paraffin blowlamp help?

IIRC the nozzle needs to be heated (there is/may be a small tray that you fill with meths) so that the paraffin vapourises, be very careful and do it out of doors. I seem to remember a 10 foot jet of burning parrafin once - but it was a long, long time ago!

Peter

That's right. You put meths in the well, light it, and leave it to heat the nozzle for some minutes. When the meths burns out, you pump up the pressure a little whilst lighting the end of the burner. When the burner has lit and heated some more, you can increase the pressure to get full power.

BIG word of warning though... If the tank is made of steel, don't use the lamp. These corrode from the inside, and then explode when you pump the pressure up, spraying you with burning parafin. A copper tank should not suffer this, but be very careful anyway, as you don't know the history of the lamp and there are many other ways it might fail dangerously.

If you simply want a blow lamp to use, go and buy a modern one from Wickes, B&Q, etc. IIRC, they are available for under a tenner, and much safer.

I suppose you could give it a good pumping before you actually test it, to ensure that the vessel will take the pressure. Then release the pressure before starting your test of course.

I seem to remember using a bit of rag in the meths tray, maybe that was if you didn't have meths and used a little paraffin instead. Anyone recall that idea?

TonyB

Yes I rarely use meths, just a couple of pumps to fill the tray with paraffin and soak the rag, then lit.

Preferable with out any paraffin in

Yes, or a bit of rolled up cement bag paper

K Spencer

============== I often used solid meths tablets instead of liquid meths.

These were recommended for use with "Primus" stoves when camping as they could be carried in a rucsack pocket without danger of spillage.

Cic.

Just one other thing.... I dont see a tray for the meths? does it go in the `depression` where the tube exits the vessel from the top ?

Yes, that's the "well" for it. You don't need much -- don't fill it to the brim.

Thanks Andrew.

Yes - make sure the lamp is stable or it'll slosh.

I've used these lamps for years along wtih Primus stoves and Tilly lamps and much prefer them to gas. They're fiddly to light but very powerful and cost virtually nothing to run. Tilly lamps in particular are splendid - the soft hiss, the heat from the top keeping a coffee (in a tin mug) hot, the warm glow of parsimony!

Roland,

As you have used them a lot a couple of questions....

When I pump the `pressure` (when empty) I dont feel any resistance, is this normal?

Should I require spare parts, washers etc is there a source for these in Uk? I was thinking maybe to replace any washers prior to using.

You should hear air hissing out of the nipple in the burner assembly. If not then you're not pressurising the tank. Check that the cap still had a rubber sealing washer and that any air-dump valve is shut. This is usually a butterfly screw on the filler.

This bunch