One of these items was a Coleman lantern – a now old-school one that you have to fill with fuel and then pump. When you’re ready to light, just hold the match to the mantle and hope the lantern doesn’t explode and blow off your face. So far, this hasn’t happened to me, but if I know my luck, it will. Invest in a reliable and durable LED lantern from our collection, designed to withstand the rigors of outdoor use. With rugged construction and weather-resistant features, these lanterns are built to last. Whether you’re camping in the rain or exploring rough terrains, our LED lanterns are your trusted companion for all your outdoor adventures.
Coleman 237 lanterns with an American Optical film strip and slide projector (left) and a Society for Visual Education Inc. slide and film strip projector (right). The potential markets were missionaries and rural communities that lacked electric power, according to a 1949 Coleman News. These undated lanterns are in Greg McCartney’s, left, and Shirley Willard’s, right, collections. The Charles Beseler Co. also made a similar projector for this lantern (below). This lantern is the largest and the heaviest product we reviewed.
These lamps, notably ‘The Efficient’ Pendant Arc lamp No. 6, were manufactured by Irby & Gilliland in Memphis, Tennessee. Press the pump handle down and lightly place your finger over the hole in the end. If the pump raises, you need to clean or replace your check valve. Coleman made this mil-spec lantern that is date stamped 1952 on the bottom. At some point after that the Civil Defense waterslide decal was added to this unfired lantern. This lantern and another one with the 1952 date and a CD decal came from a seller in Michigan.
The one on the left, in Dean DeGroff’s collection, is date stamped July 1951, the earliest date we have seen for this model. It lacks the Coleman decal under the filler cap which Coleman coleman sleeping bag started using a couple of months later, as on the right which is date stamped October, 1951. This lantern was also made in Wichita and is dated Nov ’51 as the above lantern for the OCD.
The first pumps on Quick-Lite lanterns were “built-on” rather than “built into” the founts. This L427 lantern, in John Stendahl’s collection, is date stamped May, 1925, and has the pump top with the rounded handle. Other L427 pump handles have a nearly flat top or a top with rounded lobes. I measured out 26 ounces when filling the lanterns tank.
This ventilator is from an MF-125 in Russ Baldwin’s collection. The Coleman Quick-Lite 327 was sold from 1920 to 1924 from the Wichita (USA) plant with no date stamp. This lantern, in Ron Lenfield’s collection, includes the box and accessories. Although this lantern has a later style baffle plate, the usual baffle plate in this version is as in the lower image.
The Charles Beseler Co., New York, made this 237 projector lantern. It is unique among the three in having an attachment to show lantern slides (lower image) in addition to 35mm slides and film strips (upper image). The two attachments are mounted in the bottom of the case in front of the lantern for transport. Note the alcohol preheating can for the kerosene fueled 237 lantern in the images.
The lantern will run 4 hours on high, making the cost of operation $1 per hour. If you use the refill kit, that will bring the cost down to $0.20 per hour. What can I say, money is always an influence in our choices, so this test will compare how much it costs per coleman sleeping bag hour to run these lanterns. Coleman makes a variety of lanterns that run on different of fuels. ” I put them to the test and found one that was a clear winner. Contact our team to talk to a factory expert to help you choose the right model based on your needs.
The mixing chamber casting has 3 datum targets unique to those made in the Wichita factory. Coleman still sells a variety of lanterns that are powered by propane, kerosene, or camp fuel (aka white gas). They are still built in Wichita Kansas (though some parts, such as the globes, are made in China) and coleman canopy are widely available for sale online and in some big box stores. Coleman’s first production of Models 220B and 228B was May, 1930. Until early 1934 all of the founts of these two models were stamped 220B on the bottom. These models could be purchased with either a Pyrex (left) or mica globe (right).