Coleman 339 lantern

HI I recently found a coleman 339 lantern in my loft space. Are these lamps collectable?

Thanks Garry

 

North American collectors love 339's, especially with the nickel fount that makes them look so much nicer than their 335 homely sister. The majority were exported so not a common find in Canada and the USA. There was a run of them in the late-80s ('89?) IIRC for an Amish company but they are all green.

Mike.

 

Thanks Mike I know nothing about them i was horrified to find it still has kerosene in the fount

 

Dump it out, swirl a little fresh in it, pour that out, and then fill halfway. If the fuel valve and pricker wire still turn, I bet it'll light! You might need some oil on the leather pump cup to get some pressure.

Mike.

 

Thanks again. Am I right in thinking it is ordinary gasoline like for cars or different? I did try pumping it and lighting but no joy. All the controls turn fine

Thanks Garry

 

No this is a Kerosene/Paraffin fueled lantern.
Do not use Auto fuel/Petrol in this lantern.

 

Thanks Norman I just got to figure out where to get it here

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Hi Garry and welcome to CPL!

What a great find! ..Sometimes the old Paraffin is still ok? ..If you have some meths you could try pre-heating using the little cup inside the Glass, as a Paraffin/Kerosine Lantern needs to be pre-heated first?

You may have instructions with the lamp?

Good luck with everything!

 

You'll need some alcohol too, for the little preheat cup on the generator. That's why you had no ignition. It takes extra heat to get the kerosene vapourizing. The instructions should take you through all of the steps, and it's even in Afrikaans if English/French/Spanish don't hit the mark!

Mike.

 

Pound to a pinch of snuff it will light on the kerosene/paraffin in the tank...

 

Thanks Jeff. I find this kind of thing intetesting being from an engineering background

Garry

 

Thanks for the welcome and advice. I have some meths in the workshop that I can get to try tomorrow.

Garry

 

Thanks again Mike for the advice. I can't wait to see it burning

Garry

 

I will try whats in there then before I change it.

 

They're are.... by me! Are you planning on keeping it or maybe starting a collection? If not there are folks here who will buy it for sure!

Oh, and most petrol stations sell plastic containers of paraffin. It's not the cheapest way to buy it but it'll definitely.work.

 

The 339 is desirable, and yours is in good condition. A great lantern to have. Simple to use, plenty of light.

 

In my opinion any lantern is worth collecting! They're all fun. Your lantern is getting harder to find in nice condition. I don't have one in collection.
Keep a close eye on your lanterns, they like to breed when you leave two of them alone! lol
Welcome to CPL. These guys and gals are a walking encyclopedia of pressure lamp knowledge! If you need answers you've found the right place!

 

For the fuel you can still use white gas (Coleman fuel/Naphtha) on Coleman lanterns, I do in my 237 just lite as a kerosene using preheating.

 

Thanks for all your replies folks. I tried it again and first off I burned up the mantle. I fitted a new one and tried again but ended up with flames leaping from the top and lots of black smoke. It scared me half to death. So i cleaned off the soot and packed it away

 

Did you read and follow the instructions?

 

..That's an interesting colloquialism David...Is it local to you, at all?

 

No idea - I might have made it up! I think the meaning is clear enough though...

 

Yes maybe old fuel or me not doing it correctly

 

It is indeed!...I like it... : )

 

Well the fuel is clearly still inflammable so that leaves...

I can't remember how long the pre-heating time is on these but to begin with, I'd fill the meths reservoir right to the top and let it burn out almost completely, say 2-3 minutes, and have only 5-6 pumpstrokes pressure in the tank, before opening the control cock and attempting to light it.

The flaring that you got is typical of insufficient pre-heating and/or too much pressure in the tank...

 

send it to me. I’ll take care of their proper disposal.

 

Thanks again for all your help but I have decided to get an led type lamp for our fishing weekend end of August. I will probably put it on the auction site and let somebody have it who appreciates it as a collector piece.

Garry

 

@Garry Hallam Firstly, they are a good lantern, and will be great for night fishing. I appreciate LED/battery lanterns, I use them in a professional setting, but there there is something extra from a Kerosene Lantern. They make a gentle woosh when lite and generate heat to warm you hands. Idea I'd say for a night at the lake. Once you have the hang of it, it will serve you a lifetime.

Firstly, here is a picture of mine running (just to prove without much work they light up). I have just finished getting it ready. It is a 1975 Coleman 339, so the same style and model as yours.



It is a bright little chap!

All I had to do to make it work was:

a. Change the seal on the fuel cap. The old seal was shot and let air escape as I pumped it in.
b. Oil the pump seal -I could not generate pressure via the pump so I soaked the leather seal in Neets foot oil to revitalize it. No need to buy expensive oil, 3 in 1 Oil is fine to oil the pump leather to restore it if needed.
c. While I had the frame remove, I then checked that I could pump air in to the lantern, and that it would hold air and there was no obvious air leaks.
d. While the lantern was under pressure I opened the value to check that a flow of air was coming from the top of the generator. There was, so I re-fitted the frame.
e. I then filled the lantern with Kerosene (aka paraffin). Checked for leaks, none found, so far so good.
f. I then fitted a #99 Coleman Mantle, and burnt it in..
g. I then pressurized the lantern, giving it 30 stokes of the pump to ensure it had the correct pressure.
h. I filled the small cup (at the base of the generator) with Meths (I use Vango Bio-ethanol spirit fuel from Go outdoors) for the pre-heat.
i. As the fuel in the cup died down, I opened the wheel fully to feed the fuel.

The lantern lite as you can you can see. My final piece was to add a few more pumps of air to ensure good pressure.

Point to note: The generator cleaner rod should be pointing downwards at this point, to allow fuel through the top of the generator. (I make this a point to note, as first time tonight, after pre-heat mine didn't light after pre-heating and turning the valve wheel fully anti clockwise, no fuel coming through the generator. The problem was operator error, my generator pricker leaver was turned upwards and should have been down to allow the flow of fuel. Turned leaver down, fuel flowed and all was good again. P.s still kicking myself for such a school boy error!

Hope this helps, I'd love to see yours going.

 

Wow thanks Alex for the fully detailed lighting steps. I followed your advice and soaked the diaphram in oil to revive it. I gave 6 pump strokes and filled the cup with meths to preheat as David advised it lit like a dream after that. Thanks fo much for steering me in the right direction. I have included a photo