Thanks to @Pancholoco1911 I now have a Coleman Quick-Lite. So far there's only the fount and stem but I have some of the replacement parts on their way. This is how it arrived... The base is stamped as follows and has a rounded blob in the centre rather than a hex end. The filler cap/check valve had been fitted with a lead washer that had been overtightened to the point that someone had butchered the knurled rim trying to open it. Thankfully the check-valve is in very good condition and the ball bearing moves freely. A previous owner's attempts at undoing it from the tank caused some damage to the plating around the filling spout... There was more lead ground in tight to the threaded central spigot. All of the lead remains were melted off with a moderate flame from my blowtorch. The fount has a dent unfortunately but I won't attempt to fix it... indeed I don't think it's possible. The fount is stamped with the Coleman Quick-Lite logo and the date 7 and 8 which I first took to mean 1978. I now know it means 1927, August month of production - thanks @Norman ! The fibre 'washer' at the top of the fibre tube has been tightened so much it's deformed it... The only thing I've done so far is to tidy up the butchered knurling on the filler cap. As the part is so small it won't fit into a lathe (not enough to machine knurl it) so I will hand file the linear finger grips very carefully. It'll take some time but it'll be worth it. Here it is after an ultrasonic clean and polish. As I don't have access to a lathe I had to remove the damaged knurling by hand with a grinder and a file plus some fine wet and dry. I'm going to take it slow with this old girl as I think she's definitely worth it! Any help or advice is welcome as this is only my second Coleman table lamp. PS. If I've got any details wrong, let me know as I'm no Coleman expert!
Nice Quick-Lite for restoring. The issues you have described are all pretty normal for these old units and it should restore well. The plating is in good condition too; often the bell is flakey. Good luck.
Hi mate, as you know I'm definitely very new to Coleman and dont know much at all, but one thing I've learnt is that the black fibre handle is too small for that lamp. This I know as I was going to change my spare black fibre handle over but noticed that's its smaller in height, so then I thought it was the bell, I changed both but then I still noticed that they were still smaller in height and not enough thread to tighten up the handle, as I can see in your photo. Here is my photo. I hope that helps you.
I would have expected to see a Hex filler plug on these lamps with a lead washer seal and requiring a wrench to tighten down. There is an instruction sheet in the reference library for the CQ which shows the wrench Etc. ::Neil::
From what I've seen so far, some were hex ended while some were knurled with straight lines like the one below. Although it was difficult to make out, mine seems to have been knurled before being very badly chewed up to such an extent that it had maybe 2mm less material on once side! Of course, it could be that someone swapped the original hex filler cap with a slightly different version, I don't know. Anyhow, working with what I have, my only option was to make good the damage (to the largest concentric diameter) ready to be manually knurled - if you know what I mean. If I come across a better condition fuel bung/filler cap I'll swap it over but for now this one will have to do.
Thanks Brian, that's very helpful. I noticed that even if the fibre washer that holds the tube handle in place wasn't bent down it still wouldn't hold the tube in place. I'll sort something out though. One question I have is can you get sheets of that fibre material? I'd like some to make a new handle washer and maybe a control nob too. I looked but couldn't find anything remotely similar.
Hey @ColinG Some time ago, I fettled one of these beasties. I reckon they’re a lovely lamp to have and use. Please see the following link to my fettle, it may be of some help to you. Coleman CQ/C - Fettle Cheers Pete
@ColinG your lamp would've originally had a hex filler bung. Coleman did away with the round knurled filler in mid 1917, as well as the flat filler bung. This is a photo of a lantern from the mid 16- mid 17 period showing the round filler and flat bung... That's also my C fount Q lamp picture posted above
Thanks, that's very useful info and I can use the photo to cut new slots in the bung. Just wondering, could my lamp be 1917 rather than 1927?
No, Coleman US did not start dating until late 1924. The cross hatch knurling on your air stem is also correct for your later CQ fill cap. It's common to see these caps that have been rounded off by previous owners using channel locks or similar pliers to tighten them instead of the correct wrench. I like how you machined yours. Would work slick with a 427 style replacement gasket where one could tighten by hand. I do this on all my Coleman filler caps that use the separate pump.
My guess is the lead washer wasn't sealing properly at some point in the past and the owner tried using stilsons or mole grips (not sure what the US names are) and thoroughly chewed up the brass! I intend using a Viton o ring so I don't have to put too much pressure to create a seal. Also I will run it on kero with a preheater cup and an R55 generator which I know works perfectly. Not sure why it works but that exact combo is fitted to my Coleman 128c and its one of the brightest lamps/lanterns I've got! Kero will also be a little safer in case there is ever a minor leak from the old filler cap/bung.
Been working on the CQ. Used GSR on the fount then a gentle buff followed by Mother's Mag to finish. Took the bull by the horns and filed the 'knurled slots' on the fuel bung. It's not perfect by any means but given its hand done it looks ok. I can't do much about the surface damage round the filler tube but I'll display it the other way around do it doesn't show!!!
Wow, looks really good now. I see you have a great talent working on old lamps as @Toby Garner. Looking forward to see a burner attached to it.
Thanks Francisco. I can't believe the seller wanted so little for it but that's just how it goes. I obviously need to look out for more bargains!
