I never expected to find one of these in the UK so this was a very lucky find last summer from a collector who had shipped it to the UK from Canada but never restored it. The lamp was carrying plenty of knocks and scrapes but for 96 years old I guess she’s pretty good really. The restoration was relatively straightforward as I found with my 327. The only thing bar cleaning and seals that I did was to solder a brass washer under the pump guide cap to reinforce the hole and to ensure the pump rod was aligned. I was surprised with the number of strokes required to pressurise compared to the 327 but I suppose the extended pump of the 427 is considerably smaller than the hand pump of the 427. I had never considered the hand pump to be particularly efficient due to the connection, but I guess it is. Has been burning brightly for an hour now on a pair of #21s. Really pleased to add this to the shelf. Big thanks to @Tilleyz13 for the enamelling of the vent and to Fred for the mica.
Nice job, @Scott D. I notice you’re running the lamp with the pricker lever pointing at about 2 o’clock. Is the generator the one that came with the lantern or a modern reproduction? [The reason I ask is that there were a few new R55 reproductions floating around a few years ago that had the pricker up when the lever was pointing down.] Or, is the jet a bit enlarged and the pricker is being used to partially restrict the vapour flow? Cheers Tony
It’s a new generator from Old Coleman Parts. That is its fully open position. The last one I bought from OCP is an up position open one, as you described. I paid particular attention to this one after the last one took me a while to figure out why it wouldn’t fire.
Thanks… I was wondering whether those reverse generators were still around: a trap for young players. Cheers Tony
Nice job Scott, she’s looking good and I love the hood’s re-enamelling, excellent. I do like these older Coleman lanterns, they’re built to last. Enjoy Pete @Scott D
The 427 is definitely now up there with my favourites, but the simplicity and ease of use of the 327 still takes top spot for me. Both great old lanterns though. I think the Coleman Quicklite lighting method is perhaps my favourite. Quicker than a pre-heat paraffin and feels more controlled than a 1/4 turn Coleman or a rapid preheat.
Great fettle and a lovely lamp. The attention to detail in the hood enamel and mica shade really transformed the finished lamp. Great work and a fine looking shelf. James
Thanks James, I’m really pleased with how it came out. Alan really puts the icing on the cake with his enamelling work!
