Welcome to Coleman Stories
Tales from the Old Town Coleman Spit & Whittle Club
It might be dad's old lantern, grandma's special Coleman® lamp, or a child enjoying time camping with the family. It could be a lantern you bought 30 years ago, or one that you just bought. Some things are special and I believe that almost everyone has a Coleman® story.
People have been sending me their Coleman® stories for almost twenty years and
they are always heart warming. I never get tired of hearing about grandpa's old lantern coming back to life--that is why I maintain this website in the first place.
The following photos and stories have been sent in by good folks who are proud of their lamps, lanterns, stoves and collections, and they'd like to show them off.
If you'd like to join in, please email your photo(s) and story to oldtowncoleman@gmail.com and put "Coleman Story" in the subject line.
Enjoy!
Keeping the hobby alive!
Ryan from Carencro, LA sent me these photos of his 12-year-old son Connor with his 2022 Christmas present, a beautiful Coleman 288A CL2 lantern with red case. Any collector who has found a very special lantern can understand the excitement on Connor's face...just wait until he finds his first one out in the wild! Welcome to our hobby Connor!
When I was a very young boy around the age of 5 my dad was a Boy Scout leader and my brother was just going into Boy Scouts. As long as I can remember, the memories of camping in the winter up in Rangeley, Maine were so special. What I always remember about those trips was falling asleep to the sound of the campfire crackling, the boys softly talking and the soft hollow hissing sound of the Coleman lanterns providing the light in the deep Maine darkness. I had always been fascinated by the mantles glowing and how the lanterns operated. When my dad took us camping he always had Coleman lanterns and falling asleep to the hollow hissing sound was nothing short of heavenly.
I am 59 years old now, a 10 year veteran Boy Scout leader and wilderness survival enthusiast. My son who is now 32, is an Eagle Scout and our memories of camping with the Scouts will forever be cherished. We didn't allow gas lanterns but we always had Coleman propane lanterns and one was always positioned at the latrine entrance as a beacon in the night when nature called in the middle of the night.
I have since moved on from scouting but my love of the outdoors is forever ingrained in my soul. I never really had a hobby but since having a few double mantle lanterns and a 200-A with metal case that my wife's uncle gave me, and after finding a 242-C lantern in a dumpster, I now have a hobby that, thanks to your videos, my hobby consists of going over all of my lanterns and refurbishing them. I want to refurbish the 242-C but that will be my last project as it needs a lot of work. I have a collection of gas lanterns as well and one very old one with a red globe from a railroad.
The Coleman lanterns bring me much joy and again, thanks to you and your videos, the joy is deeper. My love of the outdoors, as I say, I feel just as comfortable in the middle of the woods as I am in my own living room, all started because of the hollow hissing sound of Coleman lanterns 54 years ago when I was a young boy. Thank you very much and continue to do what you do to bring joy to those of us who love the ambiance that only a Coleman lantern can provide.
I also want to mention that I watch your videos while I am at work framing very valuable museum grade artworks!
Jay Cimbak, CPF
I came across your theory of operation videos the other night.
I had just fabbed a homemade check valve removal tool for a 228E that I bought from a friend at church. The tool worked great. I managed to change out the check, but I still couldn’t get the thing to fire. The fount was finally pressurizing, but I couldn’t get fuel to the burner. Geez! What now?
That’s when I came across your theory videos on YouTube. From watching your videos I suspected (correctly) that the problem lay with the fuel/air tube in the fount. I could get air through the burner tube, but I could not get that soft ‘pop’ that tells you fuel’s flowing and the lantern’s ready to be lit.
I pulled the whole thing apart. I pulled the fuel/air tube out, and sure enough, the thing was covered in a hard, black varnish from old fuel. The metering rod inside was hung up, (also from old fuel), so it would let air through, but little else. I swapped out the fuel/air tube with a new one, and put it all back together. The thing fired up and ran beautifully. I owe it to your theory of operation videos. Once I understood how these lanterns work, isolating the problem was easy.
I’ve had a fondness for Coleman lanterns ever since I was I kid. My dad was a camp counselor of sorts for our church’s youth group in the 80s. He’d let me light the church’s eight or ten lanterns in the evenings. I thought I was so cool. From that time on, I’ve been like a moth, drawn to these lanterns.
When my wife and I bought our house about fifteen years ago, my dad gave me a several hand-me-downs as house-warming gifts (or maybe just to get rid of the junk he didn’t want in his garage anymore). Among that stuff was his black and blue Sears lantern that had made the trip to youth camp and back for as long as I could remember. That lantern started the collection. For my wife’s sake, I’ve tried to keep the collection to a reasonable amount, and I try to make use of what I have. Among other uses, it’s been tradition at my house to line the walkway to my wife’s families' cars every Christmas night with lanterns, regardless of how cold it is. The neighbors probably think I’m nuts; they’re just too nice to say anything.
I’m rambling. This is just to say thanks. Your tutorials have been immensely helpful. I have a healthy mechanical background, but Coleman lantern theory had escaped me until I watched your videos.
Link Gross
Port Washington, WI
Roger Smith is a freelance writer from Indiana that contacted me a few months back asking about single-burner stoves that could support a significant amount of weight. He melts down old wheelweights and lead scraps to cast bullets, and was tired of the mess this process made on his beloved 413G stove. His literary work has been published in numerous gun periodicals, and he is a contributing editor of GUNS magazine by FMG Publications. I asked Roger to pen us a story:
Hi Frank,
I forget- is it wine, women and song that most gladden a man’s heart, or is it new tools?
A light coating of Brownell’s Rust Preventive No. 2 (brownells.com), and into zipper plastic bags with a piece of anti-rust vapor paper for each of them, then into the parts/tool cabinet.
This hole I have fallen into seems plenty big, but also awfully deep, and sure would be dark if it weren’t for my nice bright trusty Coleman lantern or two or three or... well, never mind how many.
As I look around, I see openings to a lot of side tunnels tempting me to explore. As I approach, each one seems to have a faint, sweet voice calling my name from deep within.
A really strange thing about this hole is the odd echo chamber effect. No matter what I say, even when I call for help, it always seems to come back to me as “Coleman, Coleman, Coleman.”
As I look around, I realize that this Coleman Hole I’ve fallen into isn’t just a simple big round hole at the bottom. Those smaller side caves I initially saw are just a small part of what’s waiting to entice me in.
This place is very irregularly shaped, more like a labyrinth than a simple underground room. As I move around an outcropping or make a small change in any direction, openings disappear from view as new ones appear in front of me with those faint sweet voices softly calling to me from within. Each one seems to be emanating a slightly different, but very pleasant, very enticing sweet and/or spicy aroma mixed with the hydrocarbons.
The floor of The Coleman Hole is fairly smooth, but I did feel a faintly bumpy line underfoot. Bending closer with my trusty old 220F to examine it, I discovered it’s actually a pair of lines, whose bumpy pattern looks like the tracks left in the dirt by old military Jeeps with their skinny grave-digger tires.
Following them around a bend, they lead to a tunnel with “Military” scratched above the entrance. It seems to be a bit brighter in there than in the others, although I can’t see around the bend about 20 feet in. Also, instead of perfume, it smells more like campfire smoke, plus, is that sour mash I smell cooking? Rather like what the ethanol plant out at the edge of town smells like. And instead of seduction, I’m sure I hear deeper voices singing a totally bawdy song, accompanied by raucous laughter. And a faint muffled “pop, ting” over and over like someone plinking tin cans with a suppressed .22.
Uh-oh. I know what lies therein. Model 520 Coleman Military Burner “pocket stoves”, a.k.a. the M1941 (and/or 1942) Stove. And probably civilian 530 “G.I. pocket stoves” as Coleman called them after WWII.
And Coleman Model 252 military lanterns with their four-piece globes, along with Mil-Spec contract clones by at least seven other companies. Have to have one of each if you dare to enter there. And spare parts by and for each. And replacement globe panels by every identifiable maker. And then you have to have all of the original Mil-Spec packaging for each item, don’t you?.
Then there are the Korean War-era aluminum M.A.S.H. shade/reflectors painted olive drab on the top, and the exotic Vietnam-era CIA-modified infrared converted 200A lanterns to mark air-drop locations, makeshift landing strips and helo pads in the dark. And who knows how many other specialized globes and shades are deep down in there?
Plus the after-market parts like the ceramic silent nozzle setup for Mil-Spec lanterns I just saw on eBay.
Will I ever be able to purge my mind of what I’ve discovered?
If I wasn’t holding a lantern in one hand, I’d poke my fingers in my ears as I’m slowly backing away trying to keep from hearing that deep but smooth voice calling out, “Is that you Roger? C’mon in.” Turn around and run, Roger, run. Just don’t stumble and fall, breaking the globe and shattering the mantles while it’s running.
“Oh Lord, help me!” I plead. I’ve already told you what comes echoing back. “But please, I don’t have that much money or display space. I don’t even have enough storage space.”
"Coleman, Coleman, Coleman...” is all I hear back. Am I truly doomed? Is there no hope for me?
Helpless and hopeless,
Roger Smith
Hi Frank,
Thought I’d throw in my Coleman story into the hat.
In the 70’s I met a guy named Marvin in Portland, OR. We were working for the same outfit and became lifelong friends, even though our lives changed in many ways over the yrs. I was an inveterate backpacker and he was a sourdough car
camper. In the beginning I sneered at all his Coleman stuff because it was so heavy. He’d been creamed in a logging accident and had many physical limitations. So, I couldn’t count on him for a backpacking pal, but he was always up for a 4WD camping adventure.
He proceeded to tell me and show me all about Coleman camping appliances. I was amazed at how durable they were and that you could for the most part, emulate home lighting and cooking feats. Because he had almost no strength in his left arm, he had figured all kinds of ways to pump up the white gas tanks. Previously, 
when he finally recovered from his logging accident, he accelerated his camping and fishing pursuits. He knew all the nuances of lanterns and stoves....learned the hard way because he had no teacher/mentor. But....he was my mentor and I always showed him much appreciation inside the ‘learning curve’.
So....I really have no stories about ‘Grandpa’, ‘Uncle Buck’, or Coleman camping with my ‘Dad’ etc. It was just Marvin and our friendship which lasted over 40yrs until he passed. We took my Jeep once in the late 70’s, went all over the PNW and eventually wound up in CO. We were living off the land eating rabbits, squirrels and other small game. Working construction when we needed money and then retreating to the mountains. 
It was an uncertain future in those days, but I can only remember it now with great fondness. All we really had to worry about was gas for the Jeep and adequate shelter. It was all a Coleman show except for my light-weight tent and occasionally firing up a backpacking stove. Marvin started out with rectangular Coleman sleeping bags, but I soon broke him into light-weight backpacking mummies for the seasons. So yeah, he was 'teachable' too. He did come to respect backpacking gear as well.
Put us together in the mountains and never a cross word between us but put us on flatland inside a house and we would eventually bicker until someone left...usually me...he was ten years my senior. But we always stayed in touch even when I got married and had a farm in central MO. The only time I lost touch with him was at the end when they put him in a home. I had no idea where he was. Eventually a family member clued me in too late, because he had passed on.
Almost everything I know about Coleman products is because of Marvin. He really knew that stuff from the ‘School of Hard Knocks’. One time he was camping by a river in OR with a then wife. They met a minister and his family who seemed really nice. Marvin and his wife left the campsite for ten minutes to go down to the river, came back and every piece of Coleman gear was stolen. The minister and his family had evaporated! Not knocking religion but don’t assume because someone is a “minister” they’re above reproach....protect your stuff always!! Tough lesson to lose ALL your Coleman gear in one shot like that.
Here are some pics of some of my gear. I don’t really collect Coleman as such....just have it. I didn’t picture everything because I’m not sure where it all is....but it’s not stolen!!
I miss Marvin.......
Kevin/Walla Walla, WA
Jason T sent me this Coleman story. As you will notice, I really enjoyed one of the photos because it demonstrates exactly why I want to keep this website alive forever.
Every summer, while visiting my father in Oregon from California, he would take me and my sister out camping on multiple trips. I loved falling asleep to the sounds of the Coleman hiss, adults laughing and staying up late, critters of the night, and the river rushing by, or lake waves lapping as they met the shoreline.
Last summer, during the pandemic isolation, a neighbor was offering up his 1952 220E for free and I was looking for a hobby. I swung by to pick it up and we had a long chat. He seemed very emotional giving it away and I assured him I would take great care of it. After watching all your rebuild videos and with the assistance of my 5 year old daughter, we got to work and put new life into that lantern.
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Since then, I have been hard at work finding and restoring many different lanterns and stoves. My wife loves yard and estate sales and always keeps her eyes open for me. My daughter now calls me Old Daddy Lantern Hands when my hands smell of rust, white gas, carb cleaner, and mother’s mag. It has been a great distraction from the isolation and will continue to be a passion for the rest of my life.
I hope my daughter can one day look back and remember the nostalgic memories from our upcoming outdoor adventures when she hears that hiss.
Now off into the woods we will go!
PS: The neighbor was very happy to see it back up and running and immediately jokingly asked for it back. I send him updates every time I use it.
Karen from eastern Canada contacted me one day on Facebook, telling me that she had used my videos to disassemble and clean a 220F lantern that she wanted to electrify for her vintage 1970 Shasta camper. I could tell by the way she spoke that she had a great deal of respect for the lantern and wanted to keep it as original as possible in case she decided to return it gas use. She went so far as to "open up" the frame rest to accommodate the wiring, and then closed it with fresh rivets. I think she did an outstanding job and I could never give enough praise for taking an old dirty lantern and giving it a fresh start. Thank you Karen, it is really, really awesome!
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Mike Denny has been at it again--this time he sent in these awesome photos of the 220F he brought back to life:
"I wanted to show you my latest effort at a restoration of this 220F. After receiving this from an online auction, I set it in the trash can and stared at it for a week, deciding if I really wanted to tackle the job. Bought it for $11 and probably paid $10 too much.
Anyway it turned out pretty nice."
I agree! Great job Mike.
I have a model 228D (1949) originally purchased by my grandfather who used to use it when he fished on Lake Erie. He gave it to my father, who used it during our family camping trips, then I got it from him and used it on my own family's camping trips. It has a huge sentimental value here. Just the sound of it makes me smile and dream of days long ago. It has had minor rebuilds over the years, but recently developed a leak somewhere in the valve stem.
Your site helped me a great deal in rebuilding this old fella. Tons of detailed description, good photos, sound advice. We are up and running. Sure hope that Coleman continues to provide parts. It's amazing that they still do, actually. Anyway, thanks again for doing this labor of love. The rest of us old tinkerers sure appreciate it!
My kids (now in their 20s) also have a place in their hearts for “grandpa’s lantern,” and were happy to see that I got it running again. My brother-in-law has an ultrasonic cleaner and he did the tube cleaning for me. Truly a family affair! These lanterns are a link to the old days, old technology, and old folks that seems to help calm the frazzled nerves of today.
Jeff B.
Casey Ford sent me this photo, along with the heartwarming story of how it came to be:
"I got this memorial tattoo about 3 years ago when Dad passed. Dad had given me his old 228 lantern when I was 18 (I'm in my 40’s now). He gave me that lantern along with a great love of the outdoors and all things wild. I have many great memories of deer and elk camps, camping trips and family reunions hanging out with the hissing of lanterns in the background. Now I’m sharing these same experiences with my kids. I found your site in an effort to rebuild an old 220 I picked up at a antique store. Unfortunately the 228 my dad gave me was stolen on a recent hunting trip in Montana. I’m loving your website and your YouTube channel. Thanks for all the great info, glad to see so many people enjoying these old lanterns and stoves. I almost forgot about the stoves. What would camp be like with out a Coleman stove? Be some sad hungry folks I guess. Anyways, thanks again.
When my parents & I first started camping, it was in a cotton canvas umbrella tent, pinned-together blankets, & a Coleman 425C stove, all hauled in a 1957 Ford Fairlane. My parents, the tent, & the Ford are all gone now, but my family of four used the Coleman to cook most of our meals on a recent week-long trip through Colorado, Wyoming, & South Dakota. It looks a bit disreputable, but with the info from your site, I'd like to make like nearly-new again.
I had several other white gas Colemans...the Peak 1 compact stove and matching lantern, which I used for camping & Army field exercises. They were killed off by Desert Storm. Stove fuel/white gas was unavailable, so I was forced to use Army "mo-gas," which is a mediocre grade of auto gas. That, plus the fine grit of the desert was their death-knell. With regret, they were tossed into a burn pit in the Iraqi desert just before I rotated back to the States.
Thank you for your informational website.
Rodger M.
Master Sergeant, US Army (Retired)
Mike Denny did an awesome job cleaning up this rescued 200A:
"I've always been a fan of the Coleman lanterns and stoves since my parents first took me camping at age 9. My father had what I believe was a 220E. He showed me how to fuel it, put mantles on it, prep the mantles for use, light it, and most of all stressed safety, safety, safety. After a bit of practice, when he was convinced I could follow his guidelines, he made me the family "lantern keeper". While I never collected them, now in my early senior years, I have renewed my interest in camping and have started to acquire a few lanterns. The newer models are ok and I have a couple. Recently on a camping trip to a park near where I grew up, my brother in law gifted me what he called a "rescue" lantern. It's 37 years old and I'm guessing it sat in his shed for 25 years. By watching your 3 videos on restoring the 200A, I was able to bring it back to life. I am grateful to you for that gift.
Thank you for the kind words Mike and great work!
When I was growing up, camping was a family recreation we all enjoyed,
so we did it often. I remember the old 220E that my Dad always took
with us and the smell of the Coleman fuel as it lit and the soft hiss
of it lighting up the evening camp.
Anyway, 30 years later, I was in his garage sorting through things after his passing and came across that old 220E. It was in a state of disrepair, which Im sure everyone
here knows what I mean, so I decided I was going to resurrect it. I
spent hours tinkering with it, because frankly, I knew nothing about them. But I am very mechanical so I eventually got it figured out and running smooth. Then came the fettling, a term I didnt know anything about at the time.
I enjoyed doing the whole project so much that I found another one at a garage sale and bought it, I think for about 5 bucks and found The Coleman Collectors forum online while working on it, and with the help of those wonderful members, I resurrected another. Since then I have found several sites full of wonderful
Coleman and other GPA people on many sites including this one and have
had the priviledge to help other newcomers to the art of resurrection
of these industrial masterpieces.
I now have my personal collection which are my favorite pieces. And I have a hundred pieces I saved just to keep them from the junk pile that I sell to people that truly want a piece they can count on for another 50 or more years. Although I
guess everything has a price, I dont typically sell my collection pieces, but money talks, there is one piece that cant be bought.
Dad's old 220 E. That piece though started an obsession with keeping the old alive and my time spent with him alive as well. There are many nice new models, but nothing compares to the old workhorse lanterns. I have many from the teens and 20's of the last millenium that I still break out and fire up to show off a bit, but also to educate the younger people how well product used to be made.
Donald B., Punxsutawney Pa
Charlie H had a 1952 Coleman 252A that had rust issues. After much work, he found that the rust would instantly re-appear inside the fount after cleaning. As he said, "I managed to solve that issue by rinsing with distilled water and baking soda after the vinegar soak. I also switched to apple cider vinegar soak and then a ton of BBs to remove rust which did the trick. Tank is spotless now and lantern seems to be running fine."
Thanks for the tip Charlie! He also cleaned up a few other lanterns and was kind enough to send me the photos. Great work eh?
I just want to say thank you! I had questions about it so I searched and found your very detailed site. Maybe I need parts.
Yesterday I wanted to see of the old stove worked. Cant’ recall the # or year right now, I had not lit it in maybe 5 years. I apparently flooded it.
The tank was emptied back then so I put new fuel in. No leaks. Pumped it up a little. No leaks. I l wiped it down a little. it is clean, just rusty. I looked in the burner tube and it was clean.
I assembled, checked the second burner was closed. turned the tip cleaner up, down , up..opened the valve and I heard hissing, so I knew it was sending fuel. I closed the valve and got some matches. At first it wouldn’t light.just a little minniscule bit around the burner then it would go out. I turned it off. pumped more tried again, i guess i opened the valve too much, not all the way, and got a flare up! woa!
Put it away and now I am reading your site!
I will do my reading and try again tomorrow.
I wondered how the burner assembly is made. Your info was great! I doubt they have been replaced as I have had the stove for about 26 years. Free find at the dump! It has not had a lot of use by me. Maybe 4 or 5 times a year from 1991-1995 and a handful of times since 2000.
The screws on the burners will not budge (large screw slots!) so I need to put parts blaster or something on them, get the bigger screw driver if I am to take it apart.
I think it is fine, I just flooded it. I will blow it out and use your steps and see how it goes. I will use a long fireplace match just in case.
I loved the stove back then, I am going on a camp trip and wanted to use it.
We have a 2 burner propane stove that is fairly new, and may use that instead.
I like the Coleman fuel stove because I have an old lantern that works great and then I do not have to buy propane.
If I get time and remember I will send you photos.
Thanks.
Diane D.
Burns R. was having a heck of time lighting his 220E, even after cleaning it all out and replacing the generator. In his words, "I disassembled everything and took a closer look. Turns out the tip cleaner body was distorted from someone taking it apart incorrectly in the past. You can see in the attached photo that the opening is oval-ed and while the tip cleaner would screw in, it would bind a bit. I think air was being admitted in around the threads, thereby altering the fuel/air ratio. I also noticed some fuel moisture around the threads when I over-pumped the fount in an attempt to light it off. I bought a used tip cleaner body online, installed it and it lit right off as it should."
Burns saw the issue and understood what was wrong. As you can see in the 2nd photo, all turned out well...very well. Looks great Burns!
Frank, Thank you for your help on the Coleman 3F stove. I had soaked the old pump cup in 3 in 1 oil and that didn't work, so I turned it inside out as per your tutorial, and put it in motor oil... works fine, but I should get a new one.
Was able to get the check valve out with PB Blaster and it is good. I cleaned the valve, fuel and air tube, generator, needle and tip. I was not able to get the spring out of the generator tube. The needle is slightly loose, but works. I don't imagine there is a replacement available. I left the packing alone as you said it may not be available and looked good.
I took the burner plates off and cleaned them, but they were fine. They are cast iron or steel. The tank had a lot of crud in it after 90 years and took about 30 flushes with hot water.
Got my 70s vintage Optimus 99 going again too. Anyway, I made breakfast on it this morning. Might get a 220J195 Lantern with box and manual off Craig's List for $25 Want back up for my propane one.
Thanks,
Gary R.in CO
Some people have all the luck! Ben U. sent in this photo of a 425 stove he found at a yard sale, complete with all the original documents. Wow what an awesome stove Ben!
Hello,
I had bought a Coleman Peak 1 model 400-499 during my mid-late twenties (shortly after the Falklands war). I had taken it with me across Western Europe while travelling lean and mean during my late-thirties early forties. Then it sat in a cupboard untouched for many years.
I pulled it out recently, filled it with some Aspen petrol, and started it up. Amazing, after nearly forty years it runs just as it did when new.
Your web site is a valuable resource for Coleman users.
Regards, David L.
Bill B. sent in these photos of his Camplite LRL21-B along with this note: "I don’t know what the protocols are for a non-Coleman lantern, but thought I would send it along. I picked up this little Kamplite LRL21-B a while back because it was different. It wasn’t in terrible bad shape but everything turned and it cleaned up pretty well.
From what I’ve been able to find, these models were made between 1956 and ’59 (I was made in 1958). I didn’t have to replace any parts other than the missing globe.
Here is a before and after photos."
Very cool Bill and thanks for the photos!
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Our newest collector/helper, Tom F. of Saratoga Springs, New York sent in these awesome photos for addition to the Spit & Whittle Club. Thank you Tom, we sure appreciate it! The shadows are very cool.
Hello,
My name is Mark and I live in Temple City, CA. Oldtowncoleman.com is absolutely AWESOME!!! You enabled me to rebuild my 1960 228E Coleman lantern with precise, complete, step-by-step and easy to understand instructions, tips how to avoid mistakes and accompanied with exceptionally great color photos. That combination will afford anyone with basic mechanical skills and tools the ability to rebuild their treasured Coleman lantern. Don’t be surprised if your rebuilt lantern seems to shine brighter than it ever has before, actually or perceived!
A side benefit of rebuilding your lantern is acquiring a precise knowledge of how all the individual parts function together and afford operational and performance insight unavailable anywhere else.
I was given the lantern about 10 years ago. Lacking any operational instructions and with very little persuasion (yet a few learning mistakes), if fired-up and performed very well for a number of years on our yearly family trips to the Eastern Sierra. We all immediately noticed how much nicer the light from the old lantern was compared to the modern propane-canister units. Yes, the old ones require pumping now and then, but the nostalgic ambience is well worth the effort.
My lantern sat unused for the past 3 years so I decided to add oil in the oil hole of the pump; but ignorantly WAY TOO MUCH! It fouled the fuel and “jets” to the point it would not work properly. Almost very thing had to come apart to be de-oiled. But prior to over-oiling, everything was operating just fine. Hence, I did not replace anything, just a thorough cleaning. But EXTREME CARE must be taken for the delicate parts, especially the “tip cleaner” as well as others.
Allow me to add one thing; “Insta Clip” mantles are junk! Try to purchase the old style “tie-on, string” mantles. At least with my 228E, the insta-clip mantles do not fit snugly on the head of the manifold, allowing gas to escape where it is not supposed to, possibly causing excessive heat and fuel usage.
The lantern is back in its full glory affording us with an appropriate ambience yet more than plenty of light for our campsite. Additionally, I NOW KNOW EXACTLY how to operate it to its full potential!!!
THANK YOU, OLDTOWNCOLEMAN.COM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark T.
Brian D. of Bloomington, Indiana was having minor issues with his stove but all was well after he replaced the check valve. He took his family camping and used the 428 stove he had received 15 years earlier as a Christmas gift. He hopes his young boys will someday use the same stove with thier families. Based on that incredible breakfast and the smile, I'd say it's a done deal.
David H sent in this photo and a quick note:
"This is me with a few pieces from my running collection. I put on a little class for a Tin Can Tourist vintage camper rally that my wife, Beth, was hosting. Just a basic how to class for people new to Coleman. The rally was held at The Ciderhouse Campground in Bouckville NY."
Thanks David, we love vintage campers!
After watching one of my videos and seeing me explain the differences between the pre-1963, 1963 to 1970 and the post-1970 fuel filler caps, a gentleman from Canada pointed out that Coleman Canada did it quite differently:
Hi Frank, here are my 411 and 411A stoves, respectively dated 1-64 and 2-65. The 411 is, to my knowledge, the first-ever Coleman GPA, Toronto and Wichita combined, to feature a one-piece cap, although this has to be confirmed by Coleman historians. Obviously, this one-piece non-Plamann cap is a short-lived transitional item.
On Terrence Marsh's website, there's a photo of Agostino Del Coro's new, unfired 411A with its original one-piece filler cap, which leads me to believe my 411A's red cap is the original. The reason why Wichita waited until 1970 to put the one-piece cap on their GPA's still puzzles me.
Strangely enough, my 1-70 Canadian 200A came from the factory with a 3-piece cap. Go figure...
Alain C.
St. Hyacinthe, QC Canada
I have met some incredible people in this hobby, and one of the finest was Mr. Mark Baldwin, shown below (center) at a Coleman convention in the early 2000s. Mark and I got to be very good collector friends, and he was a frequent visitor to my website and parts department. I was saddened to find out earlier this year that Mark had passed away.
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The good news is that his son, Mitchell, is now active in the hobby and has started down the road of Coleman addiction. He has his dad's model 237 lantern and is rightfully very proud to own it. As I write this, Mitchell is in the middle of his very first lantern rebuild, a 228B he found not long ago. Good luck and we can't wait to see it running!
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Stephen P of Fort Worth, TX sent in this photo of he father's 425F from 1983. Beautiful stove Stephen!
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A gentleman sent me this photo of a really neat 220E lantern with a military burner conversion kit. It was made in November 1954 and has a very unique paint scheme.
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Steve J. of Huntington Beach, CA sent in these photos of the 220K lantern that he bought new in the early 1980s. Just as beautiful, all these years later!
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David H from Hamilton, NY sent this photo via Facebook, asking what year it was manufactured. Thanks to help from the members it was determined to be from June of 1963. Just beautiful.
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Adam G sent this tongue-in-cheek photo of his beautiful living room in response to a hanging outdoor lantern photo posted on Instagram by Coleman USA. Wish I could hang lanterns in my living room...
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Chris C from Santa Clarita, CA posted this lantern hanger photo via Facebook. Very unique and oh-so cool.
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Crystal H of Arlington, WA is one of the nicest people on the planet, and one of the best photo stagers of all time. She posted this one to Facebook for Thanksgiving of 2019.
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Some folks have all the luck. A second submission by Chris C of Santa Clarita, CA, who found this mint 220K (born in February of 1980) in a clamshell case, along with a "My Cookin Buddy" lantern cooker. It won't boil coffee, but it will keep it hot! What a super find.
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Carl emailed me about his 242C lantern that his father had bought when it was new. He wanted to show me that the nickel-plated 242C was built in 1941, because my info listed the lantern's production starting in 1942. After a few emails, Carl showed me the beautiful Fitch & Abercrombie box the lantern came in. What a fantastic family heirloom.
This photo was submitted by Calvin A, who noted that the tank on his 413G stove did not fit well because someone "installed" a 426 tank on it. Clever ingenuity I say. The previous owner needed a working stove so he or she re-cut slots in the 413 case to adapt the 426 tank. It is amazing what lengths people will go through to make things work. Calvin decided not to use this stove as he found an unused 30-year-old 425F stove and a lightly used 413G from 1966 instead.
