Rayo mantle lamp conversions - the why, and why bother.

So I just had to find out how well these Bradley & Hubbard Rayo conversions worked. I could tell you all about the skeletonized Aladdin R-150 mantle frame I used to make this possible... but the real story on these is that Montgomery Wards, in 1939 was seeing a supply disruption in their lamp business due to the war in Europe. Since they could no longer import Ehrich & Graetz mantle lamps from Germany, they needed an alternative. Some hot rod engineer at Bradley & Hubbard said "We can do that!" and
set about converting the very common center draft Rayo lamp into a mantle lamp. They produced these in 1940-41 and for lamp guys they jump out at us from across a room becauseat they are not nickle plated, they are chrome!

Like the other more common Rayo mantle lamp conversion, the Hirschhorn Conia, they are the kerosene lamp equivalent of stuffing a V8 engine into a Honda Civic. Way too much horsepower in too small a package.

Can you do it? Sure! Should you do it? Probably not.

I have run the Hirschhorn Conia as both a mantle lamp and a center draft lamp. It is far more civilized as a center draft, and completely convertible with just a flame spreader swap. The issue with both the Wards and the Hirschhorn is that they produce so much unnecessary heat to illuminate a mantle that they create other issues. At the top of the list is chimney destruction. My evening lighting has been by mantle lamp or gas pressure appliance for almost a decade, so I'm familiar with these lamps. Yet on both of these Rayo conversions, no matter how carefully and patiently (45 minutes) I waited for the chimney to warm up, before the mantle reached peak brightness the chimney had cracked from the heat. The Aladdin chimney I used on the Wards conversion has become cloudy at the top and the glass is flaking away from the excessive heat.

Bottom line: Can you turn a common Rayo lamp into a mantle lamp? Sure you can! ...If you're like Tim "The Tool Man" Tayor and can't leave anything alone. Should you? Not unless you want to burn excessive amounts of kerosene, have lamps that put out heat like the sun and heat their own wick raiser knobs to insane temperatures. This is NOT a good idea. It was a wartime Hail Mary when regular supply lines dried up. Do not try this at home.

There are so many more capable, efficient and safe sources of light out there. Converting a perfectly functional center draft lamp into a fire breathing dragon of a mantle lamp isn't the answer.

Sometimes all you need is a little hiss-therapy.
That Tim Allen guy is a Dick. No really! He's a Dick, his parents are Dick's, his whole family are Dick's. Tim Allen - Wikipedia

 

Need three lamps in my mind. The old barn lamp with all its tin is best for outdoors or in the barn, A regular lamp for getting around the house, wick and chimney type, and a mantle lamp for reading and detail work. That being said, I now almost always use a LED light' I have a couple with built in solar chargers and they are so handy and cool as well. Chimney and lamp parts get so hot that they are both dangerous and take special handling. The old oil lamps are so beautiful that sometimes I just can't help wanting them as works of art. Shades are yet even another whole story