Coleman lantern restoration

[grayghost668]

I have a new hobby,,,I have taken up repairing old Coleman lanterns

what you need

1 gallon of white vinegar

and steel BB's

a bucket

a tooth brush

and most likely a new generator

disassemble the lantern you will have at least some rust,,,,,,,,,

soak all rusty parts in the vinegar

if the tank is rusty I like to pull the valve,fill with vinegar let all parts soak at least an hour,,,

I like to let them set over night most parts you can brush with the tooth brush and most if not all will come off,,

,the tank once you have soaked it pour it out,(I save the vinegar for my next Lantern) once you have drained it put a good amount of BB's in it and shake well put the lid on and your finger over the hole the valve was in or you will have BB's every where,,,,,the shaking does not take all that long 5 minutes will be enough for most lanterns

time to rinse it out dump the BB's into a container note all the crap that comes out with them,,,rinse several times to check for rust shine a light into the tank it will be pretty darn clean

the pump on the old ones are made of leather ,oil it and most will come back to life

reassemble with a new generator your lantern should be about as good as new

there are a few small parts that can go bad but I have yet to find one that needed more than cleaned and a new generator

 

[grayghost668]

I am sitting her basking in the glow of my most recent restoration,,,,,I lit it less than 10 minutes ago

it is operating like a new one

 

[Brent S]

I am sitting her basking in the glow of my most recent restoration,,,,,I lit it less than 10 minutes ago

it is operating like a new one

Let’s see some pictures! I love antiques and old things, espechially when they have been well cared for and fixed back up.

 

[grayghost668]

Let’s see some pictures! I love antiques and old things, espechially when they have been well cared for and fixed back up.

I can do some pics tonight

 

[tmttactical]

Looking forward to the pictures.

 

[Maverick]

Edited:
Good hobby Ghost and rewarding. I got a lot of Colman's here
A couple of my older one's below that we still use today, these two my uncles purchased new. I posted a picture while ago of a 1980s colman duel fuel stove in mint condition I picked up at a Salvation Army store for $12 bucks.

1958 Big Hat

1953 413D (below it 1946 colman ranger 3 burner)

$12 dollar stove

 

[Kevin L]

Seriously cool. Modern products are often built with planned obsolescense in mind, so I think it's great when someone restores an old item that can be used forever.

 

[Kevin L]

Seriously cool. Modern products are often built with planned obsolescense in mind, so I think it's great when someone restores an old item that can be used forever.

 

[Arcticdude]

I'd like to pick up some of the older Colman lanterns too.
Thanks for the tips on rebuilding them GG.
I have an old Night Watchman lantern by Dietz (sp?) that I want to clean up and get working again.

 

[jontte]

we used those lanterns when I was a conscript, it was luxury to do the calculus stuff for the mortar teams in that glow,when we had to do it in the shade of a regular oil lamp at first.

 

[grayghost668]

I am learning as I go,,,,,,fuel caps are a problem,but new caps are out there and you can get replacement o-rings for them,,,also the on off valve has a fuel pick up tube attached that mixes the fuel with air,,I have 2 lanterns that these are clogged on you can hear air coming out but little to no gas,there are replacement parts out there $20 but you may be able to clean the old one,I have not taken one out to look at it

 

[Maverick]

I am learning as I go,,,,,,fuel caps are a problem,but new caps are out there and you can get replacement o-rings for them,,,also the on off valve has a fuel pick up tube attached that mixes the fuel with air,,I have 2 lanterns that these are clogged on you can hear air coming out but little to no gas,there are replacement parts out there $20 but you may be able to clean the old one,I have not taken one out to look at it

We every season take the generator out of the lanterns and stoves and pull the filler and cleaning rod out and use a carbon cleaner (carbon-off) for all three parts inside generator housing, filler (spring), cleaning rod and use a pipe cleaner for inside the generator housing filled with carbon-off.