Tilley lamps

[Canardly]

This may be of interest to some. Just had an email from Tilley to say that brass Tilley lamps are available once again at a cost of £150 which includes some other bits and bobs.

[Oscar's dad]

This may be of interest to some. Just had an email from Tilley to say that brass Tilley lamps are available once again at a cost of £150 which includes some other bits and bobs.

Do you have a link?

[Wobbly John]

The mantles are no longer radio-active though - pity, because someone has written an assessed practical for the new GCSE Physics couse, which requires the old radio-active ones. 

[Oaky]

This may be of interest to some. Just had an email from Tilley to say that brass Tilley lamps are available once again at a cost of £150 which includes some other bits and bobs.

Do you have a link?

probably this: http://tilleylamp.co.uk/lamps

[Oscar's dad]

I want one!!!

[davelodwig]

Flipping Eck £150

Good job I've already got two, and a box full upstairs at the scout hut.

Thankfully the spares have been available for yonks so I've been able to keep mine working.

D.

[drossall]

I always loved mine. It needs some work now, I fear.

[Oscar's dad]

What do they run on?  Meths?

[drossall]

Paraffin. Meths is used for lighting. Same principle as a (traditional) Primus stove. Video here.

[Canardly]

One of the side benefits is the heat they put out.

[drossall]

When Primuses and Tilleys were ubiquitous, of course, so were village shops where you could buy paraffin and meths. Whilst a hiker wouldn't carry a Tilley (too bulky), I certainly carried a Primus (or rather a Spanish look-alike) as a Venture Scout. That was when Trangias were beginning to take over.

Trangias are quicker to light and somewhat cleaner, and only need one fuel to be carried. They also incorporate the pots. However, a Primus is hotter.

Back to lamps, and Tilleys do, as the video says, produce a decent amount of light (if the glass is clean and so on).

[Tim Hall]

When Primuses and Tilleys were ubiquitous, of course, so were village shops where you could buy paraffin and meths. Whilst a hiker wouldn't carry a Tilley (too bulky), I certainly carried a Primus (or rather a Spanish look-alike) as a Venture Scout. That was when Trangias were beginning to take over.

Trangias are quicker to light and somewhat cleaner, and only need one fuel to be carried. They also incorporate the pots. However, a Primus is hotter.

Back to lamps, and Tilleys do, as the video says, produce a decent amount of light (if the glass is clean and so on).

"So on" includes the vapouriser tube not getting blocked with soot/crud. AIUI Tilley regard them as disposable,  as the internal baffles  make them almost impossible to de-crud.
(About to buy some new vapourisers for the flock of Tilleys at Scouts).

[Oscar's dad]

Hmmm, it makes Camping Gaz lanterns look like the low hassle options. And they don't cost 150 quid!

[drossall]

"So on" includes the vapouriser tube not getting blocked with soot/crud. AIUI Tilley regard them as disposable...

Is that true? Somewhere, I think, I have a Tilley spares kit. I thought you could get the needle out. Long time since I've stripped mine, though.

We used to have several Tilleys in the Scout Troop, but we've moved on to gas, and now are looking at rechargeable LEDs. These days I'm the old fogey who remembers the older stuff, and others are keen to modernise.

[Tim Hall]

My understanding is that yes, you can get the needle out, but the crud stays put. Some people report limited success cleaning them with brake cleaner, but the internal baffles make this of limited use.

[Kim]

Hmmm, it makes Camping Gaz lanterns look like the low hassle options. And they don't cost 150 quid!

The way I see it, if you want a practical source of light, it's going to be a battery-powered LED of some sort.

If you want the nostalgia factor of polished brass and paraffin, then obviously a Tilley.

If you want foolproof low-tech, then a ye olde paraffin lamp with a wick.

Gamping Gaz lanterns occupy a middle ground that no longer serves any purpose.   

[Tim Hall]

Teh Kim has nailed it. I expect I could flog the Tilleys we have on t'bay and buy battery powered LED goodness with the proceeds.

[Canardly]

The attraction for me is using one when sitting in a group around the table during a cool evening given the light/heat output (when travelling to site by car). The LEDs just  do not do the job.

[Oscar's dad]

Yes. What you say makes perfect sense. But when camping I like a light source that comes from a flame and makes a roaring noise. The fact that you can burn yourself and possibly set fire to your tent and maybe the campsite is a bonus. You can't do all that with a LED. You can do all that with a Tilley lamp but I didn't realise they involved so much faff.

[Oscar's dad]

X post with Mr C who is clearly thinking along the same lines.

[drossall]

Yes. What you say makes perfect sense. But when camping I like a light source that comes from a flame and makes a roaring noise. The fact that you can burn yourself and possibly set fire to your tent and maybe the campsite is a bonus. You can't do all that with a LED. You can do all that with a Tilley lamp but I didn't realise they involved so much faff.

Also, if your Tilley runs out on Scout camp, you have to find a supplier of paraffin, which may not be easy. If your rechargeable LED runs out, you have to do this with the Scout Troop, which is harder.

Scout camp sites do not generally have electrical hook-ups...

[Canardly]

Having cycled my way through a Sustrans showing of a full length feature film I know exactly what you mean D!

[SA_SA_SA_SA]

...Camping Gaz lanterns occupy a middle ground that no longer serves any purpose.   

The scout leaders' (large) Camping Gaz Belvedere always had a kettle on top of it, can't do that with an LED 

[Kim]

Yes. What you say makes perfect sense. But when camping I like a light source that comes from a flame and makes a roaring noise. The fact that you can burn yourself and possibly set fire to your tent and maybe the campsite is a bonus. You can't do all that with a LED. You can do all that with a Tilley lamp but I didn't realise they involved so much faff.

Also, if your Tilley runs out on Scout camp, you have to find a supplier of paraffin, which may not be easy. If your rechargeable LED runs out, you have to do this with the Scout Troop, which is harder.

Point of order: Your LED won't run out, because, in the interests of Being Prepared you will have done the maths^[1].

The same ought to apply equally well to the paraffin supply, I suppose.

Nevertheless, I thought the backup plan was to rub boy scouts together to make FIRE.


_{[1] I managed to deplete the battery on my head torch to about 80% in a week of September cycle-camping.}

[mrcharly-YHT]

A few batteries for modern LED lamps are lighter and more compact than paraffin for a tilley lantern.

However, they won't heat the tent.

If I had one of those bell tents, I'd like something like a tilley lamp. Or preferably a nice wood burning stove and candle lanterns.