The Coleman 480 Hot Ray seems to have a junior sibling, which has a fount which may be a Coleman 128. This smaller fount is on a model I mentioned here. However, a similar one is in the Gallery here: Both were made in Canada but shipped to Australia. I have tried moving the protective guard from my smaller 128 style Hot Ray to another 480 full sized model and I was surprised when it did not fit. This image shows the guard from the smaller unit on a 480 Hot Ray. I have measured the diameter of the reflectors on the following units as below: 1929 480 Hot Ray = 13 7/8” and 351mm 1935 480 Hot Ray = 14 1/8” and 358mm My 1938 or 1939 smaller (128) Hot Ray = 13 1/16” and 332mm which is quite a difference. More photos of the smaller (128) Unit Date is shown on the left photo. Right photo is of the top 'wheel'. I was also asked by @MikeO about the neatly woven, presumable asbestos mantles. They have a small wire frame inside. I have two Hot Rays with these intact and I have also seen another one on a standard 480 Hot Ray at a historic house, Yurunga in Rainbow, Victoria. I have no knowledge of the background of these mantles though I suspect they could make it easier to preheat the generator. Appreciate any further thoughts about this. Cheers
Just checked my complete one small base 1935 dia of reflector is 332 also has the ceramic mantle. Have 2 of these with the small base. Also seen 3 off these also on my hunting trips.Bob .
Fantastic Bob, good to know there are more out there and that our measurements of these smaller reflectors are the same. Thanks. PS Could a mod correct my heading of this thread from Aladdin Hot Ray to Coleman. Oops.
This smaller version is fascinating! I would say unheard of up 'til now, at least in the home of Coleman Canada. Coleman USA expressly gave Coleman Canada the go ahead to develop items that served the Canadian and export markets best so this is very interesting, especially to see the possible continuance of the model 5 years past when production for the Canadian market ceased. Makes me wonder if those asbestos/wire "radiants" weren't a genuine Coleman item, and definitely more robust than the delicate ceramics. Are there any Coleman Australia catalogues out there from the mid to late 30's with some tantalizing details? Hope, hope... Mike.
@MikeO Many thanks Mike for going to the trouble of posting that comprehensive reply, including images that make it clear how the conversion is achieved. I supposed it would, because I had in mind a Lilor parabolic heater that does the same trick. John
