Care And Maintenance

Sourcing Spare Parts
New spare parts are virtually unobtainable for Famos lamps. However, this does not mean the lamps are unusable. A limited supply of wicks and flame spreaders can be obtained from Base Camp, Aladdin heel-less chimneys can be used on Famos lamps, although they look different, and Aladdin mantles can be adapted for use on Famos lamps. The part that is most often missing or broken is the flame spreader, and these are unobtainable. Apart from broken gears in the burner (which can be repaired by a skilled metalworker), this is the commonest cause of a Famos lamp being unusable.
Re-wicking your Famos 120 Lamp
The wick raiser mechanism in a Famos burner consists of reduction gearing from the wick knob that drives a rack on the outside of the outer wick tube. This rack is fixed at its bottom end to a wick cage, which moves up and down inside the outer wick tube. Claws at the top of the wick cage pierce the wick and grip it. The wick cage cannot be removed from the burner as there is a flat section with no teeth at the top of the rack that prevents this. Do not try to force it is this may damage the gears.
The following are the re-wicking instructions on the Famos 120 wick box. Re-wicking of the Superspeed burner is identical to the 120.

TO RENEW WICKS

Remove chimney holder with chimney and mantle. Take the spreader out of the centre air tube. Unscrew the burner from the lamp reservoir, by turning burner to the left and lift the burner and wick away from the lamp body.

NOW SEE DIAGRAM ON REVERSE SIDE OF THE BOX

Bring the wick carrier “C” to its lowest by turning the red wheel of the wick winder to the left, and remove the old wick. This can best be done by folding the wick flat and releasing it from the claws on the inner side of the wick holder.
Before removing the old wick, notice exactly how it is fitted to the wick carrier.
Remove the new wick from the box and take out the cardboard tube from the centre.
Insert the new wick into the carrier “C”, noting that the black line towards the fringed end is exactly level with the bottom of the wick holder (point “X” on diagram). In making this adjustment, the top edge of the wick will be left an even ½in. below the top of the wick tubes at “B”.
The wick can be most conveniently inserted by folding it so that it readily passes through the wick carrier into its correct position, after which it can be shaped into a circular form with the fingers.
Replace the burner on the oil reservoir, taking care that the fringed tail of the wick drops down evenly over the centre tube.

The wick should be left standing in the oil for at least two hours before lighting in order that it may become thoroughly impregnated with oil.

Re-Wicking Superspeed NCD And Wonderlite

Re-wicking instructions from the 9207 wick box are given on the following page. Note that these are not strictly accurate for the Wonderlite, as the clawed clamping band is integral with the wick carrier, and opens and close with a simple catch.