Can i use diesel in a Petromax ?

[Quasar2]

Im confused as to what the difference is with a britelyt and a petromax why is the britelyt multi-fuel ?


I had a Anchor 500cp years ago and loved it. im keen to get a Petromax as its impossible to find anywhere with a stock of britelyt lanterns.


Could i use Diesel in a petromax, i have read it does clog the generator (vaporisor) but can be cleaned.



Any help on this would be really helpfull.




Regards.

 

[Petromaximum]

I'm sure you could in a pinch burn diesel in a lantern that has a Preston Ring vaporiser. It will take a massive amount of preheating for it to light off without belching black clouds. Good quality K-1 kerosene or Jet-A(JP-4) will do in a pinch. But these have anti gel additives just as diesel will. Britelyt's claims for burning all these "multi fuels" is a bunch of CRAP!!! Just as all their other claims. If you believe all they say about their Chinese made POS, I have some nice land in the swamp I can sell you for building lots. Care to buy a bridge in NYC?

 

[Quasar2]

Thankyou for your reply, it's interesting what you say about britelyt as I can't find any stock from any dealer, & the thought of gasoline/petrolium in a pressure lantern sounds like trouble. Today's UK diesel is so low in sulpher I'm so keen to try it, what's the worst that can happen ? I understand the flash point of diesel is much higher than parrafin but I'm sure using the rapid pre-heater for a few mins will get it to ignite !

 

[Quasar2]

Its interesting what you say about britelyt claims, personally i find the idea of pressurising petrol/gasoline not safe at all, i cant see whats so different about their lanterns that make it safe to do.

Britelyt are terrible at returning emails and they have no stock and have alot of bad press.

Im going to pruchace a Petromax & run it on some low sulpher diesel and see what the lamp copes like. I am lucky that i get free diesel where i am so thats why im keen to use it for a lantern.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Random Guy]

Britelyt lanterns are NOT safe to run gasoline and similar fuels in, for a variety of reasons that have been discussed on this forum before. (Don't quote me on this, but I think it was in a post by Diesel Bomber.) There are, however, other lanterns that are safe to run gasoline in. Coleman is one example I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Quasar2]

Well i now know that you CAN run a Petromax on Diesel but it will require stripping down and servicing in no time at all. If you have no other fuel then you could get away with it, 6 hours od Diesel burntime and your lamp will bee full of soot and wont re light until its stripped down and cleaned.

 

[Quasar2]

True Britelyt and their claims is a pile of poop ! Hmm i wonder why no one stocks Britelyt lanterns on the planet ? Even Britelyt themselves dont have any !

 

[electromage]

I'm confused... this thread is the first I've heard of Petromax OR BriteLyt, so I did a quick Google for "Petromax". This led me to http://www.petromax.com/. On this site, I see "BriteLyt", and their product photos show a metal tag on the lanterns that says "BriteLyt". Are you all claiming that Petromax is good and BriteLyt is bad? If so..what the heck is the difference?

These are some pretty nice looking lanters, and I might consider dropping money on one if it's good. What should I be looking for?

 

[Quasar2]

BriteLyt are just a re badged Petromax with very few, minor modifications so in this they then call it their own. You can run a petromax on diesel, gas and other flamable liquids but it wont last long, ive run a cheap £25 anchor lamp on Diesel but it just chokes after several hours and need rebuilding, the Petromax is a 100 year old design and should only be run on parafin/kero.


end !

 

[Kilted]

I have two 150cp BriteLyt lanterns. I have run a variety of fuels in them. Lamp paraffin, Coleman liquid gas, 1K kerosene, lamp oil that was just well refine kerosene. It is not a good idea to refuel a HOT lamp and having two means you usually have one running while waiting to fuel the second

As I was warned the lanterns have a number of start up problems the biggest is if you do not follow the EXACT recommended sequence you wind up with raw fuel all over the place. Never had a torch but close once. After the pre-heater is going the fuel is vaporized and burns well. One the biggest problems was the ceramic nozzle breaks easily. They have a new Stainless Steel one that works well, of course broken mantles are a problem.

The way the fuel is vaporized makes it very good for heaver oils like kerosene. Diesel fuel "is" kerosene but you pay road tax on it. Diesel has been, may still have a dye in it so inspectors can tell if you have paid the road on the fuel in your car. ... That's the only difference between diesel fuel and 1K kerosene for my lamp ... no road tax and less sulphur.

Now having tried all those fuels I use 1K kerosene it is just safer to handle in case of leaks with these lanterns you will have leaks.

The lamps are very bright and throw off a tremendous amount of heat, a couple lamps can heat a patio. If you get the diffuser globe it makes a wonderful soft light.

The lantern is loud because of the pressurized fuel system. I had a Coleman liquid fuel lantern for awhile it was noisy but not as bad as the Britelyt. An yes it is a pressure system, one of the problems is getting the correct operating pressure, once you are all warmed up it runs good but getting there can be a challenge. Britelyt use to have videos on their website about how to light them with out flaming yourself.

Britelyt made a few important changes to the Petromax design in the fuel vaporizer and a heat shield to protect the storage tank. There are a few other small changes but yes the design is old pre-WWII.

I understand the US Military had Britelyt make up a field kit with 500cp lamp and stove assembly. Because when you are way out among the rocks and boulders the lamp runs of the same diesel that runs the HMMWV, gives you light and hot food. I have no clue how good/bad it was.

=D~~ Kilted