I recently acquired this beautiful old Coleman table lamp. Having looked in the reference gallery it looks closest to a 169K or one of the variants. Can anyone ID it correctly? I have begun a very tentative fettle on this lovely old lady. The pricker mechanism was extremely stiff but some WD40 quickly freed it. The pricker wire is intact and works correctly. After a wash with some soapy water, the fount cleaned up nicely. Here are some detailed photos. The year is stamped under the logo as 9/35 The control nob has raised lettering. The base of the control mechanism is square which I dont see on other lanterns. The base is stamped CQ Quicklite
Yes 169K for sure. The two small dimples in the upper air tube give it away as a kero lamp. Nice find they don't turn up as often as it's cousin 168K. ::Neil::
Thanks Neil, I've been trawling through the Coleman Indoor section of the Reference Gallery trying to find it. The only difference I can see is the square section on the control assembly where the R55 screws into the block. Try as I might, I can't find a match for this feature in any other model. Maybe it's a Canadian 'thing' as I've heard they sometimes changed features regardless of Coleman in the US. I would like to see what the original paint looked like. It was obviously a two tone, blended paint finish but quite honestly I'm going to leave it as it is. Also, the handle has been burned or damaged at the top - not sure if Ill do anything to it though.
All thanks to you, Jean! Thanks again. Of course, as soon as I got home I realised I should have bought one or two onion globes!
I've continued restoring the hanger, not that I'd trust hanging the lamp with it while it was in use, but I'll keep it fixed on when it's not. Quite honestly, removing the rust and cleaning it up is more like archeological conservation than fettling but it's very satisfying. It's very fragile and I understand that they don't often survive... is this true? I might use some rust converter on it so as not to remove too much material.
Colin, It's the same control block as on my Canadian Coleman 159X here: Coleman 159X (Canada; January 1952) Cheers Tony @Mackburner
Ah, that's good to know. Now, if I could find a photo of how the paint job might have looked, I might try to respray it in it's original livery. It appears to be a coppertone two colour blend.
Excellent, that will be my pattern guide. I think it's worth foing a really good job and now I can replicate Coleman's coppertone finish. Watch this space!
After a break, I've started work on the 169K again. Last time, all I got out of it was a sooty mess that blackened the mantles and then petered out so I decided to do some investigation. I thought I'd cleaned out the tank but I must have forgotten because when I did, this is what came out! ... And this was after chucking away the first wash! I must have flushed pints of black/brown sludge out and it still kept coming so I decided to use my jet washer. This might not be in any fettler's handbook but after 4 or 5 power washes with a degreasing agent the water finally ran clear. Having thoroughly dried everything, I filled the tank with a 50/50 kero/naphtha mix and pressurised the tank. After a couple of preheat cycles I let her rip and this is the result. The left hand mantle has a slight touch of yellow probably indicating over fuelling but it's not too bad and I believe I've got a new jet I can fit as the original might have become oversized through use. I'm pretty happy with it now!
@ColinG Nice one mate, she’s burning bright, a real dark sucker. I’ve only run mine on straight kerosene with good results. Enjoy Pete
Wow, Colin, it certainly ended up with the right person. If anyone can get that finish on the tank right it’s you.
Thank you Jean. It took a while to get going but it's pretty stable now I've removed the gunk from the tank.
Update* I've now finished fettling this grand old lady and I'm happy with the result. I haven't lit it yet as I want the paint to thoroughly settle down first. In the end I went for the cream/gold paint finish as I'd already used the dark coppertone on my other recent table lamp fettle, but Coleman used this finish on a number of other table lamps and I think it looks very regal! As soon as I'm happy to light it again I'll post more photos.
You’ll need to find a nice shade for that lamp now to do it justice Colin. You must have the patience of a saint, amazing transformation.
I will definitely need a shade of some sort... do you happen to have a spare one lying around that you don't need? Honestly, the 169 has been my longest fettle so far but the quality of the lamp needed it. Added to that, my oven has packed in, so time between coats of paint is measured in days rather than hours but it was worth it.
