Under Construction!!!
My 10/1946 Model 242C Cleanup
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Fig. 1 As she arrived... |
Fig. 2 Her hat is a bit ragged... |
Fig. 3 Paint Drips and date... |
Fig. 4 |
I purchased this lantern off E-Bay for $15.00 because I felt sorry for it... I also liked the fact that it is a small lantern. The only part that appears to be missing is the globe.
When it arrived I took one look at her and thought, "Uh oh, someone has hand painted the fount and that means they tried to fix her up". However after close examination I saw that though it had been taken apart, it was all original paint and it was put back together with a new generator! Fig. 1-4 shows the condition she arrived in. The date (and the paint drips) are seen on the bottom. There is also a paint run near the fill port.
Let the tear down begin!
Fig. 5 |
Fig. 6 |
Fig. 7 |
Fig. 8 |
First remove the ventilator nut and lift off the ventilator. Remove the bail by pulling one side out of the housing then the other side.
Get a 7/16" wrench and remove the nut shown in Fig. 7. Lift the frame off the frame rest being carful not to bend the generator.
Make sure the cleaner lever is up then use a 1/2" wrench and loosen the generator nut also shown in Fig. 7. Lift the generator tube up, disengage the rod from the eccentric block and remove the generator assembly. The proper next step is to slide the frame rest towards the cleaning lever then slightly spread the ends to allow it to slip over the packing nut. See Fig. 8.
STOP!
Fig. 9
Do not be tempted at this point to try and disassemble the valve tree while it is still screwed into the fount to make the frame rest removal easy! The tops of these founts are very thin BRASS and are EASILY bent! How do I know? Like an idiot, I tried to take the packing nut loose to remove the shut off valve stem and was horrified when the whole valve assembly moved bending the top of the fount! I was lucky. I felt it move and stopped before it crinkled! Refer to Fig. 9 above and compare the red box to the top of the fount. You can see how the top is bent just a bit. When I reassemble I will carefully bend this back level...
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Fig. 10 Remove Pump |
Fig. 11 The Stripped Fount |
Fig. 12 All disassembled |
Fig. 13 |
Now invert the fount and gently clamp the valve tree in a vise. I used a thick rag to protect the tree. Sorry forgot to take a pic! Once firmly clamped, grab the fount in both hands, and while keeping in mind how thin and fragile the fount is, carefully try to unscrew the fount from the valve tree by turning it counter clockwise (left loosy righty tighty). Mine came loose very easy. (Did I mention that the PO appears to have taken this apart at some time?)
If you feel that it's taking too much force, and your about to tear the bung out of the top, STOP! Apply a bit of heat to the valve tree (Remember this fount had FLAMMABLE gas in it!!!!) then try again. Use your best judgment on how much heat/torque to apply.
Once the tree is loose enough to turn easily, remove the tree from the vise, then finish unscrewing the tree from the fount. Remember there is a tube (the F/A tube) attached to the end of this valve, and it extends down to the bottom of the tank.
Now remove the pump assembly by removing the single screw shown in Fig. 10, unscrew the pump knob all the way, then pull the pump completely out and set aside for cleaning. OK now that we have it all apart (see Fig. 12) We can start the clean up of the individual parts.
Parts Clean Up
Fig. 12 Bad Generator |
Fig. 13 Valve Tree |
Fig. 14 F/A Tube |
Fig. 15 Complete Pump Assembly |
Fig. 16 Fuel Cap Assembly |
Parts Before Cleaning
I started with the valve tree. Having already removed the generator when taking the cage off, (See Fig. 12) I next used a 5/16" wrench to remove the F/A assembly from the tree. See Fig. 13-14. It was not too corroded or gummed up. Next I removed the black knob and set it aside then proceded to take the generator apart. One look up inside the end of the generator tube, and I knew I would need a replacement. The inside was a mass of burnt carbon and paper. The cleaning rod would barely move, but a hard pull on it with a pair of pliers and it came out. Hmmm, the tip of the cleaning wire was broken off. I used a dental pick to remove some of the paper and carbon hoping to see the end of the wire coil spring, but no luck. Next I used a drill bit to "drill" out this material some more. I was able to "drill" all the way to the end! No wire coil! I went ahead and finished cleaning out all the carbon and paper, removed the tip, then threw all the generator parts in some vinegar along with all the other brass parts of the lantern.
Fig. 17 Valve Tree |
Fig. 18 Fully Assembled |
Fig. 19
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Fig. 20 Fuel Cap Assembly |
Fig. 21 Cage Rest |
Some Parts After Cleaning
OK so after a hour of soaking in warm vinegar and a couple of hours of #0000 steel wool and a brass wire wheel on a Dremel Tool we have the above results.
I did not remove the valve stem as there was no signs of leakage, and I did not have new packing. Simce my generator was toast, I used a generator from a 200A that wasn't needing it at the moment. The F/A tube was re-installed after carefully inspecting the rod for score marks.
The cage and manifold cleaned up reasonably well. I used a micro torch to burn out the old fuel cap gasket before putting it in the vinegar for cleaning. A new gasket was installed of course.
I discovered two things while cleaning up these parts (remember I'm new at this). One was that the cage rest is made of plated steel not aluminum like the newer lanterns and two the manifold/burner assembly is solid brass. This lantern had been used to the point the carbon was totally hiding the brass parts.