Coleman Liquid Fuel

[Curious Hound]

The old 290 was helping pack last night:

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I'm carrying something for you.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I'm carrying something for you.

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Yours is pack too, it is stuffed in towards the front though.

 

[Roert42]

I thought the blue pot was a percolator.

 

[Shran]

Wellllllll... I haven't bought a damn thing for quite a while. This summer was just a total drought of Coleman gear except for a couple pieces... this TOTALLY makes up for it.

I saw a 228 on the shelf at my favorite thrift store. It was marked $7 and it was half off and appeared intact at a glance so I bought it. As it turns out it's a 228C made in October 1945 and is US stamped (mil spec?) It's a little dirty but should clean up really nice and will look super cool next to that 220C that I got earlier this summer.

 

[superj]

man, you guys made me have to put a note on my phone to check the coleman lamp in the garage. i found it under some stuff when i bought my parent's older second home. it was their business office for a while in the 90s and than my grandparents lived here when they left socal. other family members used it from time to time but i finally got it and got access to the garages (detached garage that is two singles built next to each other with no access to each other, from the 40s or 50s). as i was cleaning it out back in 2005ish, i found a coleman lamp and put it back in the garage when i threw all the useless junk away. well, since that terrible freeze and the usual hurricanes we get, i dug it out and put it up near the front of the garage and bought some fuel for it.

i haven't tried it but i know where it is so now i have to see the date on the bottom.

 

[Uncle Gump]

man, you guys made me have to put a note on my phone to check the coleman lamp in the garage. i found it under some stuff when i bought my parent's older second home. it was their business office for a while in the 90s and than my grandparents lived here when they left socal. other family members used it from time to time but i finally got it and got access to the garages (detached garage that is two singles built next to each other with no access to each other, from the 40s or 50s). as i was cleaning it out back in 2005ish, i found a coleman lamp and put it back in the garage when i threw all the useless junk away. well, since that terrible freeze and the usual hurricanes we get, i dug it out and put it up near the front of the garage and bought some fuel for it.

i haven't tried it but i know where it is so now i have to see the date on the bottom.

Be careful...you will get bit by the Colemen bug and have a couple to many before you know it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It wasn't until kinda recently they started dating stuff. Like 40's-50's, somewhere in there. 60's on stoves.

So a oldie may not actually have a date.

 

[superj]

It's not a lantern after all, it's a heater. I couldn't find a date in it but it's got the model and stickers on it.

I even had previously googled and found the manual for it. It's very old school though, the manual, hand drawn looking.

I also have a camp stove I bought recently in case a hurricane knocks power out and we are stuck

 

[superj]

Some dude is selling six Coleman lanterns on craigslist here. He wants 60 bucks each though.

 

[Curious Hound]

Some dude is selling six Coleman lanterns on craigslist here. He wants 60 bucks each though.

Depending on model and condition, that may be a decent price. It's probably not a "steal". But decent. It's much more fun to find rare gems at $5-$10.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Some dude is selling six Coleman lanterns on craigslist here. He wants 60 bucks each though.

If it operates well and in really good shape it's not a horrible price. I've sold a couple for more then that. You want one for emergencies... if he has a good one that makes you smile... take it home for $50. I don't feel there is any shame there.

It's actually a "thing" to find one that is called a "Birthday" lantern. Find one with your month/year date code... you win. Still looking for mine but I haven't went full blown search mode looking for one. So always be looking for that.

It's fun to find one in the wild... usually when you least expect it... for cheap. Then you spend hours cleaning and depending on what it needs... dollars for repair parts. But it is fun to do.

You might better leave room for a couple more after you find your first one.

 

[Shran]

I don't recall spending more than $10-20 or so on any of my Coleman lanterns... But I definitely have spent 2-3x that on parts. Think I have about $50 into a CL2. $50-60 is a fair deal for one in excellent shape that needs nothing and works great. I usually sell lanterns for about $30 +/- based on age, cosmetics and working condition.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I don't recall spending more than $10-20 or so on any of my Coleman lanterns... But I definitely have spent 2-3x that on parts. Think I have about $50 into a CL2. $50-60 is a fair deal for one in excellent shape that needs nothing and works great. I usually sell lanterns for about $30 +/- based on age, cosmetics and working condition.

Same.

$15 was my magic number for most of my collecting career.

Now you can't hardly get ANYTHING for less than $75 for some reason.

Garage sales are the way to go, if you find one there usually it will be cheap... or @Shran's mythical thrift stores if you believe such legends.

 

[09fx4guy]

You guys caused me to get bit by the coleman bug. I already have quite a bit of newer equipment, but I have been keeping my eye out for older stuff. I missed out on one just last week that was a good price. Sadly a majority of the stuff in Central NJ is too expensive for the condition that it is in. I can't justify $40-60 bucks for a lantern in average condition.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

You guys caused me to get bit by the coleman bug. I already have quite a bit of newer equipment, but I have been keeping my eye out for older stuff. I missed out on one just last week that was a good price. Sadly a majority of the stuff in Central NJ is too expensive for the condition that it is in. I can't justify $40-60 bucks for a lantern in average condition.

Just pay attention and try will pop up.

When collecting Coleman stuff patience isn't a virtue, it is a necessity.