(Warning - long post)

Hi guys,

I was working on my lantern this weekend, and it looks like I need to buy several new parts.

I took a great-working lamp and turned it into a great non-working lamp because I thought it would be a good thing to give it a minor teardown and checkout since I use it so much.

Now, I use the lamp an average of 200-250 nights per year, and this lamp is coming up on three years old, so it has lots of mileage on it without needing a teardown or having a single problem.

It all started innocently enough... I was having some trouble with leaking around the fitting for #152 - it had just worked loose from heating/cooling cycles. But instead of just grabbing a wrench and tightening, I thought, hey, since the lamp is half apart anyway, and I had some spare time, why don't I just give it a checkout and de-carbon it?

There was a little carbon on #101, but I noticed it was bent. So I straightened it... I neglected to check here at the website (dialup at home) about cleaning the lamp, and I noticed here that you're supposed to remove #50. Well, I didn't.

I went to put stuff back together and as I was tightening #152, I heard a 'creak' from it, as I was holding the looped portion and tightening up. Probably not the right spot to hold it.

Oops.

So here are my questions:

Do I have to readjust #101 - the rod after replacing the needle? I wouldn't think so, but I wanted to ask.

The needle from the lamp was worn out - no wire, and I had another needle just sitting around, so tried that, but bent it when reassembling stuff. Can I use that bent needle to clean out the #50 so I don't have to replace it - or do you recommend replacing the #50?

I already will replace #152 just to be safe (and because it made a noise) and #68.

Also, can you advise me on how it should go back together? (like which first) I would assume #150 first, then the #68 needle, then #50 (with a dot of muffler mender). Is that right? Or does it go together in a different order?

Thanks!

Hi all,

The #152 should not be broke it could have just made a noise as it does when tighten real tight. But may be good to have a back up one.

You do not need to straighten the #101 as it only needs to stick the needle out of the #50, but if you do you must re-adjust it lower as you now have made it longer( the #101) and will cause the needle to break as it is pushed tight up next to the #50.

You can use the bent needle to clean out the #50 but the parts kit would have all new parts and more. I would replace #50.

If the #101 is bent and the needle does not come out then you can just adjust the #101 or if you straighten the #101 then always you need to re-adjust it.

Yes the best way to put the parts back together is #152 upper vaporizer then #68 needle then #50 nipple, (with a dot of muffler mender) and most of the time #111 at 6 O’clock after you put the #68 in place.
A good page Tec info
Clean Parts
Part 50
Web store
500CP parts page

BriteLyt
God Bless!!

I completed the replacement a couple nights ago and all went very easy, thanks to the advice here. I have a couple of things that may help for those who have never worked on this aspect of the lantern.

quote:

Originally posted by BriteLyt:
The #152 should not be broke it could have just made a noise as it does when tighten real tight. But may be good to have a back up one.

You do not need to straighten the #101 as it only needs to stick the needle out of the #50, but if you do you must re-adjust it lower as you now have made it longer( the #101) and will cause the needle to break as it is pushed tight up next to the #50.

I agree, I'll keep my old #152 as a spare and remove the old #50. It was completely clogged with carbon from my efforts at cleaning it out. My #101 was actually bent to the side a bit, and I didn't know why. The reason will become clear in a moment.

On the webpages here, the photos actually show cleaning the #152 with the #50 in place. Don't do this. The #50 is guaranteed to clog up with crud and the lamp will become unusable. This is what happened to me. Should have removed it. Replacing it solved the problem.

quote:

...The best way to put the parts back together is #152 upper vaporizer then #68 needle then #50 nipple, (with a dot of muffler mender) and most of the time #111 at 6 O’clock after you put the #68 in place.

If you try to put the needle on then put the vaporizer in place, it's a tough fit through the vaporizer with the needle in place. Don't ask how I know this.

Something else I found: After you get all the pressurized bits back together, test fit the #125 carefully instead of just dropping it into place as you normally would after checking the lamp. After replacing the #152, the hole for the #152 to stick up through may not line up perfectly with the new #152 (and #50). After almost wrecking the needle, I discovered why my #152 had been bent to the right a bit: It was to get the #125 to go on correctly. A little gentle bending and it now goes on perfectly.

It's actually quite easy to do this replacement; I'm just trying to explain fully; I write manuals for a living. Hope this helps others.