I bought a very dirty Coleman 238B today. After dissasembly I discoverd that the rapid heater has been soldered very badly. I removed as much solder as possible and now the threaded part (red arrow) rotates in the tank but I can't seem to remove it. Does anyone know how it is attached on the inside?
Hello Hans and welcome to the forum. I don't have a 238B but on most lanterns, the rapid heater is fitted into the tank and held with a nut which is then sealed with solder before the base plate is fastened in. It should be possible to solder around the fitting to hold it in place but make sure everything is as clean as possible, including the inside of the tank so that the solder will have a good hold. Henry.
Congratulations on your 238B, Hans! In Coleman terminology your problem is called a spun bung. It is also quite a common occurrence on the 500 stove. The fix is as Henry said: clean and flux well and re-solder. While you are at it, it may be a good idea to re-do the other two bungs too. Coleman appear to have economised on solder with some of these lamps and stoves By the way, the bail on your 238B is probably not original. It could be from a late 1960s 237A or perhaps from a 201. The correct bail is the exact same as the 1950s 236 and 237.
G'day Hans, the soldering looks fine . The lantern has cleaned up nicely and is burning brightly. Congratulations
Well done. The repairs are mostly hidden by the collar, so I wouldn't worry too much about them. The main thing is that the lantern lives again. Henry.
Great work to save this old gem. Even though this lantern was made in Canada, it is practically impossible to find one here. Toronto produced this model to compete with the European Kerosene models like Optimus and petromax.
It's the first time I saw one in Belgium too, I don't know why they are so rare since the Belgian army used them before they switched to Petromax. The lighting instructions on the collar are in French and Dutch so I think this was a military one.
I typed the following this afternoon, but something went wrong with posting it..... "They never caught on in Europe, other than a contract for the Belgian army in the early 1950s not many were sold on the old continent. Sometimes a well worn example pops up in Asia. I don't know for sure when Coleman had their Col-Max build in China but that sure killed all sales for their own 238b model. The Col-Max is about as good as any other lantern made in China, one should not expect to much of it! Best re" Yes @hans_4 , yours is an ex-Belgian Army one, I had the luck to find an unfired one a few years ago. Since then, I've not found another one. I'd like to find a used one and keep this one in a virgin state. Best regards, Wim
I have a 1951 Coleman 238B for sale not tested. The bottom a bit rusty and one interested buyer ask if there is a leak. I don't know much about lamps so could anyone tell me how to test for leak.
At the very least you would need to pump up the fount and sustain pressure for a short while to be able to check for leaks in the fount. The test would be to submerge the fount in water and watch for bubbles. To build and sustain pressure you probably at least will need to oil the leather pump cup seal, make sure that the fuel cap seal still seals, as well as the rubber pip in the fuel valve/foot valve. At worst you will lose pressure rather quickly and get bubbles from other places, not only from possible holes in the fount. If it is only the fount bottom that is suspect, another option would be to fill the fount 3/4 with kerosene, hang the lamp up for a couple of hours and check for any wetness on the bottom outside surface.
Thanks for all the information about testing for leaks. I really appreciate your help.Have a good day and stay safe.
The Coleman 238B had no leak. Due to being storage for a long time it rusted st the bottom. Once again thanks
