Old style lantern

[walleyeboater]

Coleman that burns fuel, will the mantles relight, so I can shut it off an on?
Or, is it once it’s lit, it’s lit till it burns out?
Thx

[zcm_82]

Coleman that burns fuel, will the mantles relight, so I can shut it off an on?
Or, is it once it’s lit, it’s lit till it burns out?
Thx

Huh? I don't understand this.

Are you asking if you have to let it burn all the fuel? The answer is no. There is a regulator to adjust the light or turn it off.

Make sure you release the pressure from the system when you are done though, or the seals tend to go bad faster.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Wow.just shut the lantern gas valve off and if its real old the generator tip cleaner lever also needs to be turned off.ive been repairing and collecting coleman lanterns for over 30 years now and have a massive collection.no need to let air pressure out of tank either.the mantles will be fragile so do not touch or bang them around much.I recommend a lantern case.i have mantles last alot longer with one.

[walleyeboater]

I’ll try to clarify.
I light the lantern to warm up, then I shut it off.
Can I start and stop it multiple times, using the mantles I started with?
So I don’t waste mantles.
Thx

[zcm_82]

A set of mantles can last years as long as you don't touch them or bang the lantern around too much. It is a good idea to keep spares on hand, though because they are very fragile. Blowouts while lighting are where most people destroy them. Only open the regulator just as much as you need to light it.

Wow.just shut the lantern gas valve off and if its real old the generator tip cleaner lever also needs to be turned off.ive been repairing and collecting coleman lanterns for over 30 years now and have a massive collection.no need to let air pressure out of tank either.the mantles will be fragile so do not touch or bang them around much.I recommend a lantern case.i have mantles last alot longer with one.

X2 on a case. I have a good case for mine, and mantles usually last me years.  Off-brand mantles are crap a lot of times, too. I try to stick to Coleman whenever possible.

[river_scum]

get some extras so you have them.  get them real nice and hanging even then burn them off.  after that they cant be touched or bumped hard.  pretty much an ash bag hanging there.  there are tie on kind and spring wire clip on types.



i have several old lantern but havent burned them in while.  LEDs kinda made it obsolete.  unless you wanted some heat i guess.

 

[zcm_82]

get some extras so you have them.  get them real nice and hanging even then burn them off.  after that they cant be touched or bumped hard.  pretty much an ash bag hanging there.  there are tie on kind and spring wire clip on types.



i have several old lantern but havent burned them in while.  LEDs kinda made it obsolete.  unless you wanted some heat i guess.

 

I hardly ever use mine anymore, either. The only reason I even have it anymore is I inhertited from my Dad, and it is older than I am. I hate the stink of white gas fumes.

[walleyedan]

What color is the base if it that old. You might have a money maker there.  Stamped on the bottom will be the month and year it was made.

[ChapstickCharlie]

My old Coleman Lantern is a light in the dark, heat in the cold and a hot plate top for cooking.  Of course the mantles break all the time, it burns holes in my hut in a nano second and I'm pretty sure I'm poisoning myself cooking on that thing.  Also great for exercise when you catch a pant leg on fire.  But it is a hall of fame tool for ice fishing.

[krispcritter]

When I used mine in my suitcase hut, if it was turned up to high I would overheat and if I turned it down to low, ice crystals would rain on the back of my neck. Took a bit to find the sweet spot.

Just keep a few spare mantles on hand. I could go a whole season on 1 set, but I had a case to keep it in.

[fishnnut]

Good one Chap and so true.. Haha

[DR.SPECKLER]

A white gas lantern will always be in my arsenal for light and heat.the propane lanterns create a ton of condensation because the biggest byproduct of burning propane is water vapor moisture.learned that when i was scrapping.pick up a ton of propane grills because the burners and bottoms rust right out from water and moisture.i rarely got a old school charcoal stove for scrap.ratio was 10 to 1.i will also add if anyone finds the old red metal coleman case that came with the original coleman red 200a latern its worth alot of money.i sold one to a collector in japan for 300$.they sell routinely on ebay for over 250$ With a mint 200a lantern .its the flip top red metal case with accessories.i have 2 green metal cases which are increasing in price also.case is worth more than a 200a but they are going up in price too.

[zcm_82]

What color is the base if it that old. You might have a money maker there.  Stamped on the bottom will be the month and year it was made.

It's from the 70s. I'd have to dig it out of the garage to check it.

My Dad made the case I have. It is a hinged top box made of plywood and trim and lined with styrofoam.

*just checked made in 1980* I had thought it was from the late 70s.

[river_scum]

we have one supposedly from 1914 hanging in cottage.  has the eisenglass lenses.   

[Lee1977]

I wondered what they called that type of lenses. My buddy has a couple of lanterns with that in them. Reminded me of mica that we used to find in Colorado.

[zcm_82]

I wondered what they called that type of lenses. My buddy has a couple of lanterns with that in them. Reminded me of mica that we used to find in Colorado.

They did used to make mica windows, too. They were used in old woodstoves and fireplace shutters quite a bit.

[Lee1977]

I do remember that stuff in old wood stoves but never seen it in a lantern. I look at his lanterns a little closer and couldn’t find a date on it. I thought it would be on the bottom but didn’t see anything. Could it be somewhere else possibly?

[zcm_82]

I haven't, either. It is pretty fragile, so I imagine it wouldn't work very well for a lantern globe.

[Scheu]

I have an old Thermos lantern. Not sure how old it is. I still use it at night for crappie ice fishing

[walleyedan]

Lee, I'd have to ask my renter or his brother.  They are the collectors and repair guys.  They just give me some info on them so when I'm selling food at auctions I know what to look for.

[rivereddy]

I've written this before, that hisssss from an old white gas coleman is as
much a part of night time crappie fishing as the minnows.  Red A200 - April
1971.  Thought I'd died and gone to Heaven when I got a green double mantle
5 years later.

Fish on,

rivereddy

[Oaktree1215]

I’ll try to clarify.
I light the lantern to warm up, then I shut it off.
Can I start and stop it multiple times, using the mantles I started with?
So I don’t waste mantles.
Thx

mantles are multiple use. But they are delicate so always carry a couple extra. I have one and have used the same set of mantles about 50 times.

[TeacherPreacher]

When my parents first went to UP of Michigan I was 6 years old so that would have been in 1944! The old Finnish resort owner had built 6 cottages by himself. They all had bedrooms upstairs. Had a wood stove, an ice box, a pitcher pump at the sink and Kerosene lanterns for light. About 1948 my Dad and Uncle both purchased Coleman, double burner lanterns. We all thought we died and went to heaven!!!
I have made probably 6 Lantern Boxes for Ice fishing over the years. I use double mantle Coleman Lanterns in all of them. Use to put glass in front for light but got tired of glass cracking so did away with glass and just open the door in front if I'm night fishing as heat goes up and found that I lose very  little heat and still keeps my hands warm.
I have lantern secured in box so it doesn't bounce around. I break a mantle now and then but not too often. Mantles are a pain in the butt to replace out on the ice if it's really cold and wind is blowing but I really like the box. I use 5' rods  and rarley use gloves with the heat from the lantern. I have cut off cup hooks screwed in ends of my rods that attach to the aluminun rod that I use for handle to pull box that slides back against front of box when I get to where I'm going to fish. I place  bent coat hangers attached to a piece of 1"x3" on ice in front of holes that hold rod tips about 5"-6" back from the tip of rod. This way I can jig one rod at a time while I warm one hand and then switch off. For gloves I use white cotton liners from NIPSCO Gloves a buddy supplies me with.
Works for me!
Teach

[abishop]

Doesn't get much more old school than that. Congrats on your set up. I am not quite as young as you and my hands being frostbit many years ago, are toast when it gets below 40. Toss in getting wet and I am DONE. I pick my days on the ice very carefully now. Which means I don't get out nearly as much as I would like. There is always spring fishing. Maybe next year after I retire I can spend a bit more time in my warm shanty on the ice. Ha, LOL.

[Hexagenia51]

My Wife's Aunt has an amazing collection of lanterns. Her late husband was a collector and has lanterns from the military with compartments for extra mantels, matches and I'm not sure what all they carried. I've never seen anything like some of the lanterns he had. Along with all the Colmans of all colors, there's others as well. Like going to a museum. She'd probably sell them but I've never asked. Hex

[walleyedan]

walleyeboater, you might want to invest in a couple of electronic hand warmers. Very easy to use and you can control the heat range.  No smell or fuel.  They will even harge your phone in an emergency.  Wife loves them.  Its been a couple of years since I bought them but I think I paid around $20.00  I bought a couple extra and gave them to my older fishing buddies.  They use them.

[DR.SPECKLER]

My Wife's Aunt has an amazing collection of lanterns. Her late husband was a collector and has lanterns from the military with compartments for extra mantels, matches and I'm not sure what all they carried. I've never seen anything like some of the lanterns he had. Along with all the Colmans of all colors, there's others as well. Like going to a museum. She'd probably sell them but I've never asked. Hex

nice i also have military coleman camp stoves,coleman xmas 200as,gold bond color colemans.i started collecting because anything coleman simply last forever.i collect old penn reels for the same reason.i get tons of them from garage sales for cheap simply because people no longer use them.the downside is the price of white gas.its about 13$ here now.i buy that at garage sales too.it last years before it goes bad.if it even does lol.

[ho-zee]

Save your money and burn unleaded gas...got 3 old colemans(2 single mantle and 1 double mantle) and never had a single issue...burns just as hot, easy to light, and haven't changed the generators in years

[DR.SPECKLER]

Well ive had different results running gas it does clog the generators and is much sootier than white gas.only lanterns i would consider using gas is in the dual fuel models and even then white gas burns cleaner.

[t dawg]

X2 on the unleaded gas in a Coleman lantern.  That's all I use because it gives me heat and light.  The hissing sound of a Coleman lantern takes me right back to my childhood days fishing for bullheads with my father.