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Aladdin No.23 Loxon mantle lamp...

Started by twocvbloke, July 29, 2015, 04:01:13 AM

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twocvbloke

The Davy lamp is quite an intriguing lamp in how it uses a mesh to prevent an explosion, but on reading about it, the mesh was easily damaged and, well, boom goes the mine!!  :o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_lamp

The competitor of the Davy lamp was the Geordie lamp, basically the same idea, built to prevent explosions of gasses in mines, but with a glass shade and fine holes in the base as an air feed to stop any flare ups escaping the lamp, and the Geordie lamp is the main reason why people north of the Tyne river here in the north east of England are called "Geordies"... :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geordie_lamp

19and41

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

19and41

The lamp arrived with the afternoon mail.  It's pretty dirty, but the burner, gallery and chimney are intact.  I am soaking the balky wick.  Surprised me how fast it came.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

If you're lucky, the included wick should be good if it cleans up, but, old, used wicks on these types of burners seem to be problematic even when cleaned out, so keep a spare on hand, and remember to char the wick properly too... :)

I have my lamp lit right now actually, mostly because it suddenly got rather cold in here, and with the lamp lit, it's nice and warm again, definitely worth having it around just for the heat alone, the light's just a bonus... ;D

19and41

I finally got the old wick freed up and removed.  It was plenty gummed up.  I cleaned out everything.  The painted finish on the gallery came off but is bright.  Now to look up a mantle and wick.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

Yeah, one of the disadvantages of wicked lamps is if left with fuel in the tank, the kerosene evaporates and dries out, and the wicks will eventually gum up and get stuck, it's similar to how in stored cars, if the fuel's left to sit in the system (be it injection based or carburetted) it'll evaporate and turn to goo, making a right mess of things...

I think I was lucky with my lamp in that it was pretty clean and ready to use, some of the examples I've looked at have been pretty poor, yet still sold for a relatively high amount (in my opinion), though I do feel that I've missed out on the fun of taking it apart to clean up, as that's one of the things I enjoy doing... :)

19and41

I found a NOS wick for $14 and it's on it's way.  I have also found new mantles around the same price + s/h. 
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

19and41

One other thing on the subject of things a lamp can power, I noticed this in the Lehmans catalog while looking for mantles and wicks.

https://www.lehmans.com/p-3505-dometic-kerosene-refrigerator.aspx
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

Yeah, I noticed that Dometic fridge on there when I had a look about, shame it's so expensive though considering a Dometic/Electrolux LPG fridge does the same thing but with a different fuel & burner assembly, but then, said fridges here are quite small as they're built for mobile use (boats, caravans, motorhomes, etc.), compared to that particular fridge...

twocvbloke

Visited a clearance place today, and happened upon some modern mantle lamps, Campingaz "Lumogaz Plus" lamps, basically like a Coleman lamp except they use a Butane-Propane gas mix LPG, and were £6.99 a piece, complete with mantles, the only thing they don't come with is the gas cartridges, which is a bit of a bummer really, but, they're readily available, just not cheap!! :o

Not really anything to do with the Aladdin lamps, just wanted to mention them as I seem to have gone mantle-loopy... ;D

19and41

I still have a lantern of that type and a catalytic heater I bought during the Y2K craziness.  I still have the fuel I got at the time as well.  Ready to go.  The LPGas is good for shelf life, Which is necessary for an effective emergency fuel source.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

Yep, they're useful to have around, and according to what's on the box the burn time with the large cartridge is about the same as with my Aladdin lamp on a full tank, I just need to get some in so I can have them on standby (didn't burn off the mantle pictured above, I just fitted it in a "just cos" manner, they're cheap enough to buy anyway!), never used one of these lamps before either... ;D

twocvbloke

Seems the shiny stinky lamps are breeding here.... :o

Okay, I bought them as they were only £9.52 for the four of them, most likely will be using them outside around the garden seating, hanging from the weedy cherry tree or on the washing line poles along the footpath...  ;D

19and41

Good buy!  Those will be ideal for the outdoors.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

Yep, they should be good outdoors, had to rebuild one of them though as the glass was loose due to being bent out of shape, seeing as the metal they're made from is about twice the thickness of kitchen foil, but seems to be okay now, 'til it rusts away... ;D