Hello . Im sorry but i have another question.my 242 coleman lantern is a bit hsiry on starting. Feels like it might be sucking air up the pick up pipe even though theres heaps of fuel in the font. It removed it and found the thread in the bottom of the tap was tight but the lower outer tube was able to be turned around. See picture . Im assuming this shouldnt happen ? Also what is the hole in the side of the tube for ? Thanks once agsin for th help.
That outer pipe should be soldered air tight! It bypasses air! I had a similar problem, soldered it and now all is ok! By opening a little bit, that hole in the side bypasses "saturated" air, for easy starting, by opening more layer, fuel from the bottom gets fed to the gen.
I have to disagree with Jacob. The outer tube of the fuel/air (F/A) assembly is crimped in place, ,some tighter than others, some spin some don't. It doesn't effect function. Most likely the hole in the bottom was clogged. Unscrew the F/A tube, use some 0000 steel wool to clean/polish the rod, make sure the hole in the bottom of the tube is open (use something softer than the tube, like a toothpick, to clean the hole). If you block the end where the rod goes with your finger and blow in the bottom, air should come out of the hole on the side. Put it all back together, paying attention to where the spring goes and you should be good to go. Check for function before reinstalling the valve. With the fuel valve closed the rod in the F/A tube should stick out of the hole a small bit. With the valve open the hole should be open. Here are some explanations of the F/A circuit. How the Coleman FA tube functions Coleman Fuel/Air Tubes and Instant Lighting Explained
Thanks for sharing this video, Reese. Before soldering, I would suck on the F/A assembly, with my fingers closing both the air orifice and fuel port. Air would keep coming in and I could not create a vacuum. After soldering, sucking on the assembly with both the air orifice and fuel port closed with fingers, my tonge would hold and feel a vacuum... After re-assembly, the lantern worked fine with a stable white light and no flame outside the mantle.
Hello. I soldered the pick up pipe as described and i can confirm that the 242 shoots out fuel very easily now. So much so that fuel runs down the generator even when i have a flame on the mantle when i open the tap a little bit.it lights straight away thrn sfter a second or so the glame travels fown the generator and flames come out everywhere. I had 30 pumps of pressure in fount and the tubes in the top of the clean and clear. Help needed please as to why its doing this
Sounds like you may have soldered all the holes at the top of the F/A tube closed. Look at the diagrams and explanations of the F/A circuit above. There has to be an air intake hole at the top for it to work. Also, when you light the lantern only open the valve 1/4 turn. If you open it more you close off the lighting portion of the F/A circuit. With the valve open 1/4 turn you should get a mix of fuel and air. With the valve full open, fuel only. Make sure you are following the proper lighting procedure and that there is a working air intake in the F/A tube.
The Coleman 242 is an 'instant‐lighting' lantern. The fuel-air pickup tube is to facilitate that. If it is clean, assembled correctly and not having any cracks, then it should work as designed. The air intake hole should not blocked. When you opened the valve by turning about a quarter-turn of the knob, a mixture of air and fuel would be delivered into the generator/vaporizer and discharged via the jet or gas tip orifice. It should be lighted up with a match or lighter at this stage. Once the lantern/mantle lights up, wait until it is burning brightly before you proceed to open the valve further to the full position. This is also to allow the generator to heat up a little more for better vaporization of the fuel. If you turn the valve knob to 'the full-opened' position too soon, you might still get a flare up if the generator isn't hot enough to vaporize all the fuel. If this the case, you'd get liquid fuel out of the jet orifice instead of fuel vapour. When the valve stem is in the full-opened position, the tip of this stem will further 'back out' to allow the plunger and rod of the fuel-air tube's assembly to move up. The rod should fully retrack into the hole at the bottom of the fuel-air pickup tube and provide full clearance for maximum fuel intake. At this stage, the fount air would be automatically cut-off, and only fuel would be delivered to the generator. Also, make you are using the right fuel for this lantern(Coleman Fuel, Shellite or equivalent, and not kerosene). Instant-light startups don't work well with kerosene.
Where and what did you solder? Were all the "airways" open, after soldering? Post a photo, if possible.
Hello everyone. I sincerely thank everyone who willingly share their knowledge. Because of your help i have got the 242b coleman purring again. Thanks and no doubt will be in touch soon enough
