Here is my American 201 dated July 81. A year or so ago I acquired this 201 which was unfired, as most people at cpL I have the same wonderful addition an often wonder which is my favourite lantern an for what reason. I was 50 on the 13th of April an decided to spoil myself an light one of my unfired lanterns an the 201 was chosen. What a revelation this little lantern is coleman hit the nail on the head with this one what a simple, bright, lightweight, pump it once an forget masterpiece. Perfect! !!!. Gozzy
The old adage comes to mind, for me especially for lanterns! "If it ain't broke don't fix it yet most companies tried to or tried to save money. Why not keep producing a perfect lantern an charge us a few more quid! Maybe it's just me who thinks that. Gozzy
Thanks Jeff, I know you have one from a previous post ,I don't have any table lamps so the 201 is my late night kitchen lamp it burns so consistent with absolutely no flicker. Perfect. Gozzy
Hello Gozzy, the 201 is a good lantern, but there are two problems which can occur with that model when it's used regularly. Sometimes the vapouriser's jet slackens off and the burner nozzle with the gauze in it can also slacken off and when either or both of those parts slacken there is a strong smell of paraffin, Jeff.
Absolutely spot on with generator, the lantern was new an I've run 10 full tank fulls through it an cleaning needle was getting a little tight so thought I would clean it i took generator off struggled to pull needle out but the spring was solid ,soaked it in carb cleaner for 24 hours no joy so thought heat an quench, I didn't get gen to cherry red just short off that put it into water and it blew 4 coils off bottom of spring the rest of spring still stuck, found right size drill bit which just jamed inside coil an finger twisted it until it bitt an pulled spring out, used an old 639 spring put it back together perfect but what a palaver, Won't leave it so long next time . Gozzy
The current gen I'm on I have only done maybe 5 tank fulls. I took it apart last night and it still comes apart easy. But I've been doing roughly 50/50 panel wipe/paraffin.
Some new 201 generators have an aluminium spiral and not brass like the older ones have. They do damage easily when heated up, but are easy to replace with a home made copper wire spiral or even a roll of brass mesh. The junction of the air tube and J-tube where the venturi is, tends to leak and this is a cause of the smell. It is easy to seal with a lick of white Holts Firegum paste or similar. A Coleman #99 or Peerless #22A mantle is a good size for the 201. I find the 21A or 2C-HG is a bit too small.
