Another of my shed deep storage re-awakenings. June of ‘66, but whatever its (date) number it’s no beast, but a real sweetie, lighting up on 15-year-old Coleman fuel with no bother. Before lighting up I checked out the parts. I didn’t remove the valve with fuel/air pickup. With the control spindle removed I could test the fuel/air plunger for sprung-loaded movement with a thin screwdriver. Much to admire in the design and construction, such as the two anchor points (with washers) for the globe frame, itself of robust construction. Collar. I like the way the air intake tube is shielded from the wind on the outside ... ... taking air from inside the collar. I think I’ve heard these pressed frame mounting nuts come in for criticism, but it does inspire caution in tightening up just enough and not excessively. Coleman globe. John
John, your red devil looks in great condition, good effort. I've a Jun 1966 Coleman 220F, unlike yours sometimes it does have a mind of its own. I wonder how many other Jun 66 lanterns are out there?
Nice! These are great little lanterns! Easy to work on and a pleasure to light up and use. I'll have to check my 200's and aee if I have a June 1966, hanging around!
A bit ‘rangier’ in dimensions than the 200A’s equivalent but the fuelling/vapourisation set-up’s very similar (components from my 228E). If a Coleman lantern or stove misbehaves and its not a clogged generator (previous owner using pump gasoline) I remove the valve and its fuel/air pickup. Usually they benefit from a good cleaning, in an ultrasonic bath ideally.
John, a very useful post, thank you. You have prompted me to re-visit mine. Firstly, I substituted a 0 for 8, mine is a 228F, not that it changes anything in terms of "running gear". So, mine flares up on first light. Too much fuel and not enough air seems to be the problem, i.e. it over fuels on light up, with much and flame and soot, hence the comment it has a mind of its own. I turn it off, let it settle and then turn it on again once it has burn off the excess fuel. This normally sorts the problem, and at this point it runs as you would expect. It is a good lantern, if you don't mind sooty glass! However I suspect that I need to ask Santa for a ultrasonic bath this December, as on first fettle I stripped it to bare bones and soaked the fuel pick up in citric acid. But I now suspect that one of the air channels is still blocked. Many thanks, useful to compare notes and re-examine what has gone before. Regards, Alex
Sounds very much like it Alex. As you’ve said, your lantern’s getting neat fuel with no air in it for the priming one minute. Quarter turn anti-clockwise and the vapouriser should be getting atomised fuel. An ultrasonic cleaner’s not essential but as long as these components are thoroughly clean and the ‘air hole’ in the pickup tube up at the valve end is clear it should do its job John
OMG, first mention of the dreaded ‘C’ word in early August. I suppose the garden centres won’t be long before they fill the shelves with nice glittery stuff and encourage us all to spend.
@Alex Smith I have found many tend to use Auto Fuel/Petrol and this can cause some problems with clogging not just the generator/vaporizer but also the fuel pickup tube. Petrol has many additives which can cause problems for a Coleman Fueled lantern. Many will not check their filler cap washer/gasket and as these get hard the pressure inside the fuel tank/fount leaks out and the fuel will start to evaporate leaving a type of varnish which does indeed clog the pickup tube. The diagram below will show you there is a tube inside another tube. An ultrasonic cleaner can and will do wonders for cleaning the fuel pickup tube so the preheater side of the pickup tube will work as it should. Cheers, Norman
@Norman, very useful diagram and description thank you. (apologies to @Jean J) I know what Santa can bring me!
