Coleman Keepers Campfire come on in!

[Mukilteo]

Nothing here, move along.

[KCStudly]

Nice. I like it!

Is that mantle bigger than the normal 200A mantle? (Sorry, I have not learned the proper terminology for mantle sizes and which lanterns they fit on, except maybe the #25 is the typical size for the older 2 mantle units?)

[Mukilteo]

Nothing here, move along.

[doug hodder]

Nice job on that Frankenlantern. It'll run a long time with that fuel tank pressured up. Oh..by the way, please feel free to come by and clean up my shop. I'd love to have a bench that looked like that. Doug

[Wolffarmer]

Nice job on that Frankenlantern. It'll run a long time with that fuel tank pressured up. Oh..by the way, please feel free to come by and clean up my shop. I'd love to have a bench that looked like that. Doug

I hate bench tops. So I cover mine with tools, parts and projects so I don't have to look at them.

Randy

[Mukilteo]

Nothing here, move along.

[KCStudly]

The trick to keeping a clean bench is to have lots of other benches to collect all of the clutter.
Oh, no.... wait, that doesn't work either. They all get cluttered up if you let them!!!

[doug hodder]

For me....everything in the shop has a nice patina of grey metallic, silver metallic and yellow over spray on it. I did manage to cover the gauges on the torch however. I'm not real good about putting stuff away...now with all the paint I've done....oh well, at least all the shiny stuff has a "grip"coating on it all now. The floor is amusing...6 projects worth of overspray on it....It was super gummy when I shot the load of yellow....my shoes were sticking kinda and I sprayed in shorts and a T shirt...I was kinda gummy as well...Doug

[Martinjmpr]

Because now I can't stop thinking about old Colemans.

Wife and I went on a trip in our Teardrop and stopped at an antique store. She was looking for baby stuff for our granddaughter and I went straight for the lanterns. Liz is an awesome negotiator and she got them to sell me this one for $38.00



It's not a Coleman, exactly, it's a Sears 476-74060, which, if I read the on-line info correctly, is basically a Coleman 220E double



It's in incredibly good shape, only a couple of small scratches where the bail rested and a few very small rust flecks. The paint on the bottom is flawless, marked Sears Roebuck and Company, and dated 6 - 65, making it the newest lantern in my collection of 3.

Everything works, and it seems to hold pressure, even has a couple of mantles on it. Globe is amber and marked "Coleman."

I was hoping it was some kind of rare model as I'd never seen one before, come to find out on the internet that it's not, but I like it and heck, I've never seen one before!

The one unique touch (I think) is the amber globe. Don't know if that means it's a replacement, but if I was guessing I'd say probably not given the overall more or less perfect condition of the lantern.

Anyway, now I'm starting to wonder if I might have a Coleman addiction....Should I go to a meeting?

[Mukilteo]

Nothing here, move along.

[Martinjmpr]

After obsessing about my lanterns I finally had time to try and fire them up.

Now, the old 242B, my first lantern, won't hold pressure at all so it's going to need at the very least a thorough cleaning and exam before I can try to fire it, but both of my other lanterns, the 1952 200A and the 1965 Sears seemed to be in good enough condition to try.

First up was the sears, since it already had mantles on it (though who knows how old?)

Filled the tank, pumped, cleaned the tip, tried to light - nothing. Tried again, Pumped some more, more flame, still nothing.

Finally, somewhat in desperation, I removed the globe (probably not a good idea)

held the lighter under the mantles, and got it to fire up, briefly. Shut off the gas, put the globe back on and lit it up again. SUCCESS!!





Not exactly super-bright, but steady for the most part. I did notice a hole in one of the mantles, though, which may cause some gas to be lost.

The amber globe puts off a nice warm glow. (Notice our teardrop "bubbles" in the background!)



Then I tried the same thing with my 200a, which is 13 years older than the Sears and not in quite as good shape (more rust on it.) Put on a new mantle, burned it, then after blowing the mantle out, filled the tank, pumped and tried to light - no go.

Tried and tried again - nothing. Removed the globe so I could hold the match underneath the mantle - it 'flared up' and in a second there was flame all over the tank. Fortunately, I had obeyed RULE NUMBER ONE! which is "Always have an extinguisher within arms reach." Two squirts with dry retardant and it was out.

Cleaned it off, replaced the globe and mantle and tried again - nothing.

Now, the tank holds pressure, I know that because I can pump up the tank and when I loosen the cap, I can hear the pressure come out. I can also hear a very faint "gurgling" sound when the tank is pressurized and I turn the fuel valve on, but there is no steady "hiss".

So any ideas what may be happening? Could I need a new generator?

So, I've got 1 out of 3 working and 1 out of 2 that I tried. Not a bad start, I think. If I have to completely disassemble and clean the 200A I will, it's just that getting the 242B up and running is probably a higher priority.

final question: How many of you are on the Old Coleman message board? I just joined and will probably be posting my questions over there from now on.

[campmaster-k]

I am back people. Like it or not you are stuck with me. I have been getting burried at work bet now its easing up a bit. I have lots to show and stories to tell. Get your Coleman on YO!

[campmaster-k]

So I was at Dinios Flea in Roseville over the weekend and there was a collector ahead of me with a blue shopping angel basket full to the top with Coleman. I told him to Get Out of Here! We chatted a bit and we went our separate ways. Little did he know he was dealing with a 200a gang member! Shopping Angle? Come on I had the CRV in all it glory. Dinios is my turf!

[campmaster-k]

I did notice that the prices are on the rise at both flea markets I hang out at. Still I did get some good scores.

[campmaster-k]

Martinjmpr - the lamp that gurgles needs a tank cleaning. The bbs and a shooka shooka, while you are at it take the intake tube off of the valve and clean it and all of its parts. Its has a case of mild Colemansclerosis. Better know as the crud.