Tilley lamp Vs Coleman lamp

[robadams]

Hi,
I'm interested in your experiences of these lamps.
I own a Tilley lamp and have used them for years all over the world so like them a lot. I have cooked on Naptha/Coleman fuel but never used the Coleman lamps.

Which is better?
I know that kero/parafin is easy to get hold of cheaply in the UK as opposed to Coleman fuel and have read the posts about panel wipe as an alternative but does it also work safely in the lamps?
The fact that you need to preheat the tilley doesn't bother me but is the coleman easier to light and are spares as widely available?
A brand new tilley costs over £100 but Bushcraft are offering the Coleman lamp for much less.
Should I sell my Tilley and get a Coleman?

Your experiences and views are anticipated.

 

[leon-1]

Rob, Neil1 has one of the large issue tilley lamps, it didn't cost him a lot, it's cheap to run and throws a lot more light than the coleman.

I think the reason that he bought it in the first place was that the coleman kept messing up or the globe on the coleman kept breaking so for him it was a bonus.

 

[Martyn]

This is a no-brainer - stick with the Tilley.

I cant think of a reason to switch - apart from maybe the easy availability of unleadded, but then paraffin isn't exactly hard to find. Domestic heating oil is paraffin, aviation fuel is paraffin, you can still get it at the pump in some petrol stations and if all else fails, there is always DIY shops and garden centers, which always stock it. The Coleman lamps are probably easier to light, but are definitely inferior in terms of build quality and the web is full of stories of reliability issues - that's worrying when you have a device that runs on pressurized petrol.

Paraffin lamps are much cheaper to run. If you buy the ultra-refined, top quality lamp paraffin from a diy shop, you'll pay £6 for 4 litres (15p per hour). Coleman fuel is £40 for 4 litres (£1 per hour). If you go cheap, heating oil is about 60p a litre and perfectly good, or you could use unleadded and put up with the nasty additives for £1.20 litre. How ever you add it up, paraffin is far, far cheaper.

The best are Vapalux, rather than Tilley. Vapalux have a more solid construction. The ex MOD M320 lamps are superb value. You can find them is pretty much unused condition for £30 - £40, a steal for a lamp that costs more than £100 new.

This one cost me £39.99...

I prolly paid a bit over the odds for it too, but it was ex MOD and had actually never been issued or even lit when I got it.

Burns bright...

In terms of brightness, there is nothing to choose between them, the Vapalux are equally as bright as the Coleman.

I tested it with a digital carbon monoxide meter and it read 0.00 ppm after an hour. They can be used indoors (with adequate ventilation) if the power goes out as well as inside a well ventilated tent. Paraffin isn't nearly as explosive as petrol, so is far, far safer. I would never use a Coleman lamp indoors or inside a tent, no matter how well ventilated.

The Vapalux is also very clean burning, I dunno about the additives they use in unleaded and clean burning Coleman fuel is far too expensive to burn in a lamp.

The Vapalux is designed with simplicity as a priority. They have the absolute minimum of working parts and what is there, is well engineered and solid, which makes them very robust and reliable - which is why the MOD are still using them after half a century.

Vapalux.
Pros.
Very cheap to run. Very robust. Simple design. Very reliable. Clean burning. Safe. Very bright.
Cons
Expensive to buy (new). Can be fiddly to light. Requires meths as a primer (though paraffin can be used in a pinch).

Coleman.
Pros.
Cheap to buy. Widely available fuel (unleaded). Easy to light (no primer required). Very bright.
Cons.
Not terribly well made. Not trerribly robust. Relatively complex design. Can be unreliable. Expensive to run. Questionable fumes if run on unleaded. Questionable safety.

Stick with the Tilley or upgrade to a Vapalux, but I wouldn't downgrade to a Coleman at any price. Just my opinion of course.

 

[JohnC]

I have one of the exMOD lamps as above, its absolutely fine. I usually get paraffin from a garage every now and then..

 

[Martyn]

I have one of the exMOD lamps as above, its absolutely fine. I usually get paraffin from a garage every now and then..

People often think of exMOD kit as cheap and cheerful, but this is one time where exMOD probably means the best product available at any price.

We are very lucky here. It's a British product, used by our MOD and so it hits our surplus market. It's a bit of a gift horse for us.

If you really must go petrol (why?) then the German "Petromax" is a much better product, though much more expensive.

 

[rik_uk3]

Panel wipe is fine in a Coleman lamp and I agree with Martyn about the quality of the army Vapalux/Bialaddin being so well made and reliable. In fact, I got rid of all my Tilley brand lamps (bar a couple of table lamps) in favor of a batch of un-issued Vapalux.

Coleman
Pro's; They light very easy, burn just as bright as a vapalux

Con's: Maybe not as well made, spares are expensive, and they will clog if you burn unleaded. Panel wipe is a cheap alternative to Coleman, but not as cheap as parafinn for running lamps 10 hours at a time

Vapalux
Pro's Well made, reliable, cheap to buy, fuel is cheap

Con's None

When I go camping, I pick one fuel to use that trip, if I pick panel wipe then I take Coleman lamps and Coleman fuel burning stoves. If I pick parafinn I take the Vapalux and parafinn stoves.

Both lamps work very well, but remember, millions of Americans have used Coleman lamps for the last 80 years or so, so they can't be that bad.

 

[robadams]

The posts seem to mirror my thoughts, I have used the MOD lamps throughout my army career and regret not keeping one to the side when I left.
I even have the option of inheriting a couple of petromax lamps from my German inlaws, 2 were offered last year but I was unfamiliar with them and declined the offer, time to reconsider.
I have always liked the Tilley style lamp and was unsure about the Coleman. So I guess the Tilley lamp stays in the garage for the next trip.

Hope this post helped a few other members, thanks for the input.

 

[Eric_Methven]

I'd go with Tilley every time. I have found though, that a crushed hexy block works just as well as meths for priming and is easier to carry around.

Eric

 

[rik_uk3]

The posts seem to mirror my thoughts, I have used the MOD lamps throughout my army career and regret not keeping one to the side when I left.
I even have the option of inheriting a couple of petromax lamps from my German inlaws, 2 were offered last year but I was unfamiliar with them and declined the offer, time to reconsider.
I have always liked the Tilley style lamp and was unsure about the Coleman. So I guess the Tilley lamp stays in the garage for the next trip.

Hope this post helped a few other members, thanks for the input.

If they are old Petromax lanterns then they are worth having, the new ones are made in China and are crap quality.

 

[hiraeth]

I have been thinking of picking up either a coleman or tilly for a while now, and reading the posts here have made up my mind to get a tilly type. Does any one know where you can get the ex mod ones from ?.

 

[bikething]

I have been thinking of picking up either a coleman or tilly for a while now, and reading the posts here have made up my mind to get a tilly type. Does any one know where you can get the ex mod ones from ?.

I just got mine from Endicotts .. no connection etc.etc.

 

[Covert System]

Knowing someone with a Coleman lamp, they say that they get 150 Candle power out of a lamp where as a standard Tilley is 300 Candle power.

1.5 pints of fuel (Kerosene aka Paraffin) in a Tilley should give you approx 10 to 12 hours light / heat.

No brainer IMHO. Tilley Lamps rule as far as I am concerned.

 

[kiltedpict]

Only having used a Coleman (duel fuel/2mantle job) I can't compare but I get on fine with it. It's a bit of a faff to light but other than that it does the job. I run it on Panel Wipe.

Might look for a Vapalux now though!

 

[salan]

I have both and must admit that whilst I like the 'Tilley'/Vapourlux/ I prefer the Coleman. I have many and one even has pietzo ignition!
Never had any trouble with them and they are plenty bright for me.
I suspect it's a bit like Marmite. You like em or hate em.
As Rik said, lots of Americans have used them for decades.
Alan

 

[Covert System]

Ummmmm Panel Wipe... http://www.pcws.co.uk/safety-data-sheets/MSDS PANEL WIPE.pdf

I would Err on the side of caution.

 

[rik_uk3]

Not really anymore dangerous than petrol, paraffin, zippo fluid, diesel et al. As with methanol don't wash in it or drink it and use a bit of common sense. Its a clean burning affordable alternative in the UK to overpriced Coleman fuel and has proved a real bonus to UK stove and lantern collectors and users. You can buy Aspen 4T if you can find a local stockist if your overly worried but the data sheet on that is not much different. http://www.aspen.se/Files/PDF/sakerhetsdatablad/UK/SDS-UK-Aspen_4-130328.pdf?TS=635016082988963750 data sheet there.

 

[leon-1]

I have both and must admit that whilst I like the 'Tilley'/Vapourlux/ I prefer the Coleman. I have many and one even has pietzo ignition!
Never had any trouble with them and they are plenty bright for me.
I suspect it's a bit like Marmite. You like em or hate em.
As Rik said, lots of Americans have used them for decades.
Alan

One of the places I work have Coleman lanterns, at first I thought they were quite a good bit of kit, but we have had a lot of issues with them. The maintenance schedule on them is considerably higher than it is for one of the vapalux.

Having seen the difference between the coleman and the vapalux I eventually bought an old Bialladin 305. It cost me about £16 on ebay. I checked the seals on it when it arrived and replaced them and then replaced the mantle. All in all I suppose it cost me no more than £30 and a couple of hours of maintenance and checks.

As to being fiddly to light, I don't find that at all. The preheating tray on the bialladin is quite well designed and I use a valvespout to fill it. Lighting is a doddle if you have matches like the cooks ones with longer spills. I have a load of American strike anywhere matches (I bought 4 boxes a while ago and there are 300 matches per box), they aren't the best strike anywhere match that I have used but they do the job.

Fill lantern, fill the pre-heating tray, light the meths, put the kettle on, allow to boil, place ingredients in cup and add hot water. Now is normally the time to fire up the bialladin as it will have preheated enough. It lights first time and I have good light. By the time I have sighted the Bialladin where I want it, my beverage will be at a temperature that I can drink it (even if it's a small sip).

I can see why people like Coleman's, they are quick and easy, despite this though I still prefer the Vapalux/Bi-Alladin/Tilley style lanterns. They may not be quick to light, but they are actually very easy to use and light. Just don't pressurise before lighting it.

 

[rik_uk3]

The build quality of the Vapalux/Baladdin is better than Coleman but that said I've a twin mantle Coleman from the 1960's which is still going strong. I'm a fan of them all and own far more Vapalux than I do Coleman but I'm intrigued by your mention of a 'maintenance schedule' for Coleman, can you go into a little more detail there?