TeriAnn's Guide to Aladdin Mantle Lamps

Contents  >  Aladdin Model C Nashville
 
 
 

 

Aladdin Model C Nashville Lamps

  

Aladdin model C Nashville wick adjuster knob
Aladdin model C Nashville
"MODEL-C ALADDIN INDUSTRIES INC."
Nashville, Tenn"
MADE IN USA"

 

Aladdin model C wick adjustment knob
Brass Model C Brazil burner from Nashville model C tooling
"MODELO "C" QUEIMADOR ALADDIN"
"INDUSTRIA BRASILEIRA"

The Aladdin model C Nashville burner was quickly designed as a result of a major flood that destroyed the tooling for the model B burner.  Sales of kerosene lamps had seriously declined in the U.S. after World War II.  This was the first new burner design from Aladdin in 21 years. This burner had to be designed on the quick with a focus on cost reduction. Cost reduction meant minimizing the number of parts and assembly steps.

These new Model C burners were sold with a new inexpensive line of aluminum lamps

Either a set of the Nashville model tooling was sent down to Brazil to be used with lamps sold into South America or A version of the lamp was made in the US with Model C Brazil markings.  There are no indication of it being manufactured in the US and  has made in Brazil markings.  Because of the label on the wick adjuster knob it is more likely that a duplicate set of Nashville model C tooling was sent to Brazil.

Later, modifications were made to the Brazil model C tooling to improve the model C design.  Unfortunately, the design improvements were defeated when the decision was made to cost reduce the Brazil modified burner by making it out of steel instead of the more expensive brass.

 

 

Documents (pdf):

 

 

 

Aladdin Model C Nashville Burner:

 Aladdin model C Nashville in box

 

Aladdin model C Nashville burner disassembled

Aladdin Model C Nashville burner, view 2

 

Aladdin model C Nashville burner view 3

 

Aladdin model C burner base top view

Aladdin model C burner base bottom view
Note the 4 small holes at the bottom of the burner base.  This is to allow any unburned kerosene caught inside the burner base to return to the lamp bowl

A close up view of the simplified Model C burner base. The designers moved the C shaped brace that kept the wick adjuster gear against the wick holder gear from the burner base to the wick holder. This not only simplified burner base construction  but it made the gear less apt to slip  out of the rack teeth. They also reverted back to the Model A burner idea of inserting the wick from the top which simplifies construction.

Aladdin Model C wick riser
The greatly simplified Model C wick holder Arms now slip inside metal slots on the side of the wick. the straight gear has become rectangular holes stamped out of the side of the raiser. The round gear at the end of the wick adjuster shaft fits inside the grove and the gear teeth fit inside the wick adjuster gear holes. The 'C' shaped other end holds the gear firmly in place.  It replaces the 'C' shaped brace in earlier burner bases that held the gear against the wick adjuster teeth.  The new method not only provides a cost reduction but also results in a stronger brace to keep the gears together and reduce wick adjuster slippage.  This method was carried on to all later burner designs.

When Aladdin was founded, the norm for incandescent mantle lamps was for the cone that directed air into the base of the mantle to be located on the gallery. Older style mantles were conical bag that hung by an inverted 'L' wire hanger.  The user adjusted the height of the hanger to fit the lower edge of the bag slightly down on the cone and bent it to  try and centre the mantle over the cone. The very first Aladdin model 1 lamps used this arrangement, carried over from the Practicus burner.  Most model 1 and mantle 2 burners used a Cap mantle which was a frame that hung the mantle in an exact location over the gallery mounted cone  This was a great improvement in that it properly aligned and spaced the mantle  just by mounting the mantle frame on the gallery.  The Aladdin model 3, and late model 2 using the model 3 gallery & flame spreader introduced a new method of aligning a mantle to the cone. The KoneKap mantle frame included the cone that guided airflow into the mantle.  The Aladdin model 12 burner changed the relationship between the mantle and the cone yet again, moving the cone from the mantle frame back to the gallery. The underside of the new Lox-On mantle frame sits against the top of the model 12 gallery's cone and has a lip.  This minimizes air getting in from outside the cone.   A cone shaped air baffle was added to the underside of the gallery cone. This reduces air turbulence as the air enters the inside edges of the mantle bag.  Except for the Nashville model C burner this inner baffle was to remain part of all future Aladdin side draft gallery designs and may be the reason that the Aladdin model 12 burner was described as an "Instant light" burner.

 

Aladdin model C burner top view
Top view of an assembled Nashville model C burner  showing the relationship  of the new outer wick tube mounted baffle  to the gallery.

 

Aladdin model C Nashville gallery
Bottom view of the simplified Nashville model C Gallery.  This is Aladdin's only side draft burner not to have an air baffle mounted inside the cone.

 

Aladdin Model C Nashville outer wick tube
This side view of the outer wick tube assembly shows the relocated air baffle.  The air baffle is crimped onto the top of the outer wick tube.  It is kept from sliding off the top by the top flange (hidden in this view).

The outer wick tube top flange is a flange mounted to the top of the outer wick tube by dimple punches.  It provides a smooth surface for the which to ride against to ease turning down the wick. The flange has a tight radius that was more easily made on a second piece and attached to the end of the outer wick tube. Aladdin briefly experimented with bending the end of the outer wick tube into an outward facing flange during model 10 production.  This evidently caused production problems and was quickly discontinued.

The web page covering the Brazil model C burner provides a comparison between the Nashville version of the model C burner and the Brazil version of the model C burner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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