coleman fuel caps. the word on the 3 peice caps.

[Zollinger]

I have NO problem using 3 piece caps. As long as the gasket is good and you wait until the lantern cools down BEFORE you release the pressure. The problem is that people were releasing the pressure while the lantern was hot and it sprayed raw fuel out onto the glass or on yourself and could easily start a fire or burn yourself. It seems that common sense is not so common anymore.

[wagondude]

The three piece caps vent tank pressure (fuel vapors) through the little hole in the side of the cap. Not a problem if the stove or lantern is cool, but a fire hazard (although a small one) if refueling one that is hot from recent use (never refuel while the stove or lantern is lit). You can replace the seals in the cap. They can be bought on Ebay or oldcolemanparts.com. I just bought new caps for mine. They have vent grooves cut in the threads to vent the pressure down away from potentially hot surfaces. Way less trouble than replacing the old seal. The cap had already been replaced on my lantern, but I still have the three piece cap for my stove. I plan to keep it only for display purposes. If you decide to replace the seals, just remember to cool your appliance before fueling and all will be well.

Edit: Dawn beat me.

[starleen2]

same as above - But I love em' . You just have to have a little more respect for them and they will treat ya right. I collect as many as I can. They are easy to replace the gasket IMO than the new one piece cap version. I have plenty of gaskets to keep me going for many more caps - so why not replace the gasket and keep on using them

[newfieinsookebc]

Replacing the gasket is pretty easy. I've done about a half dozen.

After replacing the gasket, do a water dunk test on the lantern/stove tank to check for air/fuel leaks. If there is no air escaping, they'll be safe to use.

I think the old caps add to the beauty of the old stoves and lanterns.

[Wolffarmer]

3 piece fuel caps are just plain cool. Only the earlier ones have the hole in the side that sprayed fuel in bad places. The later 3 piece caps have slots cut in them just as the one piece caps have. But I would not open any of them on a hot lantern burning CF.

Kerosene is safe as long as you don't tilt the lantern so there is liquid fuel at the cap. Coleman even made a rock bottom cheap kerosene lantern with no fuel valve at all. To light it you put alcohol in the preheat cup and while it was burning pump up the pressure. To shut it down you opened the cap to let the pressure out. On my Petromax clone I have opened the bleed valve and held a match to the stream of air and it only blew the match out.

The gaskets on a 3 piece is easy to replace. I here one can get the gaskets for the 1 piece caps but I have not had to look into that yet.

Randy

[Wolffarmer]

Very hard to find one, new or used. Coleman only has one now days. It is a pretty good one and worth considering. Also there is the Petromax style. There are several clones of the Petromx being sold new these days.

Petro clone

That is one. A few members of the ICCC have them and like them. I have a clone with a different name. Could have been built in the same factory or of some of the same parts and I like it. They, generally, are considered a bit more finicky to run than a coleman and not as safe. But I consider both of those properties to be in the head of the user. They are different. ( but man do they have a lot of impressive chrome )

Used kero burners are hard to find and usually bring a premium. But a 200A can be converted pretty easily with new parts from either Coleman or Old Coleman Parts. Or the same parts put into a 242. I have converted a 200A and also a 220E. Hardware store kerosene costs about the same as Coleman fuel. So far the only pump kerosene I have found is $6/gallon. It burns good, is not as clear as the Hardware store stuff.

Randy

[Wolffarmer]

I have been trying some Old old #2 off road diesel that is at least 10 years old mixed 50/50 with kero. Results so far is mixed. Using that in my 220E Konvert. I will probably try #1 Highway fuel later. I have thinking about that new low sulfur fuel. Less sulfur, less acids on the lantern.

[Wolffarmer]

You need the generator, the preheat cup, alcohol bottle to prime it, and a Coleman #99 sized mantle. I am also looking for a way to anchor the preheat cup so it won't go up the generator. Some kind of a clip, I should be able to find something in the farmers store. When I remember to look.

Randy

[Wolffarmer]

Oh, the parts are for the Coleman model 201. They fit right in the 200 and 242.

Randy

[Darren]

Randy has good info. You can also convert a 200A to kerosene by using the generator tip and pricker wire from a 220 generator.

I'm running my North Star Dual Fuel lantern on kerosene. The NS generator is identical to the 639C generator so all you need to add is a preheater cup.

Sadly Coleman just raised the prices on both the 639C and the North Star lanterns. The 639C went from $89.99 to $119.99 and the NS is now $149.99, I think it was $109.99 before the hike in price. Boo Coleman! I was going to get another 639C when the 40% off deal comes around, if it does this year, but not now.

Darren

[Wolffarmer]

Oh crap, so was I Darren.

Just last week I was on the Coleman sight and the old price was there


Randy

[newfieinsookebc]

A few members of the ICCC have converted the Canadian 335 lanterns to kerosene burning lanterns. They install a kerosene generator. A new fuel generator for the 335 isn't cheap, so if you buy one and convert it, keep the fuel generator in case you convert back.

In the parts of the USA further away from the Canada-USA border, it doesn't seem like the 335 is an easy lantern to find. But if you can find one cheaply, that might be a good one to use for a kerosene conversion.

As for prices for the Northstar, you can still get them on Bass Pro and Wal-Mart's web sites for $120 each.

[Wolffarmer]

With Coleman's jacked price on new lanterns the Butterfly is looking much better.

Very hard to find a 335 here, or even a used 639 or 214 for a newer lantern that one may not mind using for a daily lantern.

Randy