Coleman lantern

[89AKurt]

I pulled out this Coleman lantern that my dad had.  Still the original box, looks like he mail ordered from a magazine ad.  There is customer support for these?  I know nothing, and was amused they have conventions, just like model shows I guess.   Since ChinaMart and everyone else don't have mantels for the propane lights, thought I should resurrect this, have to learn something. ?

[bobss396]

Mantles are easy to come by and it never hurts to have spares. They keep until they are fired up, I have had few survive once they were used. They are fragile. Mine is propane, yours uses white gas, aka Coleman fuel. I have seen it in stores. I would give it a good cleaning, I'm not sure if it has o-rings in it or not.

Parts are available.

https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/select-your-model-here/SELECT-LANTERN-MODEL/models-1-thru-300/243-s/243A/

Edit: These are worth some bucks even as it. My advice, sell it and get a propane model.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=coleman+243a+lantern&_sacat=16034&_odkw=coleman+243a+lantern&_osacat=16034

Edited September 3, 2024 by bobss396

[ksnow]

There should be stamping on the bottom, a month and a year. That will tell you when it was made. I still use my grandpa's and my dad's. Mantles should be available in outdoors stores. 

Nice lantern.

[slusher]

Enice find!

[89AKurt]

4 hours ago, bobss396 said:

Mantles are easy to come by and it never hurts to have spares. They keep until they are fired up, I have had few survive once they were used. They are fragile. Mine is propane, yours uses white gas, aka Coleman fuel. I have seen it in stores. I would give it a good cleaning, I'm not sure if it has o-rings in it or not.

Parts are available.

https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/select-your-model-here/SELECT-LANTERN-MODEL/models-1-thru-300/243-s/243A/

Edit: These are worth some bucks even as it. My advice, sell it and get a propane model.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=coleman+243a+lantern&_sacat=16034&_odkw=coleman+243a+lantern&_osacat=16034

Thank you.  If it wasn't my dad's that he got when he was a teen, I would.  I have a propane lantern, stores can't keep those mantels in stock, so much for keeping local business alive.  Thanks for the links, I found the instructions online, just need to commit.

[Khils]

Very nice lantern!

   And as mentioned before...."they bring $$"

[Falcon Ranchero]

That's cool. My grandfather left his old red 1965 Coleman Lantern with us. I'll get some photos on here... 

[89AKurt]

I relented and ordered some via eBay, for the modern propane lantern.  I'll save this restoration for next century.

By all means, if there isn't one, this can be the official Coleman camping gear thread.

[ksnow]

17 minutes ago, 89AKurt said:

I relented and ordered some via eBay, for the modern propane lantern.  I'll save this restoration for next century.

By all means, if there isn't one, this can be the official Coleman camping gear thread.

I don't have any pics right now. 

I regularly use my dad's single mantle and grandpa's double mantle when I am camping, or working in the fur shed in the winters. Light and heat is a nice combo. Just hearing the hiss of one of those lanterns triggers lots and lots of memories.

I also use a 1987 vintage two burner white gas stove when I am camping, or we lose power at home. I have two of them, my dad's and 1 I picked up free at the town "recycling center".

As a kid, most of our family camping equipment (tent, stove, lantern, sleeping bags, etc) was Coleman branded. Even had Coleman hiking boots.

Edited September 3, 2024 by ksnow

[Khils]

3 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

I relented and ordered some via eBay, for the modern propane lantern.  I'll save this restoration for next century.

TBH.... I've restored two (both red)....the fewest I recall seeing (were blue)! 

 Good call! Leave it as is...it owes you nothing & is a great heirloom!

 

[bobss396]

I may have one of those old lanterns in my garage, I never liked fussing with the white gas part of it. I can see why you want to keep it and you should.

I have the old propane family lantern from around 1967 and it works, I bought one for myself around 1985 when I started camping again.

[iamsuperdan]

I have the slightly updated version, designed for use on their little green propane bottles. 

And I hate it. I end up replacing that mantle every other time we use it. So delicate. Really haven't used it in decades.

We now have two Coleman lanterns, full LED. Each takes a few D batteries, and they last forever. Can easily take these out for several camping weekends, run them at night, and have no worries about batteries. 

But they're red in colour, and don't match the three burner Coleman stove we use. And we use that thing a lot.

[Falcon Ranchero]

As long as this is the "Official Coleman Camping Gear Thread" here is a couple of vintage Colemans; my grandfather's 1965 Coleman Lantern, and his 1971 Coleman Catalynic Heater. The lantern runs on acetyline, and there's still some old stuff left. Last turned on in 2020, but it was pretty sketchy. Not sure when the heater was last used.

[Ace-Garageguy]

10 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

We now have two Coleman lanterns, full LED. Each takes a few D batteries, and they last forever. Can easily take these out for several camping weekends, run them at night, and have no worries about batteries. 

Need to getcha some rechargeable Ds, and a solar charger. 

I have solar chargers for every kind of battery I own, just "in case". 

[iamsuperdan]

Just now, Ace-Garageguy said:

Need to getcha some rechargeable Ds, and a solar charger. 

I have solar chargers for every kind of battery I own, just "in case". 

Yeah, I haven't worried about it too much, because the normal Duracells just last for so long. Having said that, when I get around to it, I do have a solar setup to mount on top of my Tahoe, so will be able to more easily charge while camping. 

[bobss396]

I have one of those heaters in a box with my camping gear, something my dad came up with a long time ago. I have a white fuel stove too, again, something I have never used. The little Coleman propane stove has come in handy and I have used it in recent years when we had hurricanes.

My family did a lot of tent camping from 1967 to I'd say 1977, then my mom was not doing well. My last trip with them was in 1976, They had upgraded to a Coleman pop-up trailer. I have most of the gear in my garage, my dad made up a large-ish cook box that was a traveling kitchen. My brother used it a few years ago to camp at Pocono Raceway.

The OG tent from 1967 I used a few times until dry rot took it out. I had a nice Sears tent, a 9' x 12' which was great until my son was somewhere setting up in the dark, gave up on it and lost a critical piece to it. That one I camped with from 1985-1987 then used it on scout trips from 1997 to around 2010.

[89AKurt]

Thanks for the comments everyone.  I have it hanging in the living room now, not going to fix it because knowing me I'll break it.  I also use LED lights, but what if there is a CME?

I think anything about camping, and memories triggered by whatever appliance Coleman made is open season.  Since I'm dictator of my Topic, PV chargers should be a tangent worth discussing.  I got this, because I don't want to fix the cigarette lighter in the pickup.  And just in case.  Had to repair the grommets already, using superglue.

[Old Buckaroo]

@89Akurt  - If I remember correctly the blue Coleman 243A can date back to 1939

That's a nice lantern and a great background story.

I received my first Coleman lantern when I was about 9 years old from a friend of my dads that had served under Patton. He also gave me a Winchester .22 rifle at the same time as he told me "every boy needs these items when camping in the mountains"  I still have both and use them quite often. But that started me into the rabbit hole of collecting lanterns, many would be saved from the dump as their last fate was yard sale fodder.  I clean and restore them when the winter temps get down to negative twenty or so.  I'm not even sure how many I have, my wife says I can hide them better than model kits! I'm sure a "Prepper" would be envious.

Ive gotten two friends interested in collecting and restoring them, their wives are so impressed with me ! haha

I hope you clean this up and get it working - first thing I would recommenced is a new leather pump washer and a gasket or O-ring for the fuel cap. Stay away from the rubber pump washers - you can find the leather ones on ebay reasonable.

Coleman lanterns were well engineered, when you shut them off at night they burned long enough to give you time to get into your sleeping bag before everything went black..