Any of you boys still use these?

Mike(NEOhio)

Well-known Member
Location
Newbury, Ohio
Coleman gas lanterns and gas blowtorch. The one with the chromed tank is kerosene-fueled, dated 12-61 on the tank. Blow torch is one of three my father in law gave me long ago thinking I would use them. Never have because I don't know how they're lit and didn't have the balls to experiment.
a250169.jpg
 
Site below is a trove of info on gas blowtorches, and there's plenty of Youtube stuff as well. With a bit of care and proper maintenance they're no more dangerous than any other torch. I've got several, and for some things they come in handy, but propane torches have pretty much taken over their niche. Still have about a dozen Coleman lanterns, but they also don't see a lot of service nowadays--with battery-powered lights being cheap, common, and powerful there's not nearly as much call, plus I don't do as much camping and bullhead fishing as I did when I was younger, which accounted for the majority of their use.
Zangobobs blowtorch heaven
 
I use the Coleman lanterns during power outages.

Also helped a neighbor harvest one fall (might have been winter). My ride was a cabbed tractor with no heat. I took my lantern along for some heat after the first day of being froze. It fogged the windows a little, but the cab had enough air leaks to limit the fogging.
 
Mike, funny that you're like me, and sometimes just know better than to mess with something you don't know anything about like that blow torch. Can't say as I blame you, I wouldn't want my face rearranged by fire either.

Ross
 
i have three of those blow torches, and a couple coleman lanterns. the torches use white gas or just coleman fuel. the little pan below the main torch is to put gas in to light to preheat the torch head. you just crack the upper valve to let gas barely drip out until it heats up enough to vaporize the fuel. the notch on the end of the torch is to hold a solder iron. nice for radiator work.
 
When I was a kid a big family thing was to go sledding then at dark go to a nearby metro park shelter house for hot dogs and marshmallows, etc. There were no lights so we bought the Coleman. Salesman talked Mom into the kerosene lamp. The cup around the generator was filled with alcohol and needed about five to ten minutes to preheat. I've never seen another like it but some years back I was cleaning it and the orifice threads broke. I found a complete new generator at an Amish lamp store. Works great and makes the gas Coleman look dim but it's a pain to light up. I always liked the gentle hiss of those lamps.
 
I've got several in the attic.

Most were my dads, he used them for night fishing. Mine were for camping.

I have one similar to the Colemans, but a different brand.

Found it at an antique store, there is no name on it, everything is chrome, has a built in flint strike lighter. There are some markings on it that leads me to think it was made in India, but it's not a cheap India made, it's heavy duty, ornate.

Haven't fired any of them up in years. I did smell the gas in one the other day, still smelled fresh sealed in the tank.

I guess the mantles can still be bought?
 
We've got one that uses the Coleman fuel. Hadn't used it a looonngg time, tried to light it one night when the power went out and it flared all out in places that'd never done it before!! My guess is all the O-rings had dried out/cracked. Might try to find a kit online or maybe at Bass Pro the next time I'm in Newport News.
 
Firstly, don't use anything other than Coleman fuel in the standard lamps. It is Naptha. The kerosene ones are a little different. If not mistaken the jets are a little larger. Don't hold me to this. I have all kinds of kerosene lamps but just never got hold of a kerosene coleman. Many of them were for the military .
 
we have two and a Coleman stove.
Bought them in 1980 after hurricane Allen came through and took the power out for almost two weeks.
Used them a few more times for evening parties when the kids were teens.
Had a blow torch at home. It works like a pear burner. The sump under the burner has to be hot to atomize the gas.
It was still in the shed when I moved on. Don't know what happen to it.
 
I have a couple of the gas ones, have never seen a kerosene one, also have a Coleman camp stove but converted it over to propane. Most folks just use premium pump gas in the gas ones now, it works fine since they stopped putting lead in it.
 
In the early 50's, my brothers were working in the steel mill in Cleveland, rolling in the dough. Dad was doing his night chores with an old kerosene lantern. One day a package arrived from Ohio. It had a brand new red single mantel Coleman lantern in it. He got some "white gas", whatever that is, and fired that thing up. I remember that he grinned all the way to the barn that evening. It made an unbelievably nice light, compared to the old kerosene lantern. Good memories.
 
One of my Uncles was an old time plumber and had some carbide blow torches that he used in his business. He had me convinced for many years, as a youngster, that you could burn water. It was very convincing because he would unscrew the cap, fill the tank with water, and drop a rock in. Shake it up and wait a bit, then light it. He then melted lead which he used to seal pipe connections.

Dad had some old lanterns that worked the same way. We would go frogging or coon hunting at night and he would dip them in the river to fill with water, then light them. Worked great.

It wasn't until I reached adulthood that I finally figured out that the "rocks" were carbide, which when dropped into water had a chemical reaction that forms acetylene gas.
 
I have 40 plus of them old lanterns in my collection. Nothing to it. Clean fuel, clean generator, clean orifice, good fuel pump; just like starting an old tractor. Makes my day to find one at a garage sale for a few bucks and having it running in 10-15 minutes. Of course it helps that I have a couple tackle boxes full of parts. I need to thin out my duplicate models so I can buy more rare ones. The one on the right is the more desirable of the two.
 

We have a double wick lantern that I bought in 1974 when the wife and I went camping for our first anniversary. For many years we went camping every year at a state park with no utilities and used that lantern every year. The last time was about five years ago. Now it is in my shop for power outages.
 

'White Gas ' is called Shellite down here , woe to anyone who put that in a Kerosene blowtorch by mistake !
Then there was the other classic fuel mistake , the ' Power Kero ' mixup . This happened when you got the Petrol/Kerosene tractor fuel mistaken for the lamp oil / kerosene . No eyebrows for a month or two and a very red face at the least !

I used to collect them myself and still have a few lying about , it saddens me to see them at the scrapyard from time to time , all waiting to be melted down in China .
Most available here were made by Primus and one other Swedish company Sievert .
 

I have 6 or 8 Colemans, a couple gas blow torches and a gasoline plumbers furnace. They all get used regularly. Once you learn how, they are no more difficult than a propane or oxy-acet outfit.
 
The shop guys at good old B&H Freight Line used gasoline torches like that when it was really cold to thaw out air valves, brakes, and rear end shifters, etc, back in the day, (and it's been several). gm
 
I use the lanterns during a power outage and/or as a small heat source working in the barn. I probably have 1/2 dozen of them that I have collected from garage sales over the years.

I have never used a blowtorch though.
 
I have 4 model 220A in my garage that I use often. It's like yours there with the rounded globe but mine are red. They bring good money on Ebay. I was able to buy 4 gallon of fuel at a close out price 2 years ago at walmart for $7.68 per gallon. I haven't seen any there since.
 
in the summer,I will use my rechargeable LED worklight, in winter, I like using the Coleman mantle lantern, cause it throws off heat
 
Don't have any torches but I love the old Coleman lanterns. Here is a place for parts.

https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/home.php
 
(quoted from post at 23:11:27 12/17/17) I have several but a couple I could not get to work so I did this. Night light
a250783.jpg

a250784.jpg

Richard, I like that! I bet that we will see them in stores within 6 months.
 
(quoted from post at 03:11:27 12/18/17) I have several but a couple I could not get to work so I did this. Night light
a250783.jpg

a250784.jpg


As a certified Coleman lantern lover, I have to tell you that's an awful way to treat a nice tool! The only thing worse is when you see a real nice Aladdin lamp in some flea market and fin out some dummy has ruined it by drilling it full of holes for an electric lamp! :cry:
 
Used a Coleman stove with Coleman fuel about a year ago while remodeling my kitchen. The fuel (out of season) was $13.00+ per gallon. Have a Coleman lantern that has not been used in years, would like to get it out and running but Coleman fuel cost is prohibitive for everyday use.
 
(quoted from post at 20:14:13 12/18/17) Used a Coleman stove with Coleman fuel about a year ago while remodeling my kitchen. The fuel (out of season) was $13.00+ per gallon. Have a Coleman lantern that has not been used in years, would like to get it out and running but Coleman fuel cost is prohibitive for everyday use.

Coleman came out with Coleman fuel because white gas was not commonly available. Then in the seventies white gas became universally available. You can get it now for around $2.75/gal.
 
(quoted from post at 00:14:13 12/19/17) Used a Coleman stove with Coleman fuel about a year ago while remodeling my kitchen. The fuel (out of season) was $13.00+ per gallon. Have a Coleman lantern that has not been used in years, would like to get it out and running but Coleman fuel cost is prohibitive for everyday use.


I ran straight pump gas (non-ethanol unleaded) in mine every winter day, twice a day for 2 years. Never had a single fuel related problem. No need for Coleman fuel.
 
I have 2 Coleman lanterns and a Coleman stove that I use for camping trips, outdoor lighting, and most importantly they are there for emergency use.

Coleman lanterns, in addition to the light, put out a lot of heat and can be used as space heaters in an emergency. My #1 fear should a winter power failure occur here the north country is not light, but heat. No power = furnace doesn't work. The light is a nice bonus, but the heat from 2 Coleman lanterns can keep entire rooms warm. With that and my sunflower heater, I recon I could keep the house above freezing for days.


Obviously, they put out carbon monoxide as all burning appliances do, so all the usual cautions apply.

I don't worry too much about the price of fuel. I keep 2 gallons on hand, but for camping and recreational use, I doubt I burn a gallon every 3 years.

Replacing the generator will fix almost any malfunctioning Coleman appliance. Many of these are not broken in the first place, the biggest "issue" I've seen with "not working" Coleman stuff is people not knowing to hold their thumb over the hole in the pump end on every downward stroke. I've fixed over a dozen Coleman appliances by showing newby owners that little trick.

Grouse
 
I have the torch dad used and one like it my father in law had. The one dad used had a leaky sel around the stem and the leaking gas would catch fire. Dad would snuff it out with his glove. This was many years ago.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top