Coleman 237 Empire

May be the issue is different mantles? My Butterfly/Anchor brand mantles are not near as bright as my (US sourced) Peerless 111s.

http://0flo.com/index.php?posts/20367

 

Peerless mantles are bright, but they are not bulbous and I have found that the 237 works better with a bulbous mantle, because it forms closer to the vapouriser and therefor keeps the vapouriser hotter.

Peerless mantles work fine on lanterns which have the preston ring type of vapouriser, Jeff.

 

I haven't figured out why yet, but some of my Peerless 111s end up "banana shaped." One curved in the direction the generator, ending up with the mantle 1/8" away from the tube, while another went the other direction and ended with quite a gap there. If I could make them all end up snugged up close to the generator, it might work out to my advantage.

 

hey all I don't want to steal anyones forum here, but you guys seem quite knowledgeable about the 237. I have been having some issues with my 237 recently and am out of ideas to troubleshoot. I can run it for 15 minutes or thereabouts and it starts getting dimmer. I have checked for leaks and have found none. When I cycle the generator needle, it goes back to its normal brightness. I have new fuel in it and use a 25-75 coleman fuel kerosene mixuture. The generator is also new as the old one was broken. If anyone has an idea as to what is going on, it would be great to hear from you.
Thanks!

 

Hi,
no reason to apologize: most of us here will be glad to help you.
My guess is that some carbon residues have built up inside the generator, due to the thermal cracking of the fuel during operation. From time to time some of this muck will travel up and partially block the jet, so that it must be removed with the pricker needle.
If this now happens more often and may get annoying, I should suggest that you remove the generator and clean it thoroughly. For the kerosene generators this can best be done by using carburetor cleaner or an ultrasonic bath filled with some thinned citric acid. Another way could be burning it out with a torch. After an inspection there should be no carbon any more and it should work satisfactorily. The gasoline generators have a sheet of asbestos paper inside which is often baked to the generator walls and cannot be cleaned easily, and only the latter method will work.
Overall be careful that you don't damage the pricker needle. Also enlarging the orifice from the jet will lead to a rich air-fuel mixture.
BR, Martin

 

Hi everyone,
I've recently bought a Coleman 237 Empire as shown in these attachment. Still unfettled, as it is now. How would i know anything about its age (year it was made)?? Its stamped Made in Canada with the word "Empire" and Sunshine of the Night on its fount/tank.

 

Here's a closeup view on the fount's stamping.

 

Date is A first 3 months and made in 1946.
Bob

 

Hi Lamp_Doctor,
Thanks for your reply. Appreciate that.
MYN

 

Hi @MYN , according to the date, your 237 fount and collar were originally painted Canadian Seafoam Green and were never nickel plated.
Interesting that yours has a dark green enamel ventilator rather than the light green one.
I see it also has a rare and fragile ceramic burner cap. Most had the brass burner cap with wire mesh screen.
They are really excellent lanterns, meant to burn paraffin/kerosene but could also burn ordinary unleaded gasoline.
Any Coleman 220 type "ball nut" will work for the nut on the ventilator.

If you decide to paint the fount and collar(frame rest) I can recommend the American "Rustoleum Grass Green Gloss Enamel" as a very good quality spray paint that is almost identical to the original colour.

 

Thanks Phaedrus42. I'm not sure whether it had any nickel plating originally or had been removed earlier by the previous owner. Neither am i sure that it should have had a seafoam green or dark green enamel on the hood. Its my 1st Coleman lantern. Haven't read up enough on the details yet. The spirit cup looks so worn-down that it would not hold more than a few drops of methanol.

 

From what is known, that is how the factory in Canada made them in that period.

 

Glad to hear that phaedrus42.
Rather surprised that you could notice that ceramic burner cap. I'm not aware that most would have brass caps with wire mesh.

 

There is the beginnings of a 237 registry that records what parts and features were on theses lanterns during the course of the manufacturing history:

coleman-237-features-2018-02-15.xls

 

Love that info phaedrus42. Thanks.

 

I’m curious as to the real cp rating of the 237 Coleman’s as I have 3 of them , I also have 3 Aida’s as I do some night fishing off some Florida bridge’s I like them all but the Aida is a far brighter lantern more white light, no joke if your using the 237 down from me on the peer & I put my Aida’s out I’ll draw all the bait from yours to mine, now as for camping on hunting trips I love my 237’s as the light is more easy on eyes.Aidas are a little easier to start up with the built in torch,it draws everybody’s attention,I’ve got the best of both worlds.p.s. I’m rebuilding 2 237’s to sell with new generators & gaskets

 

Both the Aida 1500 and the Coleman 237 are rated at 500cp. Perhaps 550cp.
They usually won't really make up to those figures if you measure with a Luxmeter.

The Aida has a mixing J-tube which is somewhat larger and longer than the 237. In combination with its more efficient (Preston loop) generator, I guess that you're likely to get a more superheated, higher velocity vaporized fuel jetting across the air intake. So its likely that the unit gets a better aspiration and better mixing of the fuel and air in the longer mixer tube before they exit through the ceramic burner nozzle. Therefore, chances are, they often burn brighter than a non-optimized 237.
But on well-tuned units, both of them would settle out eventually to be more or less equal to each other in terms of brightness.

 

I don't "mix" fuels. If it's suppose to run on kerosene that's what I use. If it's suppose to run on gasoline that's what I use (possibly one small exception here - Coleman fuel); however, I do not mix Coleman fuel with kerosene. It's just me, I suppose...Very few lanterns I've worked with or own have ever given off the advertised cp. Mind you, I don't have anything to measure light output but you can usually tell. Although my eyes are not sharp anymore it seems to me that the "plated" lanterns always seem a little brighter than the painted ones. Reflective light, I suppose.

 

Hello, I have a Empire 237 in original box and original instructions. All in very good order. I tried to light it and flames were coming from generator. how do i fix

 

Did you follow the instructions, especially with the pre-heat? You weren't a bit hasty and opened the valve before the pre-heat was complete?
Are you using the correct fuel?

 

@Jimbowling Try preheating again. Make sure your generator is tight. I've never had a problem lighting my 237, you just might want to let it preheat until the flame starts to fall off in the preheat cup and open the valve before the flame goes completely out. Should light without a problem.

 

Absolutely!