It's not the water that makes isopropanol smoke. It's a heavier molecule with more hydrogen and carbon than ethanol or methanol and that's what makes it sooty. Even 99.9% isopropanol will burn with a lot of soot. That's what "heet" in the red bottle is. The yellow bottle is indeed methanol. You've done a great job explaining how these work, nice job!
I have a buddy here in California that loves USA 200A single mantel lanterns. He runs them off either pump gasoline or Kerosine with the correct Coleman fuel generator for the 200A. When he runs Kerosine, he removes the ventilator and globe, holds the lantern to the side and pre-heats the generator with a gas BBQ lighter (but I did see him do it with two stick matches). Once the generator is hot, he reassembles the lantern and it lights with a match the same way you would with Coleman fuel. It works perfectly. I never would have believed it if I did not see it and he always runs his 200As this way. Amazing!
All the gas models will run fine on unleaded, you just don't want to use stale unleaded or leave it in the fount long term. Unleaded will leave a nasty residue if stored and stale unleaded will make a mess of the fuel system over time. Instant-Lite models like a 200 don't typically run very well on kerosene, although conversion kits are available. Kerosene requires a smaller orifice in the gas jet, otherwise they'll run too rich. The gas generators won't have the same longevity when burning kerosene.
Here in the UK, there is a great alternative to Coleman Fuel, which is expensive. Its called 'Aspen 4' which is a highly refined unleaded without most of the additives. It is used in chainsaws, mowers etc. Works great in white gas lanterns!
Well done!!! I'll be restoring a Coleman, or Coleman type two lamp White Gas Chandelier. I have not seen any markings on it. It requires an external pressure pump which I still need to source. I grew up with Coleman Camp Lanterns but they all has built in pumps. Your stem to Stern Video was very helpful. Best of Luck, Stay Healthy..................
Thanks! I use yellow Heet in my Trangia stove. Pleased to know I can use it here too. Don't have a pressure lantern yet in either white gas nor kero, but ....soon.
Very very informative great job A to Z explanation thanks.... is there some form of pressure regulation or will higher pressure just burn brighter and use fuel less sparingly?... can it be pumped too much in short?... where can or do (if) most kerosene leaks occur? ... i have a 1970 canadian made model 639 does not appear to show b or c ... ?tin plated? fount
Fuel flow is regulated mostly by the pressure of liquid fuel expanding as it turns to vapour in the generator. If there isn't enough pressure in the fount the lantern will be dim, but you can't really over-pressurise them. It depends on how full the fount is, but about 25 strokes of the pump on most founts will give you maximum brightness. After that more pressure won't make a difference. Kerosene models are no more prone to leaks than gas models. Leaks typically happen when things are loose or when a fount is compromised by rust. Early 639s had nickel-plated steel founts and later ones were painted.
Thank you for the time you put into these informative and entertaining videos. I found that very useful. With Coleman “ dual fuel “ is that white gas and pump gas ? Or white gas and kerosene? I find the sheer amount of Coleman models a little bewildering especially when Coleman seemed to produce several models at the same time.
Very Pleasant video I enjoy learning about these lanterns thanks for the great videos..i have a US military Lantern that I'm trying to figure out why won't light I am trying to find a video on them pacifically ..any pointers or advice you could help me with thank you and once again great videos I enjoy watching them and learning
Thanks. I'm glad you've found the videos helpful. Unfortunately, I can't offer much help with a milspec. They aren't very common in Canada and I don't have any experience with them.
Thank you for the very informative video! What do you think of the current Coleman kerosene lantern? The gas makes me a little nervous in a lantern, and I really like the idea of using kerosene. Thank you.
I don't have any first-hand experience with the lanterns Coleman is currently producing, but I do know many folks like the 639C very much. I've got plenty of kerosene models in my collection, but I prefer gasoline, particularly when camping, because I can use the same fuel in both lantern and stove. Kerosene models are also more trouble in that you've got to carry along an alcohol bottle for preheating.
Great video and very nice lanterns. I have a 327 quicklite as well however the nickel plated fount has a pinhole leak in the side after pressure testing. Debating whether to try POR15 to seal or find an equivalent donor fount. Your advice would be sincerely appreciated.
327 founts are relatively easy to find, so my first suggestion would be to locate a good donor. If there's a good reason to save the existing fount, Caswell makes tank sealer suitable for fuel tanks under pressure. In fact, a year or two ago they started selling smaller cans of their sealer specifically for use in lantern and stove tanks. POR15 may work just as well, but plenty of collectors have contacted them to ask if it's suitable for use under pressure and they always respond: No. That may just be a liability issue, but I'd be inclined to go with the company (Caswell) that sells their product for this purpose.
I recently inherited a coleman lamp patented in 1925. It is a large lamp, about 24 inches tall with a large art deco base and a wide flat brim top about 10 inches or so across. I'm not sure what kind of fuel or mantles it requires, but your videos have instructed how to light it so thank you very much. I also received a small avocado colored "catalytic heater " that I dont know much about. What type of fuel it takes or how to light it remain a mystery. Can you offer any help or advice? Thank you so much!
Coleman made two types of catalytic heaters, some that run on white gas and some that run on propane. If it has a fuel tank, it's a white gas model. They're pretty simple. Fill the tank, remove the protective cover and snuffer, tilt it briefly to get a wet patch on the asbestos catalyst about the size of a dollar coin, then light it. Don't lean over it and be sure there's plenty of clearance above as it can make quite a flame when lighting. Eventually it will settle down and you can put the protective cover back on.
New to the vintage Coleman world. (Also fascinated with the old Swedish Primus gear as well). Just to clarify…. When you say “gasoline” are we talking about fuel for a car? Or, I assume you could mean Coleman white gas? Just wanting to be sure. My wife found a vintage 237a I’m going to be cleaning up nice and proper. Thanks SO much for sharing all this super helpful info!!!
With regard to Coleman lantern and stoves, when we talk about gasoline, we're usually talking about white gas (aka, naphtha or camping fuel). That said, unleaded gasoline can be used as well, just be sure it's fresh. Stale unleaded can make a mess of the fuel system just as it will in a car. Avoid storing an appliance with unleaded in it, as it will leave a mess, unlike white gas. Other manufacturers were often specific that their appliances could be run on either unleaded or white gas. Some specifically called for unleaded. Coleman gradually came to settle specifically on white gas, but back in the 20s, for example, Coleman stoves came with siphons for removing unleaded from your car's gas tank and adverts and instructions showed the process for siphoning gas from car to stove.
@@king.coleman “from car to stove”- love the practicality of times gone by. Thanks so much for the generous insight and wisdom. I plan to film some of these new found exploits as well. I figure the more folks share and learn about these old beauties, the more they’ll be collected and put back into service. I’ll def be looking out for more vids as you share them. Much appreciation for what your doing!
@@acidheadzzz To clean the fount/tank, I'd suggest starting by filling it with methyl hydrate or denatured alcohol and letting it sit for a few days. If that doesn't work, there are other options, but it would be helpful to know what stove model we're talking about.
@@acidheadzzz If it's an M1950, it's American. Like the milspec lanterns, they were made by a variety of manufacturers specifically for the US military and using military specifications. They were made only for the US military. You can find methyl hydrate at any hardware or paint store.
Any alcohol will work, you just want it to be 100%. Most people use ethanol or methanol. I use methyl hydrate. In the States it's usually sold as denatured alcohol (ethanol with enough methanol added to make it undrinkable). Some use Heet gas line antifreeze, which I believe is pretty much straight isopropanol. The 99% isopropanol sold in drugstores will work as well, but the 90% or 70% versions will be more difficult to light and will produce a lot of soot to make a mess of your lantern.
Love the channel! Have you ever tried to rebuild the brass external hand pump for the quick lite? Mine has no pressure. Just can't seem to find any information on it. Thanks!
@@king.coleman thanks for the reply and the useful content. Keep up the amazing work on these videos. And HAPPY NEW YEAR from Kentucky. Looking forward to your next video.
Good video. I learned quite a bit from this and from your 200A teardown video. Years ago my mom gave me a couple colemans after my grandpa passed. I didn't think much of them but one was a 220F he scratched his initials into like he did with everything he owned. My parents had one that I foolishly threw away about 15 years ago when the top ball nut cross threaded and twisted the top stud off. It even had an amber globe. Anyway, the other was a 1919 Air O Lantern Model QL which I figured out how to run and it works great. The only question I have, is was that QL originally designed to run on gasoline? It is quite black from soot, I assume from being lit without preheating. I learned the hard way that it needs to be preheated. Just wondering if it runs off gas. The cleaning valve is inside the globe so its a pain to turn while running.
Yes, the Quicklite was designed to run on gasoline. The original Q99 generators could be easily preheated with a couple of matches (see my video on "How to light a Quicklite"). The Q99 generators, however, were inconvenient if they clogged. To clean the tip you had to shut the lantern off, let it cool, and removed the generator to use a cleaning tool on the gas jet. Yours has an R55 generator, which included a built-in tip cleaner. The downside of the R55 is that it's not as simple to preheat. A lot of folks just light them and let them flare. Since they run on gas, they settle down fairly quickly, but it does leave a lot of soot on them. The Quicklites were made before the days of Pyrex globes and shipped with mica chimneys. The mica chimneys had a lighting door, which was also the access point for the tip cleaning lever. The R55 was a sort of universal generator. They were designed for both gas and kerosene and shipped on most kerosene lamps made between the 1930s and 1950s, were a replacement for the Q99, and you'll find them on some of the early Instant-lites. Since Quicklites have a simple fuel pick-up (the same as a kerosene lantern or lamp), you can burn kero in them with that R55 generator, you just need to add a spirit cup or preheat with a propane torch.
@@king.coleman thank you sir. I have actually been running white gas through it after preheating that straight generator with a torch. I'll try gas or kerosene. Much cheaper. Thanks for the info. I need to get a mica chimney as well. This has an old glass coleman sunrise globe from who knows when.
@@onropewithcmfm4430 To be clear, when I said "gas" I meant white gas (aka Coleman fuel, camp fuel, or naphtha). These were designed to burn white gas. You can burn regular unleaded, but make sure it's fresh. Stale unleaded will leave varnish through the fuel system and make a mess of the generator. And definitely don't store the lantern long-term with unleaded in it. White gas will last forever, but regular unleaded will not.
@@king.coleman I figured that was what you meant. I just cleaned a sears model big hat up that reaked of varnish and the fuel pickup was green and sticky from stale gasoline. Thanks again.
Dude...you and I would get along great! I love your videos. I have several Coleman lanterns myself. I think my 237 is my favorite model. That seafoam 237 of yours is absolutely beautiful! Your ventilators seem to be pristine! Most of mine are chipped like crazy. Where can I find a steel alcohol bottle like yours?
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
It's not the water that makes isopropanol smoke. It's a heavier molecule with more hydrogen and carbon than ethanol or methanol and that's what makes it sooty. Even 99.9% isopropanol will burn with a lot of soot. That's what "heet" in the red bottle is. The yellow bottle is indeed methanol.
You've done a great job explaining how these work, nice job!
It is wonderful to watch and listen to someone who actually knows what they are talking about. So many eejits with stoves and lamps on RUclips.
The nickel plated founts on the oldest lanterns are beautiful.
I have a buddy here in California that loves USA 200A single mantel lanterns. He runs them off either pump gasoline or Kerosine with the correct Coleman fuel generator for the 200A. When he runs Kerosine, he removes the ventilator and globe, holds the lantern to the side and pre-heats the generator with a gas BBQ lighter (but I did see him do it with two stick matches). Once the generator is hot, he reassembles the lantern and it lights with a match the same way you would with Coleman fuel. It works perfectly. I never would have believed it if I did not see it and he always runs his 200As this way. Amazing!
All the gas models will run fine on unleaded, you just don't want to use stale unleaded or leave it in the fount long term. Unleaded will leave a nasty residue if stored and stale unleaded will make a mess of the fuel system over time. Instant-Lite models like a 200 don't typically run very well on kerosene, although conversion kits are available. Kerosene requires a smaller orifice in the gas jet, otherwise they'll run too rich. The gas generators won't have the same longevity when burning kerosene.
I could listen to you all day. Your great
Here in the UK, there is a great alternative to Coleman Fuel, which is expensive. Its called 'Aspen 4' which is a highly refined unleaded without most of the additives. It is used in chainsaws, mowers etc. Works great in white gas lanterns!
Sounds like an alkylate fuel.
Well done!!! I'll be restoring a Coleman, or Coleman type two lamp White Gas Chandelier. I have not seen any markings on it. It requires an external pressure pump which I still need to source. I grew up with Coleman Camp Lanterns but they all has built in pumps. Your stem to Stern Video was very helpful. Best of Luck, Stay Healthy..................
Well done! Thanks for tackling this project!
Thanks! I use yellow Heet in my Trangia stove. Pleased to know I can use it here too. Don't have a pressure lantern yet in either white gas nor kero, but ....soon.
Thank you so much!
Very very informative great job A to Z explanation thanks.... is there some form of pressure regulation or will higher pressure just burn brighter and use fuel less sparingly?... can it be pumped too much in short?... where can or do (if) most kerosene leaks occur? ... i have a 1970 canadian made model 639 does not appear to show b or c ... ?tin plated? fount
Fuel flow is regulated mostly by the pressure of liquid fuel expanding as it turns to vapour in the generator. If there isn't enough pressure in the fount the lantern will be dim, but you can't really over-pressurise them. It depends on how full the fount is, but about 25 strokes of the pump on most founts will give you maximum brightness. After that more pressure won't make a difference.
Kerosene models are no more prone to leaks than gas models. Leaks typically happen when things are loose or when a fount is compromised by rust. Early 639s had nickel-plated steel founts and later ones were painted.
Thank you for the time you put into these informative and entertaining videos. I found that very useful. With Coleman “ dual fuel “ is that white gas and pump gas ? Or white gas and kerosene? I find the sheer amount of Coleman models a little bewildering especially when Coleman seemed to produce several models at the same time.
"Dual Fuel" means white gas and unleaded. Kerosene models will burn both kerosene and white gas, but Coleman never referred to them as "dual fuel".
Thanks @@king.coleman
Very Pleasant video I enjoy learning about these lanterns thanks for the great videos..i have a US military Lantern that I'm trying to figure out why won't light I am trying to find a video on them pacifically ..any pointers or advice you could help me with thank you and once again great videos I enjoy watching them and learning
Thanks. I'm glad you've found the videos helpful. Unfortunately, I can't offer much help with a milspec. They aren't very common in Canada and I don't have any experience with them.
Thank you for the very informative video! What do you think of the current Coleman kerosene lantern? The gas makes me a little nervous in a lantern, and I really like the idea of using kerosene. Thank you.
I don't have any first-hand experience with the lanterns Coleman is currently producing, but I do know many folks like the 639C very much. I've got plenty of kerosene models in my collection, but I prefer gasoline, particularly when camping, because I can use the same fuel in both lantern and stove. Kerosene models are also more trouble in that you've got to carry along an alcohol bottle for preheating.
Nice video , thanks 😊
Great video and very nice lanterns. I have a 327 quicklite as well however the nickel plated fount has a pinhole leak in the side after pressure testing. Debating whether to try POR15 to seal or find an equivalent donor fount. Your advice would be sincerely appreciated.
327 founts are relatively easy to find, so my first suggestion would be to locate a good donor. If there's a good reason to save the existing fount, Caswell makes tank sealer suitable for fuel tanks under pressure. In fact, a year or two ago they started selling smaller cans of their sealer specifically for use in lantern and stove tanks. POR15 may work just as well, but plenty of collectors have contacted them to ask if it's suitable for use under pressure and they always respond: No. That may just be a liability issue, but I'd be inclined to go with the company (Caswell) that sells their product for this purpose.
I recently inherited a coleman lamp patented in 1925. It is a large lamp, about 24 inches tall with a large art deco base and a wide flat brim top about 10 inches or so across. I'm not sure what kind of fuel or mantles it requires, but your videos have instructed how to light it so thank you very much. I also received a small avocado colored "catalytic heater " that I dont know much about. What type of fuel it takes or how to light it remain a mystery. Can you offer any help or advice? Thank you so much!
Coleman made two types of catalytic heaters, some that run on white gas and some that run on propane. If it has a fuel tank, it's a white gas model. They're pretty simple. Fill the tank, remove the protective cover and snuffer, tilt it briefly to get a wet patch on the asbestos catalyst about the size of a dollar coin, then light it. Don't lean over it and be sure there's plenty of clearance above as it can make quite a flame when lighting. Eventually it will settle down and you can put the protective cover back on.
New to the vintage Coleman world.
(Also fascinated with the old Swedish Primus gear as well).
Just to clarify…. When you say “gasoline” are we talking about fuel for a car? Or, I assume you could mean Coleman white gas?
Just wanting to be sure. My wife found a vintage 237a I’m going to be cleaning up nice and proper.
Thanks SO much for sharing all this super helpful info!!!
With regard to Coleman lantern and stoves, when we talk about gasoline, we're usually talking about white gas (aka, naphtha or camping fuel). That said, unleaded gasoline can be used as well, just be sure it's fresh. Stale unleaded can make a mess of the fuel system just as it will in a car. Avoid storing an appliance with unleaded in it, as it will leave a mess, unlike white gas.
Other manufacturers were often specific that their appliances could be run on either unleaded or white gas. Some specifically called for unleaded. Coleman gradually came to settle specifically on white gas, but back in the 20s, for example, Coleman stoves came with siphons for removing unleaded from your car's gas tank and adverts and instructions showed the process for siphoning gas from car to stove.
Note that your 237 is a kerosene model. You can burn gas in it, but it will run optimally on kerosene.
@@king.coleman “from car to stove”- love the practicality of times gone by. Thanks so much for the generous insight and wisdom.
I plan to film some of these new found exploits as well. I figure the more folks share and learn about these old beauties, the more they’ll be collected and put back into service.
I’ll def be looking out for more vids as you share them.
Much appreciation for what your doing!
@@acidheadzzz To clean the fount/tank, I'd suggest starting by filling it with methyl hydrate or denatured alcohol and letting it sit for a few days. If that doesn't work, there are other options, but it would be helpful to know what stove model we're talking about.
@@acidheadzzz If it's an M1950, it's American. Like the milspec lanterns, they were made by a variety of manufacturers specifically for the US military and using military specifications. They were made only for the US military.
You can find methyl hydrate at any hardware or paint store.
Could you provide a link to the correct Alcohol? My hardware store (USA) doesn't know and I don't know what other alcohols are that you mention.
Any alcohol will work, you just want it to be 100%. Most people use ethanol or methanol. I use methyl hydrate. In the States it's usually sold as denatured alcohol (ethanol with enough methanol added to make it undrinkable). Some use Heet gas line antifreeze, which I believe is pretty much straight isopropanol. The 99% isopropanol sold in drugstores will work as well, but the 90% or 70% versions will be more difficult to light and will produce a lot of soot to make a mess of your lantern.
Love the channel! Have you ever tried to rebuild the brass external hand pump for the quick lite? Mine has no pressure. Just can't seem to find any information on it. Thanks!
Yes, I have. I'll add that to a list of possible future videos.
@@king.coleman thanks for the reply and the useful content. Keep up the amazing work on these videos. And HAPPY NEW YEAR from Kentucky. Looking forward to your next video.
Good video. I learned quite a bit from this and from your 200A teardown video. Years ago my mom gave me a couple colemans after my grandpa passed. I didn't think much of them but one was a 220F he scratched his initials into like he did with everything he owned. My parents had one that I foolishly threw away about 15 years ago when the top ball nut cross threaded and twisted the top stud off. It even had an amber globe. Anyway, the other was a 1919 Air O Lantern Model QL which I figured out how to run and it works great. The only question I have, is was that QL originally designed to run on gasoline? It is quite black from soot, I assume from being lit without preheating. I learned the hard way that it needs to be preheated. Just wondering if it runs off gas. The cleaning valve is inside the globe so its a pain to turn while running.
Yes, the Quicklite was designed to run on gasoline. The original Q99 generators could be easily preheated with a couple of matches (see my video on "How to light a Quicklite"). The Q99 generators, however, were inconvenient if they clogged. To clean the tip you had to shut the lantern off, let it cool, and removed the generator to use a cleaning tool on the gas jet. Yours has an R55 generator, which included a built-in tip cleaner. The downside of the R55 is that it's not as simple to preheat. A lot of folks just light them and let them flare. Since they run on gas, they settle down fairly quickly, but it does leave a lot of soot on them. The Quicklites were made before the days of Pyrex globes and shipped with mica chimneys. The mica chimneys had a lighting door, which was also the access point for the tip cleaning lever.
The R55 was a sort of universal generator. They were designed for both gas and kerosene and shipped on most kerosene lamps made between the 1930s and 1950s, were a replacement for the Q99, and you'll find them on some of the early Instant-lites. Since Quicklites have a simple fuel pick-up (the same as a kerosene lantern or lamp), you can burn kero in them with that R55 generator, you just need to add a spirit cup or preheat with a propane torch.
@@king.coleman thank you sir. I have actually been running white gas through it after preheating that straight generator with a torch. I'll try gas or kerosene. Much cheaper. Thanks for the info. I need to get a mica chimney as well. This has an old glass coleman sunrise globe from who knows when.
@@onropewithcmfm4430 To be clear, when I said "gas" I meant white gas (aka Coleman fuel, camp fuel, or naphtha). These were designed to burn white gas. You can burn regular unleaded, but make sure it's fresh. Stale unleaded will leave varnish through the fuel system and make a mess of the generator. And definitely don't store the lantern long-term with unleaded in it. White gas will last forever, but regular unleaded will not.
@@king.coleman I figured that was what you meant. I just cleaned a sears model big hat up that reaked of varnish and the fuel pickup was green and sticky from stale gasoline. Thanks again.
There is a slug of 639C kerosene lanterns that showed up new old stock on Amazon for $100 US. Couldn't help myself
Dude...you and I would get along great! I love your videos. I have several Coleman lanterns myself. I think my 237 is my favorite model.
That seafoam 237 of yours is absolutely beautiful!
Your ventilators seem to be pristine! Most of mine are chipped like crazy. Where can I find a steel alcohol bottle like yours?
Thanks. The alcohol bottles current for sale are plastic. Ebay is probably your best bet if you're looking for a vintage metal one.
@1:40 Sorry.... No! we didn’t notice
👍👍
I have an old kerosine lantern. Indian make.