Newest piece to my lantern collection. A Canadian made Coleman 321B Lantern made in February 1981. Came with a full tank of fuel of newer mantle!
I must say, that after having used a dual mantle propane lantern last year when I was camping and comparing it to these single mantle ones running Coleman fuel, I think I like the light these give off better, it isn't as harsh of a light. Of course with the propane one it was attached to a tree on the 20lb tank and you could run it for a very long time and much cheaper than with these, but I just think I like these better.
Thanks! Yes I did, it was basically full. When I got it home, I decided to open up the fuel cap. Ya, that was a bad idea. It had pressure in the tank, luckily I closed it right away and open had a small spill. It fired right up though so I'm thinking the fuel is probably fairly new...
Hi I just acquired one of these lamps and i'd like to know where I can get some mantles for it. It fired right up with the fuel already in it but when I opened it up to clean the inside the mantle disintegrated pretty much instantly. thanks in advance
thank you... any feedback on the chinese ones on ebay? I just ordered these hoping they will work for now 50 Pcs Universal Outdoor Camping Hiking U-shape Gas Lamp Lantern Mantles | eBay
I've purchased a lot of these over the last few years and generally had a positive experience with them. These, green tops and the slightly smaller pink or red tops are so cheap I haven't minded taking a risk with because if one or two fail on a batch it's not much of a loss. Some batches behave differently. For me, the green tops are great and I've used them successfully on Petromax and Coleman lanterns many times. The pink tops I find are very weak and I've had a 30% - 50% failure rate both when burning in and running although a mate in the US has had the reverse experience... weak green tops and ok pink tops. I guess it's down to quality control (or lack of it) when they're made. I've also purchased loads of the Butterfly brand, 'ball type' mantles and adapted them for use on Tilley and Vapalux with considerable success.
Just to be clear, here are the three types I'm talking about. Pink tops Green tops Ball type or round
Taking the price into consideration what you described is about what I would expect. I hope I get a decent batch I checked that old coleman parts site but the shipping was $30 for just a few mantles so that's not a realistic option here in Canada... and I've also read a review where someone had experienced a batch excessively prone to holes but who knows that might have been user error. In any case I think I will settle on the green ones I ordered for now and maybe order some more in a few weeks in hopes of comparing a different batch. Thanks for all the input it's much appreciated and very helpful
Sounds sensible to me. Given the low cost of Chinese mantles, I've bought a ton of them for very little money because I know I'll find plenty of them that work just fine. I also buy premium mantles when the price is right so I've ended up with plenty of options.
Have you changed the o-rings on this lantern? They're prone to failure and should be replaced. Your lantern has two. A size 009 behind the valve wheel on the brass stem and #007 in the FA tube inside the fount. Both should be replaced it with viton versions. That's the first thing I do on any Easi-Lite I find. You often see them (321 and 621 models) with a scorched valve wheel. That's because the valve stem o-ring failed causing a flameup. And they use a Coleman #99 mantle. I think the Peerless equivalent is a 2C-HG but don't quote me on that.
No I haven't replaced any o-rings on my easi-lite stuff yet (3 lanterns & 1 stove). I have run this lantern on my most recent camping trip and didn't have any issues with it all. I do have an easi-lite fuel tank on one of my stoves, that I took apart the whole valve stem and want to get replacement o-rings for it. Do you know where you can buy the o-rings you suggested here in Canada?
A couple action shots of this lantern in action from this past weekend. I found this lantern to be brighter than the dual mantle one I was also using.
Hi Jonathan. I just joined the site. I see you have a 321B. I just bought one of them as well. The lantern I picked up looks like it's new. Gotta few questions maybe you can help with. I've got it torn apart and have new o-rings on order. Not sure it needed them but whatever. How long will your 321B burn for. I'm lucky to get 4 hours out of mine. Any other things I should be looking for with this unit? Thanks.
