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Petromax was one of the brand names fromEhrich & Graetz. The company used it for their pressurisedkerosene lamp that uses aincandescent mantle. They are as synonymous with the paraffin lamp inContinental Europe asTilley lamps are inBritain andColeman lanterns are in the United States. Today's company Petromax GmbH sells not only pressurised paraffin lamps lamps but also other products forcamping and outdoor use.
The Petromax lamp was created in 1910 in Germany byMax Graetz (1851–1937), who also named the brand, on the basis of a spirit lamp that was already well-known. Graetz was president of the firmEhrich & Graetz inBerlin, which developed the lamp, and also the primary designer. On April 9th, 1921 the company applied for a German patent (DE365530) for a lantern design using a vertical vaporizer.[1] This was very close to the design form as is used nowadays.
He had wanted to create a lighting system fueled by paraffin, which was then a new product.Graetz invented a process to make agas out of paraffin; which has a very high caloric value and could make a very hot blue flame.
Graetz then designed a pressure lamp, working with vaporized paraffin. To start this process, the lamp was preheated withmethylated spirit (denatured alcohol), in later models with an integratedblow torch called "Rapidstarter" running from the paraffin tank directly. In a closed tank, paraffin was pressurised with a hand pump. The heat produced by the mantle was then used to vaporize the paraffin, which is mixed with air and blown in to mantle to burn.Around the year 1916, the lantern and its name started to spread around the world. The name Petromax derives from "Petroleum" and "Max Graetz".
The design was such a success that it still is being used to this day. The name Petromax has become synonymous with paraffin pressure lamps in many countries.The design of the lamps was later used to create acooker based on the same principles. The Petromax design has been often copied, today such as by Tower in China, Lea Hin in Indonesia or Prabhat in India.
The current company Petromax GmbH was founded in 2010 by the German entrepreneur Jonas Taureck.[2] Through a number of detours, the Petromaxtrademark for both Europe and North America came in the hands of this company. It not only sells pressure paraffin lamps, but also other products for camping and outdoor use.
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Petromax is reliable and efficient light source but only with proper use and well maintained.Typical problems leading to malfunction of the lantern: