Lighting kerosene lanterns and lamps always requires preheating. Some sort of alcohol flame, or in rare cases (Coleman 206) a single fuel preheat using kerosene, or a built in preheat torch (Coleman 238B, Petromax, etc). No matter the type of preheat, it's the rest of the lighting steps that make the difference between soot and drama and soft, clean lighting. Preheat cups can be used on white gas lamps as well, for an easier start in cold conditions or a soft start on Quick-Lite lamps that are lit indoors with pressure already in the fount and shades in place. They light quickly, since their fuel is more volatile than kerosene, but you're saved holding wood matches against the generator and not poking a fragile mantle. With kerosene, the key is to start with zero pressure in the fount, valve open (to allow fuel to drain back into tank) and cleaning lever down. This all allows heating of the generator without any fuel expanding and leaking out of the tip, causing premature flames and soot. When the first preheat cup of denatured alcohol is almost burned out, close the fuel valve and add a slight amount of pressure. I use 5 PSI or three pumps with a hand pump. Then, before the preheat cup flame burns out, open the fuel valve. This should allow time for fuel to fill the generator, vaporize, and light the mantles at a low glow. If you miss the timing and the preheat flame burns out, close the valve, add a bit more alcohol to the preheat cup, light it off, and open the valve again. Once you have a nice soft start and both mantles are burning you can add more pressure until they burn bright. Once you've mastered the timing you should be able to light your kerosene lamps indoors with no dramatic show of flames or soot and no kerosene odors. You may still want to shut them down on the porch or in the fireplace, to keep kerosene smells to a minimum. I've found that simply leaving the fuel valve open and releasing the pressure in the fount (safe on kerosene lamps, not on white gas) and allowing fuel to drain and the final vapors to burn away in the mantles creates little to no odor and sets the lamp up for the next use. This will leave you in the dark, so you have to have a small lamp ready. I hope this will make your light-ups much more pleasant as you learn the rhythm of non-electric lighting in the home.
For Monkeys living in foreign lands where denatured alcohol (methylated spirits) isn't readily available (Vietnam, South Africa, California) there is a solution. The Coleman 206 was an export only kerosene lantern model that was designed to use the fuel in the tank as the preheat fuel. It used a patented screen and cup design that appears complicated. In my quest for a single battlefield fuel I made my own. Mine didn't look as high tech as the patent drawings, but it worked fine. Tiki torch wick in the cup and a stainless tea strainer screen with a lighting hole cut into it with a small grinder bit. You could just as easily poke a hole in the screen with a pointed stick, or run a small (Zippo Lighter) wick over the side of the cup and wet it with kerosene to allow easier lighting of the kerosene in the main preheat cup. A simple eye dropper or just a length of tubing (plastic straw) inserted into the fuel tank, and sealed with your thumb as you move fuel to the preheat cup is the only other accessory needed. My 206ish preheat cup is sitting above my normal alcohol preheat cup on the generator. The screen seems to be the key, directing the flame straight up the generator with surprisingly little smoke or soot.
i know not kerosene. but propane has no shelf life and i had never seen these before. they were in a atco full of junk. a couple 1 lb bottles and bag of mantles would give light and some heat and always be ready. not that pretty but the smallest coleman lantern iv ever seen.
Anything smaller would be butane fueled. The smallest Coleman makes are refillable. Some have LED lights in the base. There are smaller still, like the Brunton Glorb, but they're also very expensive.
never seen that one either. more like the traditional style. cool shit! looks like it has a igniter too.
I've looked and looked at the kerosene lighting part of prepping - even tempted at one time to do a Coleman lantern conversion - never saw any advantage ..... when propane lanterns came on the scene - decision got even simpler >>> fuel is an issue - propane is a no-brainer I've got the whole gambit of lighting - got my indoor lamps & refined lamp oil - Deitz barn lanterns for outdoors - even have Tiki type torches and DIY sourcing for more >>>> scavanged vehicle petro fluids will work just fine in the wick soaking devices ......
I use propane. I have a healthy respect for propane, I've had propane lanterns melt down (Replaced by Coleman) and refill different sizes and brands of bottles since the prefilled cylinders got so expensive. The trouble for me is I won't use,or store propane indoors. It's the only fuel I use that has the potential to blow my house up. I do have alternatives to kerosene, and enjoy them all, even back to the most basic. The benefit of kerosene pressure lamps is two-fold. First there's the issue of relative brightness vs fuel used. Center draft lamps like the Rayo may produce almost the same light output as a mantle lamp, but their fuel consumption is much greater. Then there's fuel stability. K1 kerosene for mantle lamps like the Aladdin, stored in sealed metal containers might extend to several years. Usually folks try to use their mantle lamp kerosene before it's a year old. The reason is black spots of soot that appear on the mantles. These will happen with old kerosene in pressure and non-pressure mantle lamps. In a sealed system like a pressure lamp we have a solution. The Amish taught me that by mixing 15-20% white gas (Coleman fuel) with the old kerosene it would restore the fuel for use in pressure appliances. We call this "Amish Mix" and I generally use 25% just because it's easier to estimate the quantity that way. The mix has the benefit of making the lamps easier to light, because the fuel is now more volatile, and I've had no issues with flare-ups from the fuel vapors when releasing the pressure on a lit lamp.. This mix can NEVER be used in non-pressure appliances like the Aladdin, since it's a fire hazard. I've used Coleman fuel that was over forty years old that burned like new, and I use kerosene in my wick lamps that's been in storage since before Y2K. This old kerosene burns fine in flat wick and center draft lamps, but will blacken a mantle on an Aladdin almost to darkness. I keep fresh kerosene on hand for the Aladdin's and other non-pressure lamps, and all the wick lamps that stay in the house are running Kleen Heat odorless kerosene. All the gas pressure lamps can burn the Amish Mix and do just fine. Since they're sealed, I'm not troubled by the K1 kerosene smell when they're just sitting on a shelf. Round wick finger light. Last to go out in the evening. Table or wall mount with pivot base. Mechanical lamp - clockwork fan provides forced air to enhance kerosene flame. Turner propane. Instant lighting Butane Thermolyte lamps. So there's room for all fuels, from Regular Unleaded Gas and diesel to butane, propane and rendered possum fat. It's just a matter of comfort with the lamp that you have... Is it bright enough, can I service it, can I store the fuel safely? And what's my plan B? (and, C, D, E, F & G) I like to have a backup plan for lighting and cooking, and while I prefer the instant flip of a switch of butane stoves and lamps and the relatively low heat and zero odor they add to the house in summer, I spend almost every evening for nine months of the year cooking outside and sitting on the porch late into the night with a different lamp every night.
that stove looks old! where do you get coleman gas stove generators and pump rebuild kits. awesome collection.
The Preway Wedge isn't super old. Made some time after 1948. I like it because both burners have equal maximum output and simmer capability, unlike Coleman that always had a weak secondary burner. Frank, from the OldTown Coleman Center has a pretty good three part video series on rebuilding old Coleman stoves. I've never had a problem with any of my old Coleman or other brands of stoves. Maybe just lucky. If I had one plugged up I'd just clean it like any other generator. For pump cups I like horse hide. Takes forever to saturate with oil, but seems to hold it better and it's the toughest leather I have. I form them in a pipe with a plunger or with a dowel and hose clamp. For preformed stuff you could try Old Coleman Parts or the Amish connection at the Leacock Coleman Center. The exception to the pump repair is the Thermos (AGM, King Seeley) stove or lantern pump. I've rebuilt these aluminum pumps, and replaced all four o-rings, but I still have reservations about the design. So rather than burn down the camp, I use a pump cap with a Schrader valve.
