Coleman Petrol lantern

[Jamie N]

I bought a Coleman Dual Fuel lantern (twin mantle type) sometime in the 90s before the widespread adoption of LED changed the game for lanterns and torches. I also bought a Coleman camping stove around the same time, attracted by the idea of a cheap and readily available common fuel source, ie. petrol.

I was impressed enough by both to also buy (for use primarily in a boat) the Coleman double burner stove, but this proved to be very unreliable, as did its replacement so I got my money back.

The single burner stove is also not without its problems – or idiosyncrasies depending on your level of patience – but it has served me well over the years. Both are cheap as chips to run with a litre Sigg bottle of petrol providing for both for a weekend.

All of these can be run on unleaded petrol or Coleman’s own fuel which is very expensive. I have read that Panel Wipe, available cheaply from motor factors also works well, is cheap and burns very cleanly, but I’ve yet to try it.

The lantern came in a cardboard box which lasted until day 2 of the first camping trip so I made a wooden box for it. It also comes with a filter funnel which is I store in the box lid.

Good points are that it is cheap to run and very effective. The light is too bright to look at directly and casts a bright glow that has often attracted new friends as well as a wide variety of insects. Good news there is that it does kill most of them (insects, not new friends). It also burns with a pleasant hissing sound which, inexplicably, always adds to the camping experience.

There are only two bad points. Firstly, it is bulky. This means that when camping with bicycle, motorbike or backpacking, it stays at home. Secondly, it uses mantles which are notoriously fragile. These will sometimes break in transit so I also store spares in the box lid. Obviously, it generates a lot of heat as well as light which could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on circumstances.

Being American made, there are some rather cheap and nasty components involving a lot of flimsy pressed steel, but not where it matters. The tank is reassuringly solid and the paint (actually enamel) is as new. Spare parts might be an issue. Recently the neoprene pump seal has started heading to the cemetery and I’m finding it impossible to find a replacement. Coleman only seem to offer a leather replacement, which is a bit 1950’s.

All in all, I would highly recommend it. These days, you could buy a battery powered LED lantern for a lot less money that would be very battery-efficient with no heat or CO issues when used indoors. I’ve had those too, but I’ll always take the petrol lantern when I can.

 

[Robson Valley]

I learned to start the Coleman stove and lantern nearly 60 years ago. Models may come and go but I'm quite comfortable with the ones I own now.
Maybe some people these days just don't want to learn. Might be all they have in somebody else's camp.
I think fresh fuel is a must unless you burn a lot every day.
15 gallons will last nearly 4 months, 2 x 2 meals per day and the lantern every evening at our base camp.

Next time, put the lantern on the ground so it isn't in your face and tilt the handle over so it doesn't get hot.
The indirect evening lighting is nice. You're right = the characteristic hissing is reassuring.

 

[santaman2000]

There are no guarantees that the current ones are still being made in the US.

If you like them but need something more a bit more compact for bicycle camping, you might look into the Peak 1 series (also by Coleman) They're single mantle versions and a bit smaller

 

[Robson Valley]

I read that some of the Peak 1 Coleman things are made in Canada.

Ironically, the lantern gets limited use this time of year.
While I don't live in the Land of the Midnight Sun, my daylength on the solstice will be about 17.13 hrs, adding Civil Twilight makes 18.94 hrs.

 

[santaman2000]

I read that some of the Peak 1 Coleman things are made in Canada.....

That would be good news. I was afraid it might be China.

 

[Robson Valley]

Here in the Pacific Northwest, it's usual to expect that most(?) manufactured goods come from one Pacific Rim country or another.
What most people fail to comprehend is that it took two (2) to make that happen. One in North America and one in Asia.

This reverse engineered crap was not some bet floated by China. Dumb it down, cheap it out ( like a $100 x 10" Ryobi table saw.)
They knew all too well how to jump on manufacturing opportunities, so long as the demand was abundantly obvious.

The shipping super port of Prince Rupert is 24 - 36 hrs closer to Shanghai than any other west coast port in North America.
While you are still bobbing around in the Pacific, headed for Seattle, San Francisco or San Diego, you pals are unloading containers in Prince Rupert.
Me? I get to see 10-15 container trains "per day" coming through McBride, headed east. My computer screen wobbles every time (just 200m away).
Maybe 5 others loaded with wood.

Three x 4,000hp diesel mountain locomotives and loads more than a mile long. It's all up hill from Prince Rupert and beyond Jasper, east of me, going east.

The real pi$$er is I don't see loaded trains going west for Asia.

 

[Nomad64]

Having used both the Coleman twin mantle lantern and twin burner stove extensively (when not cooking on an open fire and/or enjoying the night time African skies) during my three and a half year bimble in a Land Rover around Africa and the Middle East. I'm a fan.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/30865846@N02/4926416558/in/album-72157624679732499/

The lantern is great an is still in its original box albeit heavily reinforced with duct tape and now sat in a South African canvas gas bottle holder which fits it like a glove. If I had my time over again, I'd have gone with the single mantle version; (a) cheaper on mantles, if one breaks, the chances are so will the other one and if not, there is a good chance that you will break it while changing the broken one and (b) at full bore, the twin mantle version is bright enough to be seen from space and to anyone within half a mile, it looks like you are welding. A single mantle is bright enough for most sensible uses.

Attracting insects is an issue but set a bit brighter than usual and a few feet away, the lantern casts all the light you need and draws the insects away and swiftly despatches them, although its a bit sad to see large moths repeatedly singeing themselves.

Other than that, it has proved utterly reliable, if a little bulky source, of warm light with a gentle hissing sound track which is much nicer than the eerily silent, bluish white lunar glow of LEDs.

The stove has also been a valued servant although the "shelf" that the burners sits on eventually rusted through and has been replaced by a much heavier gauge stainless steel one and the rest of the "case" painted in black Hammerite. I have bought a secondhand "spare" and still regret turning down the chance to buy a new old stock one being sold off by a camping shop for £35 a few years ago.

Using petrol (possibly of dubious quality) meant cleaning the "varnish" off the generators changing them very year or so but this was after daily use and although I have not tried panel wipe, I have found that adding car injector/carb cleaner seems to keep the "varnish" levels down.

I still have a large stock of spares left over from my travels and have not had any issues but have noticed that prices for spares are increasing and seem to bear no relationship to the £ - $ rate.

LED lights are now a viable alternative and butane/propane stoves are less hassle but there is something "right" about the old Colemans which get used at every opportunity although in the UK summer, a light is often a bit unnecessary.

 

[Robson Valley]

My sentiments exactly. Old friends, do some maintenance as required. Changing mantles was such a ritual. We had one 2-mantle at the lake cottage which was so old that you had to use a couple of matches to preheat the generator to get it going. It sat on the floor on a tin sheet in the middle of the living room and lit up the whole house.

 

[itsawhalefish]

I've been collecting Coleman lanterns and stoves for years. It's true Canada did produce them but they shut the Canadian plant down in 1989. The USA still produced the model 286 for the Canadian market. All Coleman lanterns are still made in Kansas but use globally sourced materials. The modern Coleman mantles are no good, but you can find peerless mantles which work better and last longer. Oldcolemanparts.com is a great place for parts. You do have to email him for shipping prices though.

As for running petrol in them, I've noticed in the U.K. Most people assume all Coleman lanterns are dual fuel, which isn't true. I've found so many 1970-1990 ones that were intended for Coleman fuel use only, had unleaded used and the fount liner is falling apart, everything is sticky. I think the dual fuel is a gimmick. The unleaded does eventually ruin the lantern. The best stuff to use is aspen 4t or panel wipe.

 

[Jaeger]

Aye Up,

I've owned a Coleman Peak One since the early '80's.

I used it two or three times per year for about five years - stored it empty for about 5 years - used it again for a couple of times per year for about three years, then lost it for over a decade! (somewhere in boxes during house moves).

I found it again several years ago and have been using it a couple of times a year recently. It is still on the same pump, generator, tank cap & seal and it still runs like a rocket! (The ally containers are well battered and the original pan lifter had to be replaced decades ago).

I've always alternated one tank unleaded/one tank Coleman white petrol. Only recently have I discovered Aspen 4t (smoke-less lawn mower fuel I believe) and it runs great on that (about £30/5 litres - nearly half the price of Coleman fuel).

It's proven to be one of the best (camping) stoves I've ever owned.