em fetch £300+. Purely a collectors item. I might get one eventually, just to keep by the fireplace.

They are way more numerous over here and fetch sensible money.....

I agree an older Optimus or Primus lantern is a real treasure....

Cheers
John

 

[udamiano]

yep love mine

 

[Navigator54]

Fully agree with Vapalux/Bialladin options. Used these extensively whilst in the RAF, great with paraffin but will run on good quality alcohol if needed. That will never happen with a Tilley.

P.S saw you had bought a Tilley "service kit" - vastly overpriced, you could get 3 used lamps for that price to cannibalise and still have enough kit left over to make a second lamp.

Good luck, and welcome to off the grid living.

 

[ateallthepies]

Welcome to the forum Navigator

One point of concern, using Alcohol in a pressure lamp designed for Paraffin? I was not aware this was even possible? Probably best to stick with Paraffin if possible?

Steve.

 

[bilmo-p5]

Forget about all that stinky paraffin, and get yourself a nice Coleman.

 

[Big Si]

Forget about all that stinky paraffin, and get yourself a nice Coleman.

As the man above says, Coleman are sooooo much nicer. You can even get some that run on smelly paraffin. They are much safer IMHO as they have a fuel shut off, so you can lst the lamp cool off before venting the pressure. A nice 201 should fit the bill.

Si

 

[bigroomboy]

A fuel cut off is not needed on paraffin lamps because there is no flammable vapour in the tank. I only have colemans which are great but reading this makes me want to get a vapalux!

 

[rik_uk3]

As the man above says, Coleman are sooooo much nicer. You can even get some that run on smelly paraffin. They are much safer IMHO as they have a fuel shut off, so you can lst the lamp cool off before venting the pressure. A nice 201 should fit the bill.

Si

Easier to light but Coleman lack aesthetic appeal, just not as nicely made really (says he who uses Coleman these days.....and Vapalux )

 

[rik_uk3]

As the man above says, Coleman are sooooo much nicer. You can even get some that run on smelly paraffin. They are much safer IMHO as they have a fuel shut off, so you can lst the lamp cool off before venting the pressure. A nice 201 should fit the bill.

Si

Easier to light, but not as pleasing to they eye from an aesthetic point of view

 

[bilmo-p5]

... not as pleasing to they eye from an aesthetic point of view

Oh, I don't know...

The bottom 2 went for <£35 apiece yesterday.

 

[bigroomboy]

bilmo, its nice to see some older colemans in this country. I see lots from america on the net and a few on ebay here but mine are both newer dual fuals a 282 and a 285, I also have a 424 stove I just finished refurbishing. I think the old coleman stuff has a real charm just like the vapalux and tilley stuff. But I still keep getting drawn in by peoples posts of very nice looking vapaluxs! I use petrol in all my things so having something with a different fuel would just be nuts anyway.