Coleman Keepers Campfire come on in!

[Ned B]

Nice lantern Ned. one of the earlier 200A's. and looks like there are some new silk lights in there. And it is a part of the family. Clean it up and light up.

So to speak

Randy

Randy,
Thanks, I'll be sure and do just that! Funny you should mention him being part of the family. My parents and grandparents used that on a trip out west back in '62. (literally before my time). According to my mother one day they called it 'Cousin Coleman' to go along with "Auntie Cooler" . My grandfather was quite the outdoorsman, I'm sure it has seen loads of use in its time. I'm going to clean it up and proudly use it when I get my wife and kids out camping again.

[Woodbutcher]

Nice find! Those family lanterns are the best. Get it running and enjoy it!

[campmaster-k]

Hey all. Just wanted to check in and let you all know that I am in my busiest time of year for work. I will be checking in less often until about the beginning of Nov. lots of project to show for the winter. By the way I got in for IRG. So I will see you all there. And yes I will bring Angela and the rest for the light up.

[Wolffarmer]

Another Thursday, another Estate Sale

The add in the paper didn't say anything about camping devices but the dude had lots and lots and metal working tools. Lathes, Mills and such and a lot of wood working stuff. Figured at a place like that probably worth a look. And woodworking is another hobby of mine. I wondered about and with all the power wood working tools not a single hand plane. Several nice laths and a mill. all presold, had to be as I was wondering around a few minutes before the sale officially started anyway and they had a "Sold" stuck to them. Kind of makes me mad. But some more wondering and.



I found the lanterns first. very dirty, a 242, looks like a C to me. The 220 looks like a B or so. A bit over priced but I picked them up anyway after some introspection for a few moments. Did some more wondering and over in the house hold stuff I see an aluminum box, "HOLY COW" i says to myself. Stickers says $5 and it works. I open the box and yes there is a 502 inside and not a button collection or something. This time the only retrospection was how many people will be trampled as I pay for it. That was an easy decision. I did wonder around for a few more minutes when a fellow scrounger asked if I had seen the extra globe on another table. I had not so he handed it to me. Talk about a globe covered with old crusty grease but could tell it was old. no red or white lettering and the price on it was $0.50. Yet another easy decision. I did pick up some clamps and headed home.



The date on it says to me that it is a November 1943. Lots of steel parts. The burner is all steel, both packing nuts and the nut on the generator, as is the direction disk and the whole font is steel. So it is either a 220BX or a 220C. Has correct globe under all the crud. Inside of font does not look to bad at all. Should clean up pretty good.



This is a 242, I can't tell the model yet and I can read any date on it yet but it looks sound. Pretty sure it is a 242C. Cleaning lever is broken but the globe is pretty old. Can't tell yet with all the crud on it just how old. Haven't opened the filler cap yet. Soon, Soon.



A 502 with the aluminum cook set, the stove is a July 1965, ( if i remember it right, don't feel like jumping up and running to check for sure ) Looks in pretty good shape, the wire grate is a bent a bit probably will not be to hard to fix. Opened the fill cap, still had pressure and nearly full of nice smelling CF. Looks very clean and proper inside, no need to do the BB dance. Oiled up the pump and it fired right up. Hot diggity. The fill gasket seems to be holding pressure but I will replace the gasket anyway. Next week when I go camping might just leave my 425 home and take this one.

And the extra font is a Green Coleman but the righting is very very faint. Will take some scrubbing on it before i can sell it for a lot more than I paid. AS if I sell anything. Well in a few weeks will probably sell my other 502 and 500.

Randy

[Joamon]

Nice hall Randy!!! How close were you to running out of hands on you way to pay for your treasures ?? Or did you have a CRV ? Really nice models !
Lets see the clean up and the burn.

Keith

[Woodbutcher]

Great finds Randy. Those should be fun projects to get going. Keep hunting!!!

[Wolffarmer]

Nice hall Randy!!! How close were you to running out of hands on you way to pay for your treasures ?? Or did you have a CRV ? Really nice models !
Lets see the clean up and the burn.

Keith

I live close to where a nuclear reactor blew up back in 1961

Boom

Also considered a "Downwinder" from both the above ground bomb tests in Nevada and downwind from the Hanford site in Washington.

I now have 3 hands



But really, I am just waiting for the cancer to set in. It has already got my mom and 2 younger sisters.

Randy

[Loader]

Great finds Randy!

[starleen2]

Just had to share this. It's from the Coleman forum and an alternative to the shooka - shooka method of fount cleaning.

So, I bought a Canadian 200 (5-62) I saw for sale last weekend on a very popular internet site in Québec called LesPac. I probably paid too much for it, but I take it as a learning lantern. When I picked it up I knew it was going to be a full rebuild, i:e, rust flakes dancing in the fount.

Got it all apart in 20 min, the cleaning and rebuild took the rest of the week.
The frame was heavily rusted, and by that I mean "spent countless times in water" rusted. Got 95% off. It spent an entire day in Heinz 7% Vinegar (that thing worked like a charm). The brass parts spent an hour max. Put 35 tiny sheet metal screws in the fount, plugged it up, duct-taped a pillow around it and left it in the tumbler on air fluff for an hour. A couple washes, some polishing, a new cap gasket and everything went back together.

Now, when do I add the fabric softner sheet?

[campmaster-k]

Dang it Randy you do good work.

[Wolffarmer]

Thanks Kirk

I washed the globes and the vents. The globes are all green Coleman with a straight line under all the letters of Coleman. As the guy did a lot of metal work one of the 220 globes has a bunch of grinder sparks on it. it will still work and look ok at about 5 feet but can be felt. the 242 globe has a few grinder speaks. The metal on the vents is all pretty darn good. The 242 has what looks like water lime spots very bad on it. the 220 has something else. The burner frame and burner of the 220 looks pretty good. Just some lite rust all protected buy a heavy layer of Idaho dust. That is some good stuff let me tell you. The inside of the font does not look to bad and it is not dented up and the paint is not to bad. Decal has a smiley from the bail hitting it all these years. what do we expect, it is 69 year old.

I think that the 220BX will not be to hard to get running again. And won't take much more to get it looking real good. I guess the 220BX is rather uncommon. Who knows what the next estate sale will bring. I have gone to a few yard sales here and have yet to see coleman anything.

Randy

[Wolffarmer]

I spent a few hours with my 2 new lanterns today.



It came apart real easy, Nothing to great bad with it. Just took some work to get the shafts to turn properly.Very little rust. The worst was around on of the lighting holes. Probably caused by some old matches that left behind some corrosive chemical. The genny had a slight bow to it. Not to worry, i have a used one. Inside of the font looked real good. Replaced the cap gasket, put it all back together, tie on some Peerless mantles, fuel it up and the burn in the mantles and just before they go out turn on the valve and we have burn.

Here is the 242B



Yesterday thought it was a 242C but after I got it apart and cleaned some crud off the collar found it is a 242B. I found a month stamp that shows for sure it is a November. The year stamp is light and a few other scratches but it kind of looks like a 1 so I am calling it a November 1941. The cleaning tip leaver was broken off when I got it and it appeared people have tried to working on it. The nut that holds the cage on was finger tight and the genny was lose. I pulled it apart and cleaned it a bit. Found the cleaning wire is bent. I put it back together. Had a miserable time putting a new cap gasket in it but finally got it. There is enough of the tip cleaner shaft left to hold fuel in so I fired it up.





I think the ACE Hardware store in town has the tip cleaner ( at 20 year old prices ) and I have some extra pricker rods. Will check tomorrow when I go in town.

All in all the lanterns where in pretty good dirty condition. Now I also have my first 242B

Randy

[Scouterjan]

nice job Randy, great getting the old ones up and making light
Jan

[Wolffarmer]

Jan, I got the tip cleaner lever, packing, packing nut at the local Ace hardware yesterday. $2.33.

I would feel bad but I know how expense he prices some of the other goods in there. I haven't put it in yet. Going to see how long it will run with out a working tip cleaner. Check the prices OCP has it for. Maybe I can buy them all up. Sell them to OCP for a profit then he can sell them for a profit also.



It is not exact but it should work. Maybe some time down the road can find an extra 242B cleaner.

Randy

[doug hodder]

Nice finds on the lanterns.....and a nice find on a parts supplier with 20 yr. old prices.

I'm cleaning up the truck for the IRG, actually vacuumed it!...I'm going to build a shelf in the back at the front to handle stoves. That way I can utilize full use of the space back there. It's got a cap on it, so I can fill it up to the top of the cab. Resto'd stoves are a hassle to haul around without some scratches. I may only bring up 3 of them or so. So far I've yet to go camping this year without leaving something major behind....I'm going to put a punch list together for the IRG. Doug