First year of 236 production! I'm in Canada and I've never found one that early, and looks to be in excellent condition. Congrats! Mike.
That's a fine old lantern. Could it be that the early ones(1930s) 236s and 237s were mostly exported? I have a 1938 or 39? (the stamping's faint due to a PO abraded off the nickel plating) Canadian 237. Unfortunately, its missing quite a lot of parts.
It always appeared to me that the majority of the Coleman 236 lanterns were made in the Taranto plant. I think they were also made in San Palo, too. The ones made at the Wichita plant hard to find.
236's were being made in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2 years before production of a US 236 started. Canada kept churning them out until 1970 as the 236A which was essentially the 236 with a new style vent and aluminum collar. I kind of think Coleman Canada decided that the 500CP single mantle 236 was a better model than the double mantle 220 (and it is...), and went that route. They are incredibly common in Canada. But no wonder--they are bright, reliable, and Juan's example with the seafoam vent shows off the good looks, too. Always great to see these first-of-the-line lanterns! Mike.
Coleman lanterns are very hard to find here, of any year. The lantern is in great condition, only missed the hand bail. The quality is amazing but I wonder why the bottom is steel: I found a lot of rust inside and I hop it will keep pressure. See the pictures.
That's a lot of chunky, flaky rust! Before you go any further, I'd check the bottom and any areas that look suspect, I'd poke at with a sharp awl. If it still seems solid, I'd do a pressurize and dunk test. Coleman used steel baseplates on all of their lamps and lanterns, and while they won't bulge out like a Tilley from over-pressuring, they do rust. Water from condensation sinks in naphtha and this is the result. Good luck as you press on. I know your pain. Mike.
@Juan A steel base doesn’t bulge under pressure as easily as a brass base. Of coarse brass, if used, is sometimes ribbed or thicker to provide structural strength with some manufacturers making allowances for bulging by a thicker base rim. I guess Coleman weighed up these methods and went down the cheaper steel base path. As @MikeO has said, check the base carefully for pin holes and do the dunk test. Good luck. Cheers Pete
I did a good pressure test and no problem with the tank! But I haven't got success on lighting it fine.
