Hi folks I’m enjoying this fine spring weather and have fettled two lamps today, both now in the reference galleries. The first fettle was a Coleman 275A dated December 1980 which runs perfectly. The second fettle was the infamous 1950s Veritas Superb. I pressure tested it and fitted a new seal to the vaporiser, filled with clean paraffin and carried out a test lighting without a mantle. The lantern produced a nice Bunsen flame so after letting it cool I fitted a 500cp Butterfly sock style mantle, preheated once and it lit and ran perfectly for four hours. With its reputation for poor running and hard to light I guess a combination of luck and suitable mantle have been contributory factors. Regards Jeremy
Well done @X246A they look to be running very well. The Veritas lanterns, in my experience and of late others, appear to have had their bad reputation misapplied. I have 3 that perform faultlessly and I know of 3 other collectors on this forum that have had similar good results with their multiple Veritas lanterns. I wonder how and where this apparent myth arose from? Was it the Dutch Army’s P350 lanterns that were a mixture of kerosene and petrol versions with the related fuel mismatch? .... one can only speculate Cheers Pete
Jeremy, The Veritas is a tough looking lantern that means business. I've passed on adding one of these lanterns to my collection despite having opportunities to do so because of the reputation they have. The next time one comes along or someone is interested in a swap, I'll give one a home.
@X246A Excellent work, I can see you have been busy! I'm still bogged down with working from home and a list of DIY jobs that I hadn't spotted. Hopefully I can catch up on the fettling soon. You've done three very nice lanterns in the last few days, keep up the good work!
Hi Matty, i have a couple that need the fettle, i can send you one if you like, i have 3 already that work like a treat.
Jeremy, I've got three Veritas Superbs, soon to be four and so far they have been the easiest to get going and very reliable. They're also pretty easy to strip down and fix. Pete, Norman and myself have all had similar experiences and it seems you have too so maybe the horror stories are unfounded.
Darryl, Thanks for the offer mate. It would be good to have one in my collection that was once owned by a fellow enthusiast. I'm not really a lantern collector but I'd like to have one of the Veritas ones in my hands and see how they do work. I just said I'm not a lantern collector and I most definitely aren't. I'm sitting in my lamp room and I can count 14 of the blighters and I probably have twice that number at least laying around in my shed or garage. I just sent two to @Akeepsake in a swap for some table lamps. I don't think about my lanterns often but there are a couple I like, including both the big and normal founted Nulite No 18's and a Wizard Light Co hollow wire lantern that I only know one other example of. The Wizard isn't complete but a fellow collector has all the bits I need. It will be good when I finally get the parts. Darryl, what may I offer you in return? If you need Tilley bits and pieces you might be in luck. I might have some other stuff here you need but we won't know until you mention what it is you need.
@X246A i have one of those Coleman’s in the shed, bought it in a bundle about 3 years ago and never done anything with it. How are you able to date it, are they numbered similar to Tilley? And does it need Coleman fuel?
Hi Gary @Gary Waller On my two the date is stamped on the base, and yes you do need Coleman fuel, Aspen 4, or Naphtha based panel wipe/brake cleaner. Best image I could take with my iPad and the 12 isn’t very clear but it is there. Regards Jeremy
@X246A cheers Jeremy Mine is dated 12 / 80. I think I have some Aspen somewhere so I may give it a try.
I've had one of those Coleman 275 'Turds' for a while and it's like new, but wont fire up. I don't really know where to start with it as they seem over complicated. One day I'll research it more....
