Seized aluminium threads Tilley Lamp Pump

[jon hill 3Participant @jonhill3]

Acquired a Tilley Lamp with a defective pump only to find on taking out the pump that the threads are seized. I tried soaking in paraffin and gripping the body in the vise but no matter how much swearing and cussing it still wont open.

Any possible solutions? The threads I am trying to open are all ali on ali.

[jon hill 3Participant @jonhill3]

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Heat, preferably not from an open flame unless you've got rid of most of the paraffin. I'mm becoming a convert to the hot-air guns in preference to blowlamps for this kind of thing.

Repeated cycles of heat/cooling may just break things free.

Rob

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

If the problem is caused by corrosion, it may be posible to free things off by placing the pump on a hard surface and fairly gently rapping with a hammer, whilst it is rotated.

The objective is to produce just enough temporary distortion to break the corrosion, without any permanent.

It certainly works for rusted steel components, but obviously, not in every case, if the problem is severe.

Howard

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Hi Jon,

The very best of luck, but if all else fails, try "The Base Camp" in Peterborough for a replacement pump.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Or Tilley who are near Guildford

[jon hill 3Participant @jonhill3]

Tried all the above thanks guys. I think gripping the shaft with a pair of plumbers grips and a piece of rubber tube worked wonders without marking the metal.

Heres a pic of the burner in action:

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Hello Jon,

Does the lamp work OK now? I've had problems getting my Tilley's to work as they did some years ago.

Flames outside of the mantle, pulsating and not very bright light.

Cleaned and changed everything, including new vapourizers without much luck. The only thing that seems to have changed is the fuel. Esso Blue and Aladdin Pink worked fine years ago.

Any thoughts welcomed.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

It is very likely that was is called paraffin (kerosene ) is quite different from the fuel for which the lamps were designed and developed.

Very probably the fuels have been modified to be more friendly to the environment and users. Possibly to the detriment of calorific value!

Howard.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Just a warning, the old mantles of gas/Tilley lamps had Thorium in them, which is mildly radioactive. Probably nothing to worry about, but I always change them outside with my back to the wind, then the dust etc blows away from me and doesn't get inhaled. I seem to think modern ones are made from something else. We used a lot of Bullfinch lights when I was a scout leader. My successor managed to set fire to the mess tent by not being sensible with them, but I'd left by then.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Bo'sun on 14/02/2022 13:05:08:

…I've had problems getting my Tilley's to work as they did some years ago.

Flames outside of the mantle, pulsating and not very bright light.

Cleaned and changed everything, including new vapourizers without much luck. The only thing that seems to have changed is the fuel. Esso Blue and Aladdin Pink worked fine years ago.

Any thoughts welcomed.

As far as I know Paraffin/Kerosene is the same light oil as always. No alcohol or anything that might spoil vaporisation unless the oil came from a dirty container. Other additives are possible: Esso Blue and Pink Paraffin had a dash of dye in them and Lamp Oil had something to reduce the smell, but I wouldn't expect them to stop a lamp working.

Air leak due to dirt or corrosion? Pulsating suggests low pressure.

Dave

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

I just checked the price of paraffin at B&Q. £10 for 4 litres. Are they having a laugh, that's more expensive than petrol and there is a lot less tax on it

Caldo in St Helens have 3 grades of paraffin, Standard, Premium Pure and Aga, no idea what the difference is, a phone call would probably elucidate

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Thanks Duncan,

I'm currently using Caldo "Premium". It's an improvement over the greenhouse heater stuff from B&Q, but still leaves a little to be desired as described earlier.

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

Is it worth trying the Coleman fuel that is used in camping stoves and lights, available from Millets not sure of the price as it’s a long time since I bought any. Dave W

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Hi Samsaranda,

Isn't Coleman fuel more like petrol? I thought Coleman lamps and stoves worked differently to the Tilley and Primus principle.

[SteambuffParticipant @steambuff]

Coleman camp fuel is "white gasoline/petrol" .

Never use Coleman Fuel or gasoline/petrol in a kerosene/paraffin stove or lamp!

Edited By Steambuff on 15/02/2022 16:30:27

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Samsaranda on 15/02/2022 15:59:42:

Is it worth trying the Coleman fuel that is used in camping stoves and lights, available from Millets not sure of the price as it’s a long time since I bought any. Dave W

Like petrol, I think Coleman's a very light spirit that's likely to go bang or start a fire. White Spirit isn't recommended because it gums up the nozzle. I suspect diesel is too viscous to spray properly – anyone tried it?

The lamp works by blowing a light oil, normally paraffin aka kerosene through a narrow nozzle to create a spray that vaporises in a hot chamber full of air and then burns inside the mantle. The mantle glows white hot and creates the light.

To work the lamp has to be:

• Filled with a light oil that sprays out of a suitable nozzle and then vaporises fully at operating temperature
• Actually creating the spray. i.e Nozzle sized to match the viscosity of the oil and operating pressure range. Important it's not blocked by dirt or gummed up both problems caused by dirty or unsuitable oil.)
• Mixing air with vaporised spray in the correct proportion. (Air input and chimney both clear. )
• Flame hot enough to activate the mantle (oil needed, I doubt meths is hot enough.)
• Mantle and base in good condition.
• Able to hold the pressure produced by the air pump, i.e. no air leaks in the container or seals.

Be interesting to know if the spray nozzle has a plain or tapered hole. It might matter if the design has changed over the years to improve burn efficiency by tweaking nozzle shape and delivery pressure. I doubt it. Not fired up a Tilley lamp since my son was a baby when four of them were lit on holiday. I don't remember lamp-lighting being a fiddly job – much easier than my dad's brass blowlamp.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 15/02/2022 16:40:26

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

I thought so!

[DiogenesIIParticipant @diogenesii]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 15/02/2022 16:40:00:

.. I don't remember lamp-lighting being a fiddly job – much easier than my dad's brass blowlamp.

Dave

Apologies if this teaching Granny, etc.. ..but there is a clip-on pre-heater that has to charged with Methylated Spirit and attached to the tube below the coil in order to provide the heat to first initiate vapourisation – after the lamp lights it should be self-sustaining.. ..at least with a blowlamp one just has to throw some meths in the trough..

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 15/02/2022 16:40:00

Be interesting to know if the spray nozzle has a plain or tapered hole. It might matter if the design has changed over the years to improve burn efficiency by tweaking nozzle shape and delivery pressure. I doubt it. Not fired up a Tilley lamp since my son was a baby when four of them were lit on holiday. I don't remember lamp-lighting being a fiddly job – much easier than my dad's brass blowlamp.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 15/02/2022 16:40:26

Hi Dave,

The jet is pretty crude (probably wasn't when they were made originally). It's just a hole in a small plate welded to the top of the vapourizer tube. With a spring loaded "pricker rod" to clear the jet and turn the lamp off by shutting off the spray of paraffin..

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

I have many Tilley lamp lights & heaters collected over 35 years as an aside to my passion for collecting old domestic style parrafin lamps. I use bog standard Bartoline brand paraffin bought in most DIY shops or on garage forecourts. Use the preheater with meths to get them really hot before attempting to light them. Get the preheater positioned level with the globe for best results. Turn on the valve very slowly as the preheater flame is on its last legs and you should have no problems lighting them. I always filter the fuel even from a new can with a very fine brass mesh. I have Tiley lamps in my caravan for use outside that have been bumping about under the seats for many many years and the mantles are still in good order.

regards

Edited By Oldiron on 15/02/2022 18:24:01

[jon hill 3Participant @jonhill3]

Posted by Bo'sun on 14/02/2022 13:05:08:

Hello Jon,

Does the lamp work OK now? I've had problems getting my Tilley's to work as they did some years ago.

Flames outside of the mantle, pulsating and not very bright light.

Cleaned and changed everything, including new vapourizers without much luck. The only thing that seems to have changed is the fuel. Esso Blue and Aladdin Pink worked fine years ago.

Any thoughts welcomed.

Sorry for the late reply Bo'sun yes it seems to work fine. Pump leather had dried out and the previous owner had left it in a leaky shed hence the pump threads were seized.

How old is your tilley? Perhaps you have a small fracture in the tank allowing pressure to escape? I bought a load of extra refined paraffin or odourless kerosene which works well. It still has a bit of a smell indoors.

I also had a problem with another lamp that pulsed a lot and changing the pricker seemed to work. Its very easy to overturn the closeoff knob and bend the thin rod inside.

Jon

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

With pulsating tillers it’s definitely as case of cleanliness is next to godliness and one of the best service items is is a new atomiser tube, you may think you can clean it but to be fair have not tried ultrasonics for this!. As for your seized threads ,drain fill with boiling water and use a hot air gun and plus gas. Best of luck, refined fuel sounds a good idea.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

How to clean out a coked up vapouriser (from an old Model Engineer) : take it off the blow lamp, heart it red hot, blow oxygen down the inside. Must admit I've never tried it, but the theory is sound. Immersing it in liquid oxygen might work as well.

[Russ BParticipant @russb]

Posted by duncan webster on 16/02/2022 12:32:49:

How to clean out a coked up vapouriser (from an old Model Engineer) : take it off the blow lamp, heart it red hot, blow oxygen down the inside. Must admit I've never tried it, but the theory is sound. Immersing it in liquid oxygen might work as well.

I also clean out my 2-stroke exhaust chambers the same way, you can see a ring of fire/heat moving down the chamber as it burns off 20-30 years of old oil and a smoke screen is deployed, definetely not a technique I'd recommend in an urban environment, but I think you'll get away with a Tilley! I tried caustic soda but it wasn't enough for 30 year old chambers lined with perforated steel for sound deadening, I think the perforations and the gap behind was just solid with unburnt oil/tar – messy and nasty stuff, at least with oxy/propane or acetylene you're in control of the oxygen and it done and dusted in as much time as it takes to safely setup. Caustic soda on brass isn't something I've tried, but I can guarantee it'll turn any aluminium in comes into contact with, in to dust!

That aside, mine starts pulsing after several hours when it needs a few pumps of pressure, thats all

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