Hello Today I picked up a Coleman 249. It appears to have been squashed or dropped. I picked up the pair as the stove has an adjustable burner control (I've been hunting for one for a while) As for the lantern I had a hunch it was a Coleman. Where to now...The stove is a easy job, the 249 looks like a great unit but I'll need to fix the fount. I'm open to any suggestions on this. It appears to be chrome plated steel as the bottom has a bit of surface rust the dents are big. Can the bottom be un- soldered? Cheers
The base is steel but the rest of the tank is brass. The base is "copper brazed" in place so is in there for keeps, see here the relevant part is between 3:30 and 3:58. You should be able to get the lantern straight but the force must be applied correctly. If you push the top over there's every chance the other side of the tank will go inwards Much better to pull the top and bottom away from each other. Good call on the stove.
Tim, have a look at this thread Fount Dent Removal - Ice The Coleman fount will be nickel plated brass with a steel bottom. I'm pretty sure the bottom is brazed in. There will also be a sealer inside to protect the steel from rusting but it may be damaged/degraded by now.
Look at these two discussions on ways to solve your problem. Removing a fount dent without ruining the fount or killing myself. - The Coleman Collectors Forum Fount dent removal with pressure from a bicycle pump? - The Coleman Collectors Forum
I'd take the ventilator, cage and frame support collar off first and see what is on the lean. Send in some better photos of the top of the fount and the valve and generator areas, including any dents, if any.
Great advice. After accidently popping the assembly slightly worse to the side whilst pulling everything apart I became suspicious of the top half being brass as it's was rather soft. The good news is it all came apart with a kettle of hot water, I'm used to things not being so easy. I spent a few hours last night going through the forums and those links. Now it's sitting half full of ice In the freezer so I'll give the ice technique a go. Although I did make one mistake and had to drain/melt some ice out as I didn't take into account how much the bottom half of Ice would expand... The wet look in the photos is water. The corrosion is heavy but I buffed up the sunshine logo and there's hope that it will come up nice without a re-plate. Although this is a good excuse to learn nickel plating. This dent may be tricky. After I give the ice truck a go for the top I'm thinking of filling with water and leaving an air void behind, lay it on its side and heat the dent (hoping a bit of pressure pops it out) Thanks again for everybody's input so far.
Heres the update. As I didn't have a suitable bung, ive de- soldered the pickup tube and put the valve assembly back in after filling up the remaining space with chilled water (to speed up the process) Let's see how it goes..
I recommend against the water/air space/heat option. A rupture under those conditions can lead to a significant emotional event. A leak with air or steam under pressure is sudden and violent. Water under pressure is just a leak and a mess. If you fill with water and freeze with the fount in its normal position you risk bulging the bottom plate. It needs to be frozen with the dent down. For the dents you've shown I think the water/grease gun technique would work best. I do like the idea of using oil rather than grease in the gun as it will certainly be easier to clean out.
I'm on my 3rd go, I am taking it easy; 1st time I think I didn't leave enough space up top for the second fill. Second attempt similar problem... This time I'll see how it goes. I'm working on the side of caution. The greese gun technique is looking like the ideal way to go. As for the second dent I'm still looking into it. Out of interest the two stroke bike exhaust repair technique involves a pressure gauge and keeping the pressure below 40/50psi as it heats up. One point of difference is they use stainless steel or steel. We are dealing with brass.
Success. I've had a win and pushed out a majority of the dent. The hardest part was guessing how much water on the second freeze. Now for the final dent and then a cleanup/polish. If I use heat on the last dent I'm thinking I'll kill the finish before the dent pops out. Ideally I don't want this to happen what's the consensus on this? Or am I looking at having to re-plate anyway as the tarnish is heavy/feels bumpy
Heres a project update. While I was reassembling and pressure testing which has turned out successful, I noticed the generator was missing a tip and had a damaged pricker. I had a spare new 201Jet/tip. Ive popped that in, and it turns out a 220 pricker fits or was the same length as the last one. Physically it appears to work, I'm keen to pick up a correct replacement at a later date once the lantern is functioning. Would the jet be too small. They're similar sized lanterns.... Finally I managed to clean both internal generator springs. Does the small spring slide inside the generator or just the needle/pricker? Cheers Tim
The tip orifice size for 201 and 249 generators is 0.006". The tip orifice size for a 220 generator is 0.008", I'm a little surprised that the cleaning needle fits through a 201 tip. 2 thou may not sound much but in the lamping world, it can be the difference between a clean burn and overfueling. I suppose ideally, both springs should remain stationary but I can't see that it matters if they don't.
Thanks for that info Henry, I figured the tip sizes would have to be close or the same, so this is good news. As for the pricker, I'll go and double check and report back. I'm glad the springs both sit stationary that's how it's ended up after a good clean and reassembly. The small spring was really tricky to thread back Into the bigger one after a good heat and quench.
Well, yep.. the 220 pricker was bending. I was running under the assumption that if it restricted pressure escaping when it was in the up position all was good. Not so, once I tried to run it through a 201 tip out of the generator tube no go, it definately did not fit. 2 thou is a lot. Good news is the 201 pricker is also the correct length, I had a new one along with the new jet. It fits and appears to get through the tip Thanks for that heads up, you've saved me some head scratching later on..
Id like to thank everyone for the advice and links. One observation and unless I'm mistaken it appears a lot quieter than my 201, could the larger generator generate less hissing noise? I did lash out and treat myself to a Mica globe maybie it doesn't "ring" like a glass one. Perhaps I should start a new discussion about this? Thanks again to all, Tim
@TimOz What date and country is your 249? As Colin said, the 249 usually came with a bulge globe, but I've seen a few here in Australia with a mica chimney on them. Tony
Hi Mine didn't come with a chimney, I had the mica one to try out and thought why not? And it may be more durable when out camping.. This 249 is an 1963, Australian made one. The light output appears warmer/slightly more rose coloured than my 201 with a glass chimney. Both lamps are running the same mantle. Tim
@TimOz Check the date and make sure it's not 53. There are no records of Australian-made Coleman's after 1960. Cheers Tony
