Here is a powerful Coleman Gasoline radiator from the early 1930s. It is not mine but it is here on loan from Malcolm while my central heating is down. It is quicker to light than a Tilley and gives more heat than an R1 so it is being very useful right now. It seems to run quite well on unleaded. Malc says the generator does coke up a little but being such a big tube it is not too bad and it is also an easy fix to clean it every once in a while. ::Neil::
Very nice ! How wide/tall is it neil ?, its a bit hard to get a perspective of its size by the pics alone.
Yes I shoud have thought of that. 16 inches wide and 18 inches tall. That is 405 x 460mm for those of a metrical persuasion. ::Neil::
Yes it is a neat beast. Noisy though but if I didn't like noise I would be just another sad guy playing with wicky crap. ::Neil::
Neil, I just got my second one of those today. Brass bit are soaking in vinegar as I type this. They are amazing little heaters. Super simple to work on as well. They really throw the heat too. Any idea of the BTU rating? I'd guess between 15 and 20K, but that's just a guess. I used mine quite a bit this winter, both indoors and out. It's may new favorite GPA. Mike
A second one? Some people have all the luck. I only have this 16 and #17 heaters in one 1938 catalogue but they don't give a power rate for them. It just says "An abundance of clean, healthful, radiant heat, at low cost" which is not very helpful. One interesting thiing they say is these have an Everdur tank which will last for ever. This I happen to know is a black lie because I have a vase lamp fount made of that stuff and it had rotted all round the base seam and I had to silver solder it to close up the holes. For ever in this case means a couple of years maybe. ::Neil::
Neil, was it a dissimilar metals issue on that rotted one? Everdur rivals stainless steel in corrosion resistance. I'm sure they meant it when they printed it, but who can see the future? LOL! I have seen those ads. Rural electrification, insulation, and propane ruined everything! Mike
Might have been. It had rot holes around the base seam so perhaps it was the weld metal they used. I know I had to fill some quite big holes by building up the silver in two or three layers before I got a good closed seal. Odd really because they are normally good tanks. Mind you there might have been some thing nasty in the fuel used by some previous owner. That could have given rot holes around the base. Doubt it would be as simple as water damage so who knows. ::Neil::
Don't want to be "that guy" so I'll just post a link to the 16 I just cleaned up. Model 16 Before and After from Coleman Collectors Forum Mods, let me know if I shouldn't do this. Not my intention to do the wrong thing. Mike
