Yesterday, I visited my daughter in Germany (Saarland) and her husband was kind enough to drive me to a junk store, where I bought 3 lamps. One was a Bialaddin , the second was a Carbide lantern, which I have not yet examined and the third was a Coleman, painted in Olive drab and rather odd-looking when I examined it yesterday. the hood is enamelled in Olive drab. I could not see any anywhere on the lamp until I removed some of the olive drab paint on the base, when I saw the following text:US ( about 1" high), Lantern Gasoline Leaded fuel. Coleman.1952, It has 3 labels around the font: Lighting the mantle, Operation and Maitenance, all 3 with a lot of text. (I will try to get photos to you soon) On the side of the font, it has a container with "Spare mantle and spares" written on the screw lid and there was a new mantle inside. The generator looks like a 99, but without a coil, just a couple of kinks. The pump NRV is sticking. There is no Pricker needle. Can any of the Coleman tell me which model it is? The glass is not the correct one it is a Schott af smaller diameter. Thank you in advance for your help! Jim.
Yep , Jeff is right I bet , sounds like a Coleman 1952 Milspec, American military lantern. Glass sounds like a replacement . If not running , you'll be able to get any spare parts for it, generators are available, and the replacement glass.
Hi folks! I was lucky, I did a search on youtube for a 1952 military spec Coleman, and it came up with two, a 1999 and a 1952, which was exactly the same as mine! so it is a 1952 single mantle model and the 252a version. I have to find a pricker and spanner but I should be working in a few days. Thank you for your help, I now have 2 Colemans! Jim.
No doubt from your description that it is a 252. There is no internal pricker on a 252. Originally the spare parts well contained a wrench that has a pricker attached. The generator is specific to this model lantern and is made of aluminum. If you tighten the jet be careful not to strip the threads on the generator by over tightening. At the base of the generator is a small 45 degree brass block. Everything below that block is the same as a Coleman 220 except the spare parts cap and gasket. A 220 globe will work just fine. Lighting is a bit different than most Colemans. Start with low pressure, 5-10 pumps then add pressure after it is burning properly. Pre-heating the generator can help. It will be much noisier than normal Colemans because there is no screen in the burner cap. Old Coleman Parts has all the spares, even the gasket for the spares well. Even though it will run on gasoline, using only Coleman Fuel or your local equivalent is strongly recommended to keep from clogging the generator.
For pre heating my mil spec I use a small metal bottle cap placed below the generator filled with methylated spirits. Works very well. To fix the bottle cap simply use a small magnet.
Thanks for the help, folks, I have stripped it down and clesned everything but now I have a problem with the NRV on the pump. The ball seems to be rusted up and I can't remove the NRV, even with a BIG screwdriver held in a vise, turning the font against the NRV. Do any of you have any clues on how it can be removed? Jim.
@smenkhare Jim, taking out the NRV in a Coleman is last resort, and usually requires the use of a specialist tool. So before going down that path: Fill the pump tube with paint thinner or acetone and leave it sit for a few days (if you've got the patience - otherwise shorter time and repeat). You could also fill the tank with gasoline. The idea here is to loosen the ball bearing in the check valve and allow any rust to be loosened. Next pump fuel the wrong way through the pump tube into the tank. Repeat if necessary. I've only had to remove the check valve (NRV) from one Coleman out of very many. Cheers Tony
OK,thank you, Tony! I will try that, It did free up once, after banging the font on a concrete floor but now it is locked up solid.. I cannot press the plunger down now against the pressure! Jim.
by the way, Tony, I tried poking a welding rod down the hole ( after removing the square rod)to see if I could feel the ball moving. Nothing! I tried tapping the welding rod bt I could feel no movement. Is the ball supported by a spring? The ball was moving before, it stopped moving when I washed out the tank with acetone Jim
Probably it's just jammed with a bit of crud. Be patient - that thing took a long time to get gummed up; it might take a long time to get it cleared! In my experience, these ball-type NRVs are a bit approximate anyway and only come into play when the NRV is unlocked for pumping. Does the NRV leak when it's locked down?
Yes! I have another Coleman, So I am familiar with them! It took only 3 minutes to get crudded up, I washed tho tank out with Acedtone and the pump would not go down against the pressure! Jim.
I did, David (in fact about 20 minutes!!) and it is cured! It pumps up nicely and fizzes when I open the gas knob. Now I have to order a vaporiser from the US, with the postage and all! Thanks, everybody for the help, I knew I could rely on you! It's amazing the things you can buy in a German junk shop! Jim.
He sells the most amazing junk, and he will not discuss the price! Half empty paint tins, broken washing lines etc! The 2 ladies next door to him sold me a PetromaX cp500 for 15 Euros last month but they have had nothing since! Jim.
