Greetings! This is my 1st post to this forum, so please be gentle :-) I recently acquired what I believe to be an AGM 253 lamp from a relative's barn. Literally, a "barn find." I have a fair bit of experience with Coleman products, so some of the parts and general workings appear familiar, but not quite the same. I believe the fount to be sound, but I still need to pressure test it. My main questions right now are: 1. is there a documented procedure on how to disassemble the generator, and, 2. Where could I find a replacement for what I'll call the "cleanout thingy." (see photo) The lamp looks pretty nice all cleaned up and I'd love to get it burning again. Thanks so much, and please feel free to offer up any other suggestions you have! Frank
Welcome @SpamGnome It will operate like a similar-aged Coleman. If I were you, I'd check "Old Coleman Parts" online for a replacement AGM generator. I think they had some last time I looked. Best regards Tony
Welcome aboard! Your lamp appears to have been converted to take a Coleman burner system, the AGM., vapouriser/generator which looks similar to the Coleman R-55 vap/gen has the lever positioned further up, as can be seen in the images on Terry Marsh's website, just scroll down the page to see the 253 there. American Gas Machine Co. lamps
As Jeff said above, your lamp was converted with Coleman parts. The AGM parts look different (see picture). Below is an AGM 254, running with a Coleman R55 generator. The threadings are the same and I've of course lit it after the restoration.
Wow! I wasn't expecting a cavalcade of replies, but this is awesome. What I'm taking away is that I need to buy a Coleman R55 generator to get this lamp running. One challenge I'm having is loosening the small square nut that holds the generator in place. I've been applying generous amounts of penetrant, but she won't budge. Any other thoughts? Briefly giving it some heat from a propane torch? I'm really afraid of damaging the piece it's screwed into. Also, now that I can see success in getting all the parts, what's the best way to pressurize this lamp? It looks like I can fit a rubber-tipped air compressor tip in there, but what might the recommended PSI be? Any other thoughts? Bike pump? Did these come with a pump of some sort? Thanks again!
@SpamGnome My apologies for misleading you, above, about the AGM generator. I hadn't looked hard enough to see that the setup had been converted to Coleman. I would apply some heat to the square nut, being careful not to apply too much and damage surrounding fittings. I'd do this a few times: heat, apply penetrant, cool down, heat etc... It should unscrew. I wish you well in getting this thing going. Cheers Tony
Hi, and a quick update. Thanks to all of you on this forum, I was able to get a generator from Old Coleman Parts. Took just a few minutes to install, and voila! A working lamp. Prior to lighting, I pressurized it and tested underwater and the only leak I had was from the filler cap, which an O-ring fixed right away. I know it's not the correct seal, but it certainly works. To pressurize, I used a bike pump (visible in the photo) with a butt splice as the conduit between the pump and the filler cap. Thanks again all!
