Strange thing these days prices go up and up, and bargains are rare. But must have been my turn this weekend, I spotted an ad for a box of mixed bits from a man who was having a clear out, so I jumped in. there were a couple of Tilleys, and a nice R1 heater which will keep me busy, but the one with the green hat was a mystery, so I drove a couple of hours and picked up the lot. It seems I now have a Coleman 242 B and I love the look of it it looks a bit neglected and needs new glass and a bail, but should enjoy the challenge of sorting this one out, By the way in his clear-out was a little steam engine which I could not resist.
Just had a quick look over it, I thought it was painted light green but a rub with solvol showed that that's just a coating on the surface, looks like nickle plate underneath. Need to wait until I can strip it right down and makea project of it.
There's a product called Mother's Mag that will work wonders on plating like you've got on that 242B plus it's a bit kinder than Brasso which can cause problems to the brass underneath as I understand it. Great haul! Should keep you out of mischief for a while!
Thanks for that. I was worried about damaging the plating while cleaning it, hope I can do it justice
Amazing, I had one of those steam engine things as a child. God knows what happened to it. Not the usual toy for a child of my generation but I used to love using braso and auto sol on all the brass parts and copper tubing.
I have a mamod twin cylinder engine I received for Christmas in about 1962, I don't have the chimney or the original burner but I intend to try and replace them and fettle it for my grandson. Funnily enough I was thinking about it and it's the item I have owned longest in my life.
Regarding the lamp, I hope to start working on it soon, I am sure it will need some seals, but also needs a globe, and a bail. I think the globe on basecamp : 246B051,should fit. But could Anyone point me to a bail? I looked on the gallery and it seems to be quite a different shape to any of my other lamps.
It's been a while, and life has been getting in the way, but I decided that fettling this little lamp might be quite therapeutic. So I started cleaning it up and looking for a globe, seems basecamp don't do them anymore, and I'm getting the impression they are disappearing from the UK. Saw this in the USA: BRAND NEW COLEMAN REPLACEMENT GLOBE R690B051/No550 FOR 200/242/247/249 LANTERNS | eBay I wondered if anyone knows an alternative supplier or possibly an alternative globe, the lamp is pretty old and not particularly valuable, but there is something nice about it,.
@rayw I can’t help you with glass from the UK, I’m afraid… Can you tell me where that Coleman 242B was made? Edit: You could make a new bail by hand from fencing wire. Cheers Tony
Check with Old Coleman Parts first. Rob will have the fuel cap gasket for sure, maybe a bail. The globe from a 200 or 200a will work. An original globe can be found but will be pricey. 242Bs were made in the US from 1936-1942, in Canada from 1936 to 1965. If US made the date will be on the bottom, year on left, month on right. Canadians were dated at either lower corner of the name stamp on the side of the fount. Digit or letter for month on left, two digits on right for year. Letters were A, B, C, D for quarter of the year. An easy lamp to fettle, amazingly bright for its size and a joy all round. Post a wanted to buy ad in the classifieds on the Coleman Collector's Forum if OCP doesn't have a bail.
Thank you for the information that's great. This one says made in Canada the numbers on the name stamp are 38 I c ant see any stamp on the base though. Sorry the picture is not so clear hope it will be better after some work I think a hand made bail will be the best solution I have seen pictures and it won't hurt to have several tries at it.
Scroll down this page Full list of glass, chimneys & mantles it's the second one in the Coleman section.
Cheers Henry I'll get on that today, don't want to miss out. I was looking in the coleman section which seems to be on its way out at basecamp, I might also get a generator saw this one which I think is correct Coleman Unleaded Lantern Generator Genuine Coleman Part No. 201031 - Wow Camping
Ordered the globe yesterday as advised by Henry, seems I may have bought the last one of that type, its Coleman but made in China with white writing, but I’m happy with that I just want to put it in working condition. Started to clean up the parts yesterday (I’m enjoying doing a bit of fettling again) fount is Nickle plated but hard to get it shining its seems to have become a bit oxidised over the many years of storage, the burner assembly went in the alloy wheel cleaner and now in soapy water ready to clean up, I will try the generator first and buy a new one if needed. looking at this little 1938 lamp makes me wonder about where its been, wonder if it found its way here in the second world war when troops massed in the UK before the D Day landings.
It's a bit of a nuclear option but Harpic 10x used fleetingly can bring great results with very oxidised nickel. But really don't leave it on for long..
Interesting, Im mulling it over and may leave it slightly dull for a while, I am worried about loosing the coating or making gaps in it as its 84 years old now, I can always go back to it later. I washed it in strong detergent then used Solvol, later I might try the buffing wheel but only gently. I am thinking of putting some citric acid inside it to clean out the fount because its impossible to know when it was llast used.
Resist the temptation to use the buffer unless you are very, very experienced with its use. Even a white compound can take off the nickle. As suggested above, Mother's Mag Wheel and Aluminum polish is very good. Simichrome is also good. Your fount appears to be slightly freckled already (small spots of brass showing through the nickle) so less is better when polishing it. Start with hand polishing, you may be surprised at how well it shines up. Look in the fount before going the acid route. It may not need anything, or might benefit from a mechanical cleaning with something like Stainless Steel Tumbling Media | Kramer Industries Inc. | NJ, NH I bought 5 lbs (way more than I'll ever need) over 30 years ago and use it for cleaning inside founts. Some use BBs or small nuts and screws. A pound of the burnishing media is more than enough and lasts forever.
That's excellent advice from @Reese Williams, you will be surprised what a hand polish will do. One mistake on a buffing wheel and it's game over.
Had a bit of a go at it this afternoon it won't shine but I'm getting to like it as it is. Just thought I'll try it assembled and pump up the pressure to test how well it seals
Well who would have thought it. Maybe I'm getting a bit impatient theses days, but it seems to hold pressure so I put a load of stainless nuts and a cup full of naptha in there, shook it up poured it out into a funnel with a coffee filter, put the clean naptha back in and repeated twice , brought out some muck but I've seen worse. I have some cheap low quality mantles from e Bay so put one on then warmed the top of the burner with a blowtorch. Pumped it up and there she goes The hood started to spit bits of green enamel but it works! Jet pricker lever started to pass a bit of fuel so I shut it down.
Thank you This will never be a show winner, but it's nice to know it works and may be passed to a new generation. Who knows in the future someone may intrigued enough to enamel the top and take the whole thing to a new level.
Yes I am pleased with it so far, when the new globe arrives I may do a bit more cleaning before final assembly with a coleman mantle. I lit it a couple of times yesterday after cleaning out the generator with a frayed brake cable then blowing with compressed air it has a spring inside and some fibre which I suspect may be asbestos. It is an adventure lighting it, I pump it up and open the valve but nothing happens then I worked the jet pricker a few times and whoosh it flairs up eventually setting down. My other coleman lamps behave quite well just turn on and light the mantle. I wondered if a new generator is needed?
