Pressurized fuel mantle lanterns... who uses them? Please step inside.

I got a coleman propane lantern I got about 12 yrs ago. I have only used it on camping trips.

You can't beat them for the about of area light that they produce.

Thanks for the tip about the mantles Flash.

Boaz -

Those are awesome.

Foy

Canadian Model 321 Deluxe Easi-Lite lantern with a blue painted fount and blue enameled ventilator ..... this is the one I like best....

Great thread! We do a bit of camping with the Scouts and the older lanterns and stoves just seem to perform better than the newer stuff. Have a couple of propane Northstars that perform well, except on low when it's really cold...they scream in protest...so much for "perfect flow" technology. Was thinking of buying some dual fuel Northstars, glad I read this first. Thanks again for the pics and links, good stuff.

Some 237/kero talk. If youre not interested in powerful kerosene lanterns, you might want to skip this...

I just scored another Coleman 237 off fleabay (the brightest Coleman lantern ever produced). I already have one manufactured in Canada and my new addition was made in the US. Some people are burning these on a blend of 75% kerosene and 25% Coleman fuel (so called "Amish mix") to make them burn even brighter and help keep the generator clean. I poured a batch of Amish mix last night and was nearly dumbfounded by how much brighter this thing burns. The 237 is said to be equivalent to a 400 watt incandescent bulb. If thats true, Id put it somewhere around 600+ watts with the thorium coated mantle + Amish mix. Oh this is fun stuff to play with... and I havent even burned down my workshop or house yet! 237's werent designed for economy. They are the Ferrari's of Coleman lanterns and guzzle fuel to the tune of about 1 quart (32 oz.) every 8 hours. Its also a rather loud lantern while in operation. It doesnt hiss like most lanterns. This one roars - kind of a cool sound. Cost with the Amish mix runs me about $3.00 per tank, so about $0.38/hour to operate. Since they burn kerosene, they cost about the same to operate as lesser lanterns that burn Coleman fuel and only produce half the light output. In my area, Coleman fuel is about twice as expensive as kerosene. Its also worth mentioning that the only time that there is a trace of kerosene odor is during cool-down after I turn it off. There's an easy work-around... I just set it outside for 5 minutes after turning off. Otherwise, not even a hint of odor while its burning. I dont mind burning kero indoors but would never try that with Coleman fuel. The trade with kero is that it plugs the generator more quickly and requires more maintenance to keep it clean. I read about an easy way to clean heavily neglected generators. First, remove the gas tip from the generator and set it aside. Then pull the springs and rod "pricker" from the generator and heat those pieces with a blow torch until they turn a dull orange. Then quickly drop them in a glass of water. The fast quench causes the carbon deposits to fracture and fall off. Repeat as necessary. I only have a few gallons of fuel through my 237 so far and the generator has remained fairly clean up to this point. I'll update this post after Ive used it more. Coleman still makes most of the parts for this lantern and they are amazingly inexpensive. As I mentioned earlier, most older lanterns are nearly impossible to find parts for... another boon for the 237.


Some more great info about the 237 from FlameKeeper on CPF:

This has some old posts and misleading information .Some points I would like to correct here.

The Coleman 236 and 237 lanterns were designed and built in Canada but the Canadian Div of the company. The two remain the largest and brightest Gasoline and Kerosne lanterns Coleman ever produced. Later they were produced in the USA and Mexico in the form of kits from the Toronto factory. The Influence of the Canadian two post style of lantern can still be seen in the Only remaining large Kerosene lantern still produced the 639B ( product of USA ), Its a direct line it even shares the globe with the 1939 236 Major.....

As for dual fueling of presure lamps there is no issue unless the lantern has a Glyptal coated tank ( this coating was a band aid solution to prevent rust when the brass founts ended production ). Later Epoxy coated founts are safe from the solvent properties of modern gasoline and obviously the older brass and non coated steel are fine.

When using pump gasoline in a lantern there a small issue of clogging since the fuel is not as clean and refined as Naphtha gas. But cleaning a Gen is as easy as burning out the tars and Varnish with a niny torch and removing the carbon or desolving it with carb cleaner.

Some lanterns like the 237 and 247 ( Canadian Kersosene version of the 242 ) are marked " for Gasoline or Kerosene generator must be preheated ", In the case of the 247 the TK66 generator is a compromise that will run a little rich on Kero and a little lean on gasoline so it works. The Canadian 237 used a slightly larger gas tip ( I tip .0085 ) VS US made gens ( V tip .008 ).

The 237 Empire is probably the safest and most reliable multi fuel lantern out there and can be trusted to burn anything from Diesel to Gas.

AS far as the safety of the gas lanterns goes well they are only as safer as the user and I am not sure I would let young Boyscouts use them unsupervised.

For indoor use Coleman made table lamps like the 156 Kerosene ( I think the Kerosene units are not only better performers but safer ) and there is information posted on the net to convert other types using the R55, T66 or T44 generators to kerosene or true dual fuel


I just noticed that another nice looking 237 just showed up on ebay. Must resist...

Id like to score a nice 201, 247 or 249 some day. (smaller vintage kero burners)

Does anyone else have any other tips for operating 237's or other similar kero burners?

Boaz, I love the antique decor theme in your home! VERY NICE!! The lamps really bring out your intent.

soytnly, you wouldnt by chance own a descent 201, 247, 249 or similar you'd want to sell, would you? Im looking for one I can use so it doesnt have to be perfect. Id hate to convert my 200A.

Anyone else?

Unfortunately I don't...I love kero but have resisted that slippery slope...so far. I have kero Optimus/Primus stoves but that's it. Check on the Coleman collectors forum...someone there could help you out I'm sure...those guys are class A hoarders...and exceptionally nice people

As you found out, propane doesn't work well in real cold. If money is an issue, check craigslist...you can usually find very nice 220's for $10+ most any day. They made a zillion 220F's, if you were closer I'd give you a couple. The build quality is much better than the modern stuff, for the most part.

Oh Flash, love the 237, awesome buy!

Thank you for the heads-up and generous offer on the 220F's. Will keep an eye open for pressure-fuel lanterns on Craigslist. Presently everything we have is propane powered, but that's going to change.

Spent a little time looking through the lantern forums, boy do I have a lot to learn! Love the look of the older U.S and German brass and chrome lanterns, Mica globes, wow! They'd be a great addition to any picnic table or just the back porch even. It seems that I'll be spending more time and money that I don't have on these guys.

Thanks again, good thread.

Trig

I put a few adds on craigslist today in the wanted section: seeking old pressure lanterns. I already got a few replies and just picked up a pair of 200A's.

One will probably be used for kerosene conversion experimentation.

Picked up the Tilley's this weekend, looks like the birth of a new hobby.

Wow, that's just awesome...major score right out of the gates! You will definitely have fun with those. Start clearing room on a shelf, you will need it shortly

What a terrific find. Youre going to love those Tilley's. Ive been burning a lantern almost every night for the last month. Yeah, Im totally out of control with them but they are so much fun to tinker with. Especially the antiquie fixer-uppers. The build quality is simply amazing with many of the older ones.

Speaking of 220 lanterns, I just picked up a nearly new 220J today for $10. It even came with 10 packs of silk lites and a full can a coleman fuel. What an amazing deal.

For those that want to start hording lanterns on the cheap, put an add in your local internet sales (craigslist for me).

Thanks for the heads up. Ive got all my lantern in tip-top operational condition, thanks to CCF. You're right... I havent ran into a nicer group of people since visiting SCUBA and pilots forums. I might need to make a pilgrimage to one of the larger events.

You probably already know this, but 75 kero/25 CF makes for a nice clean burning kero lantern that you can burn indoors without a lot of CO emissions or the kero/CF smell. Just light and shut down outdoors. Burning 2 of my 237's heats my upstairs level quite nicely. Removing the vent allows probably at least 30% more light indoors.

My meager but quickly growing classic collection.

Just found your old Thread here. Time to fuel it up again. :stuck_out_tongue:

I had just got two off craigslist, not the nice older ones you guys have, but a 290 and a 295. I am assuming they both came with the hard plastic cases as the dates on the bottoms match up.

The 295 is basically new made in 2000.

The 290 is in pretty good shape, made the same year as me 1985. Looks barely used, but left out in the shed too long as theres some light rust on the plated steel and the old fuel is nasty and the inside of the fount needs some TLC. I think I am going to try converting the 290 to kerosene, and see about changing out some of the other parts to kind of visually customize it.

Some day I will get my hands on a 237, just going to have to wait and keep an eye out for the deal I can justify buying one at

Any photos of them yet? :slight_smile:

Those are the pictures from the add. I'll replace them with my own later tonight or tomorrow.

Note the two different size mantles on the 295 I'm the first two pics lol.

Overall they are both great condition. The 295 looks like it was only lit to be tested