Box of vintage lanterns!

I found a listing on my local FB Marketplace for some vintage lanterns. The guy was just 7 miles from my house.

The collection includes a 1959 Coleman Military (Quadrant Globe), an Aida Express 1500, a Coleman 220H (11/74), and two Benzomatic Propane lanterns. They are all in semi-rough cosmetic shape, but all globes are free of breaks or cracks. The Benzomatic lanterns actually have Made in USA Coleman globes (one is stamped “used on 200, 201” and still has the old price sticker on it. The other globe is the same globe but without the model designation).

I’m a novice fettler (and collector) and have spent most of my short fettling time on vintage stoves. I know nothing about the construction or workings of the Aida Lantern so I most likely will have questions for this group when I get to that one.

Here are some photos.

 

Fine fettling projects.

 

G'day Andrew,
A good start and they should clean up nicely.

 

Well, I partially disassembled the 1959 Coleman MilSpec and cleaned it. The fount was full of rust. It took a lot of cleaning to get all that cleared. Oiled the pump leather, sprayed carb cleaner into the check valve, new mantle and it’s lit!!!

 

The pump leather (before oiling it) looked like it’s seen very little use.

 

@Andrew Johanson
A good score there mate and welcome to the forum from Queensland Australia.
I’m looking forward to seeing your future posts with pictures of course.
Enjoy
Pete

 

Nice pickup and should keep you occupied over the holidays. All interesting lanterns

 

It took me a while, but I finally got the 11/74 Coleman 220H running. I disassembled it almost completely. Cleaned it thoroughly. Oiled the leather and cleaned the check valve. There were also dirt dobber nests all in the air tube blocking it, the generator jet tip also had dirt dobber residue inside. I cleaned out the generator tube with carb cleaner. The fount was full of rust/debris. That took a lot of work to remedy. But…it works now.

 

By the way, I want to thank you all for the warm welcome.

 

Nice haul! That MilSpec is a good looking lamp! Happy fettling!

 

Since the 2 Benzomatic propane lanterns came with Coleman 200,201 globes, I figure I’ll just have two extras once I finally add a 200a lantern to my collection. I may find some cheaper globes to fit the Benzomatics when I want to use them.

 

I’m really liking the MilSpec, @BigStevie . Thanks.

 

Looking good with the 220H.
Enjoy
Pete

 

After working on it all day, I finally got the Aida Express 1500 lit tonight. Complete disassembly and some light cleaning. It is bright (and hot)!

The old pump cup was trashed so I tried using a Coleman leather cup, but it was too big. I then tried using one of the newer Coleman rubber cups that they use in new lanterns. Still no luck. So, I finally just cut a circle from a torn rubber dog toy and fitted it to the end of the plunger. Voila! It worked perfectly. I also used a Coleman #11 mantle. The preheating jet isn’t quite up to par, as it is just sputtering. So I actually turned the valve and leaked some fuel from the generator and started the lantern that way. Tomorrow, I’ll fettle the preheater. I think the jet is clogged.

Any suggestions on that repair?

It is dark outside so it’s hard to get a good picture of the lantern. But, you can see the 500 candle power at work.

 

I thought more on the preheater assembly, so I decided to dismantle it and give it an acetone bath and scrub.

Dried it off, reassembled it and it works just fine now! Wow, this lantern can be a real fireball if you turn on the valve before the generator is hot and ready to vaporize the fuel. I’m still lighting it with the ventilator off, then attaching it after the mantle has settled into gear.

 

Under the top cap of the starter you will find two very small holes either side of the centre. These can block up. They are hard to see and smaller than the main jet for comparison..

 

Thanks, @Fireexit1 . After the acetone bath, the main starter jet shoots out a strong stream of kerosene onto the generator but I haven’t noticed the two small holes yet. I’ll take a look today. Also, when I lit the lantern, it was night so I couldn’t see that well. I’ll grab my magnifying glass today.

 

So you need to remove the top cover of what looks like the starter jet. That's where they live

 

I will take a look. Thanks, @Fireexit1

I also had an issue with the rubber tip on the flip lever. It was cracked bad, so I broke off some edge pieces and filed down the remaining main piece to make it smooth. It still closes off the stream of fuel now though. I don’t know where to find a replacement tip or how to fashion one at home.

 

I tend to buy a service kit ... I am sure a Petromax one would be close

 

For the Aida, I thought better of the makeshift rubber pump cup. So today, I fashioned one out of a pair of old leather work gloves. It works better and should last much longer.

@Fireexit1 , I took your advice and took another look at the preheater burner. I took it completely apart and scrubbed it with a brass bristle brush in acetone. Then I made sure to push a stainless steel bristle down the jet holes to ensure they’re clear. I could see a pinhole of daylight, so I know they’re good. Then I decided to disassemble the valve again and scrubbed it with the brass bristle brush. Then I adjusted the pricker needle to extend a bit farther so it would close off the generator jet tip better. Another run of a pipe cleaner through all parts that it would fit finished the cleaning.

Final result, the lantern runs the best yet. The preheater blows a blast of fire instead of just a single stream of fuel into the generator.

The globe got sooty really bad quickly before all of this fettling. So I gave it a good cleaning and I hope the future lightings will be cleaner now that the parts have been refurbed. Now that it’s running properly, I may work on the polishing.

Here’s a couple of pics of the properly burning preheater and then the burning mantle today.

 

That preheater torch is certainly not yet burning properly. Too much fuel, too little air. But that can also happen if the tank is too full so that the air holes will suck in some excess fuel. Try to fill it at 2/3 at max and try again. If nothing changes, you need to clean the air holes again, or the fuel opening was widened at some point.
Also, as mentioned by Fireexit1, you should get a service kit. If the rubber pip on the preheater does not seal properly, there will be a constant loss of pressure, which can become quite annoying due to the need for frequent re-pumping. The preheater lever should be turned some more in right direction.
An additional feature on your lantern is the "baffle plate" / "Prallteller" just under the glass cylinder, which was installed on some lanterns to prevent the flame from passing through to the centering plate in the event of a defective/torn mantle.

 

What a lucky guy. Looking good. Have fun!

 

So there should be three holes under the top cap. on in the middle and two that are not in the middle that are really very small. If any are blocked then you will get a poor fuel/air ratio.
I would not use the wire brush as the wires are probably too thick. A proper pricker of the correct diameter is best. You do not want to enlarge/damage the holes. It may be that the holes have arleady been damaged previously.

I have been there: Petromax 829 500Cp pre-heater/flame thrower

Basically the flame should be much like that you get from a blowlamp with little orange flame. it certainly should not be sooting up the globe.
Here is a youtube video I found on how it should look

I can also see lots of soldering ? round the starter base. Have you done a "dunk test" to make sure nothing is leaking from that ?

good luck

Chris

 

@Martin K.
The fuel tank may have been a bit more than 2/3 full. The fuel was just to below the filler hole. I also believe I may be using to much pressure. I’m pumping it until the gauge reaches the red line. It may be possible that the gauge is bit off, or it’s just too much pressure. Even after I filed down the pip to remove the cracked part, it still closes off the jet holes, and there’s no air leakage.

Thanks for the info on the “baffle plate.” I have also seen pictures of these lanterns with what looks like a preheating spirit cup attached to the bottom of generator. Those lanterns look like they may be later models than mine. My globe glass says made in West Germany. Others I’ve seen just say made in Germany.

@Fireexit1
I see fuel coming from the main preheater jet hole and then two smaller streams, so they are cleared. Also, the stainless steel wire I used was tiny and from the brush. It was small enough that it went inside the jet holes without resistance. If there was resistance, the wire would have easily bent. I have done a dunk test, right after I was able fix the pump to get pressure in the tank. It passed - no air leakage. The soldering was done before I bought the lantern, but looks to be a good job. The lantern holds pressure very well. I ran it for about an hour and a half last night and the gauge barely dropped.

Thanks for the video. It gives me a good reference. I have been pumping about 100 times before lighting (that’s when the gauge reaches the red line). Then I open the preheater. So I’ll try with less pressure to start and then add more later if needed when lighting the mantle.

 

@Fireexit1
Do you know a way for me to correctly get a date for this lantern? It has a four digit code under the fount.

 

@Fireexit1
By the way, after I “fixed” the preheater burner, the globe did not get all sooty when I ran the lantern last night.

 

Well Martin is the man on dating these, here is a link to the earlier discussions
Dating a lantern (give it a place on a time line)

 

I noticed in the video the operator seemed to be adjusting the light ouput by using the cleaning needle, he certainly didn't turn the control wheel one half turn to extinguish the lamp. This is wrong.

The needle is not designed to close-off the jet (gas tip), its sole purpose is to clear the jet of any obstruction should the need arise and ideally should protrude between 0.5 and 1mm when fully raised. The flow of fuel is halted by the foot valve i.e. the non return valve at the foot of the fuel feed tube.

To save a little on shipping costs, most Brytlite parts will fit your lantern.
Products – Page 4 – Britelyt Green Science & Innovations Inc

= part No. 229

Foot valve washer (should it be needed) = #193

Optimum fuel capacity is 1 litre / 1 U.S. quart.

There is no need to remove the hood to light the lantern.

 

Thank you, @Henry Plews .

The pricker needle still only extends 1mm or less, so I’m good there. Before, I could barely see it.

I’ll take a look at the parts online.

One thing I’m stumped on is the valve assembly. When screwed into the fount, it won’t reach a tight fit until it is turned a bit past the middle of the fount (where the stag emblem is found). So, it looks crooked as it extends from the collar, but it still works properly.