Coleman's model 237 lanterns are at the top of their league when it comes to Coleman's largest, brightest and best built lanterns. They are rated at 500+ candlepower and equivalent in output to 400W of incandescent lighting.
The new Coleman mantles are lousy when compared to older iterations. Today's versions now burn a dingy yellow and cast a nauseating yellow light with far less intensity. The removal of the naturally occurring radioactive chemical "thorium" has been eliminated from the Coleman mantle manufacturing processes, due to public overreaction to something with extremely low amounts of radioactivity.
Luckily, I was alerted to a source for great new Peerless thorium coated mantles. The difference is (as they say) night and day.
Ive been experimenting with different gas tip sizes and fuel mixtures to see which ones put out the maximum amount of light while burning the cleanest. The greatest increases in output were realized by simply changing over to the Peerless 111 mantles.
My 237's get Peerless 111 thorium mantles and a blend of fuel to help them burn a bit more cleanly. Much, much brighter than before. All the talk about Peerless mantles is true. They are much brighter than non-thorium coated mantles and much stronger than Coleman mantles. Better rounded shape and cheaper too!
Left: Made in Canada 237 - burning 33% Coleman Fuel / 66% Kerosene
Right: Made in the US 237 - burning 15% Coleman Fuel / 85% Kerosene
The sensor on the camera was completely pegged, but the one on the left is noticeably brighter while burning the higher concentration of Coleman fuel. Standing 50 feet away from them while outdoors, the differences were negotiable between the two and my neighbors couldn't discern which was brighter.
My furnace went down and I used the 237's to helped heat my home till the repair guy showed up a few days later. They burn clean with zero fuel smell while in operation. Kerosene puts off less less CO emissions than gas or Coleman fuel, and the 237's burn very hot for good complete combustion. These lamps are truly awesome. Far better than the two brand new $120 Coleman Northstar duel fuel junk that I returned for not operating properly. I wasted so much time swapping parts and troubleshooting them with Coleman tech support. I even bought them several years apart thinking I had acquired a lemon with the first one. Lesson learned... only the older tried and true lanterns for now on. These things are beautiful and crafted mostly of heavy brass part. Even the tank and frame are brass with a high polished nickle coating.
Its to bad these have long gone out of production, but nice ones can still be found on ebay for around $100 or less.
Check out the warm welcome I received over on the CCF forum that i just joined. CCF is definitely the place to learn about pressure lanterns and how to maintain them. The crowed is very friendly, mature, earthy and sophisticated.
I think there are enough enthusiasts here that might also be interested... thus the lantern review for BLF.
Cheers & happy kero burning!
