[VAL] Was 2004 international & Gas lamps

["jyoung" <jyoung@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi fellow VACrs
International;
Thank you for all the on line & off line suggestions about attending the rally
in Lansing MI.  I hope to connect with the parade into the rally & stay for 2
nights.

Gas lamp...Troubles & possible cures. This is a summery of my efforts.
I have been trying to get my gas lamp in our 58 Caravanner to work correctly
for over a year. It is mounted on the bulkhead at the front end of the
kitchen's overhead cabinets. All original including a built in heat shield on
top.
Our lamp would pop & go out, pop & burn in the air mixing chamber, & the
mantle would slowly turn black over a few hours of burning, & it never did
light up like an electric light bulb.  I figured that since the stove lit &
burned correctly the gas pressure regulator was working correctly for any
appliance,  Apparently not so. Our regulator sprang a leak & I replaced that
vintage regulator with a new 2 stage regulator form an RV store. The lamp
stopped popping, coincidence? While working on the regulator I got into some
of the original copper gas lines & was amazed at the amount of crud inside
those old gas lines, I thought LP gas was clean. Since then some people have
told me that LP gas has an additive that can settle over time. I don't know if
that is true, but where did that crud come from?  I'm replacing all the gas
lines just to be sure. On the subject of old gas, when I heard the new OPD
valves were coming, I got all 6 of my old steel tanks filled (trying to beat
the system). Now people tell me I have old LP in the tanks & should use it on
a barbecue or some other large volume appliance since old gas might not work
well in the finer burning things like lamps & modern refrigerators... Maybe
it's time for me to buy that turkey deep fryer that I've been looking at <G>.
I have adjusted the air mixing valve....repeatedly, the flame seems to look OK
to me but the mantles still get black after a few hours of burn time.  I use
Coleman mantles since they can be found everywhere. I have tried the mantles
from the propane supply store without a noticeable difference. I have other
portable white gas & propane lanterns, catalytic heaters, torches, & hot plate
burners so I'm familiar with how bright the lanterns get & the need to
pre-burn the mantles.  My other lamps burn fine, but I use those 1lb cylinders
on them. Maybe I'll have to break open my wallet & buy a pair of new trailer
size tanks with fresh gas & put the "Old LP Vs. New LP" to a test. All my
presently filled tanks are OLD steel tanks,  some have the same date as their
trailers. I know that I won't get them filled again.  At the rate I burn gas,
& with two new 20lb tanks, my fuel supply will last until 2007.
I apologize for the long winded post, but I've fussed with this gas thing for
a long time. The friendly folks on this list have helped with lost of
suggestions.
Even with the troubles I've gone through, the lamp will be worth it because we
dry camp most of the time & have relatively small batteries.
John Young
WBCCI #6034, VAC, MI. unit.
58 Caravanner (not polished)
74 Tradewind