Petromax
Encyclopedia
Petromax is a brand name, for paraffin lamps that use a mantle, they are as synonymous with the paraffin lamp on the continent as Tilley lamp
s in the UK and Coleman
in the US. (Paraffin is called kerosene in the USA.)
Max Graetz
(1851-1937) was the President/CEO at the firm Ehrich & Graetz
in Berlin. He also was their main inventor.
He was seeking a solution for lighting around 1900, for the new product Paraffin.
Mr Max Graetz
invented a process to make gas out of paraffin; it has a very high caloric value and could make a very hot blue flame.
Max Graetz
then designed a pressure lamp, working on vaporized paraffin. To start this process, the lamp was preheated with methylated spirit
(denatured alcohol). In a closed tank paraffin is pressurized with a hand pump. The heat produced by the mantle was used to vaporize the paraffin, which is mixed with air and blown in to mantle to burn.
Around 1916 the lantern and its name started to travel around the world. The name Petromax derives from Petroleum and Max Graetz
.
It has been said that it was a nickname his friends loved to use as well.
The design was such a success that it still is being used to this day. The name Petromax has become synonymous for paraffin pressure lamps in many countries and for many different brands.
The name as well as the design was so good that it even has been used for stoves working on the same principle.
In many countries "Petromax" is a registered Trademark, e.g. for the USA by Britelyt Inc. or for Germany and some other European countries by Pelam International Ltd..
The Petromax design was and is often copied, today e.g. by Tower in China, Lea Hin in Indonesia or Prabhat in India.
Tilley lamp
The Tilley Lamp derives from John Tilley’s invention of the hydro-pneumatic blowpipe in 1813 in England. W.H.Tilley were manufacturing pressure lamps at their works in Stoke Newington in 1818, and Shoreditch, in the 1830s...
s in the UK and Coleman
Coleman Company
Coleman Company, Inc., is an American company that specializes in outdoor recreation products. Historically, Coleman is known for camping gear....
in the US. (Paraffin is called kerosene in the USA.)
Max Graetz
Max Graetz was the President/CEO of the Ehrich & Graetz firm in Berlin. He was also the main inventor.Between 1900-1916 he invented the Petromax lantern.Ehrich & Graetz was a big metalworks firm until the Second World War.-External links:***...
(1851-1937) was the President/CEO at the firm Ehrich & Graetz
Ehrich & Graetz
The Ehrich & Graetz metalworks was a factory established in 1866 in Berlin by Albert Graetz and the tradesman Emil Ehrich under the name "Lampen-Fabrik Ehrich & Graetz OHG"...
in Berlin. He also was their main inventor.
He was seeking a solution for lighting around 1900, for the new product Paraffin.
Mr Max Graetz
Max Graetz
Max Graetz was the President/CEO of the Ehrich & Graetz firm in Berlin. He was also the main inventor.Between 1900-1916 he invented the Petromax lantern.Ehrich & Graetz was a big metalworks firm until the Second World War.-External links:***...
invented a process to make gas out of paraffin; it has a very high caloric value and could make a very hot blue flame.
Max Graetz
Max Graetz
Max Graetz was the President/CEO of the Ehrich & Graetz firm in Berlin. He was also the main inventor.Between 1900-1916 he invented the Petromax lantern.Ehrich & Graetz was a big metalworks firm until the Second World War.-External links:***...
then designed a pressure lamp, working on vaporized paraffin. To start this process, the lamp was preheated with methylated spirit
Methylated spirit
Denatured alcohol or methylated spirits is ethanol that has additives to make it more poisonous or unpalatable, and thus, undrinkable. In some cases it is also dyed....
(denatured alcohol). In a closed tank paraffin is pressurized with a hand pump. The heat produced by the mantle was used to vaporize the paraffin, which is mixed with air and blown in to mantle to burn.
Around 1916 the lantern and its name started to travel around the world. The name Petromax derives from Petroleum and Max Graetz
Max Graetz
Max Graetz was the President/CEO of the Ehrich & Graetz firm in Berlin. He was also the main inventor.Between 1900-1916 he invented the Petromax lantern.Ehrich & Graetz was a big metalworks firm until the Second World War.-External links:***...
.
It has been said that it was a nickname his friends loved to use as well.
The design was such a success that it still is being used to this day. The name Petromax has become synonymous for paraffin pressure lamps in many countries and for many different brands.
The name as well as the design was so good that it even has been used for stoves working on the same principle.
In many countries "Petromax" is a registered Trademark, e.g. for the USA by Britelyt Inc. or for Germany and some other European countries by Pelam International Ltd..
The Petromax design was and is often copied, today e.g. by Tower in China, Lea Hin in Indonesia or Prabhat in India.