Hi Folks About 4-5 months ago l fettled my first Coleman a 242 (Australian) lantern. I used it a few times camping and during power outages and was most impressed with how bright the lantern was, putting out more light than the new Coleman twin mantle l was running at the same time. It sat on the shelf for a month or 2 and when l pulled it out and lit it recently it was only putting out half the light it had previously, l even ran the new one alongside as a comparison. It is not leaking and seems to hold pressure just fine. Would anyone have an idea on a possible cause for this? before l strip it down and flush everything again because at this stage lm assuming a little muck in the works somewhere. Grant.
Hi Grant. The generator could be clogged up and/or you may have a partial obstruction in the air tubes. Did you start with fresh fuel and what fuel are you burning?
Hi Phil Im thinking it is probably the generator, not having done a Coleman before l decided l would just flush it with vinegar/water rather than trying to pull it apart completely. When l started, the font still had old fuel in it so it was flushed twice before putting it back together. I have been running shellite as fuel rather than the Coleman fuel
Shellite should be clean enough not to clog the gen for a very long time. The 242 uses a Coleman 200A gen which is commonly available online but it should be easy to clean yours. Inside the gen is a steel spring with a bulge near the top end and around the spring is a tube made of a heatproof paper-ish material. The tube is quite fragile so hwc. The tube can be cleaned by heating it with a gas flame until it turns white again. The steel spring and cleaning needle can be cleaned carefully with steel wool. Be careful not to bend the fine steel pricker wire. If the innards are stuck in the brass gen. body, heat the lower part to dull cherry red with a gas flame and quench in water a few times to burn away carbon residue. Before you do any heating, remove the jet (gas tip) and cleaning needle. People have replaced the paper tube with various other materials like copper wire wound around the spring, fine brass mesh rolled up, bronze wool, etc. A spray can of carburettor cleaner is also very useful to clean inside the jet and gen. body. There are some useful photographs of the generator at http://rvcamp.biz/755
Cheers for that Phil. l shall pull down the generator over the weekend and see what l find. I do have a second 242 (really rough and so's the genny) that l bought as a spares source so l might try pulling down the generator on that one first. I did try to find a new one but couldnt source one locally, plenty O/s though. Anyway with a little luck a good clean is all that is required. Will let you know how l got on. Many thanks Grant
Grant It just so happens that I've stumbled across a small stash of 200A generators (vapourisers), so I have a couple spare. If you'd like one you can have it for about $9 plus postage. Tony
Tony thats an offer l will happily take you up on. Im always happier having a spare ready and waiting just in case. Pm sent Grant
If it worked and then didn't work after only sitting on the shelf I'd check the burner tubes for insects. Run a bottle brush, pipe cleaner or a piece if stranded wire with the end frayed out through the burner tubes. Spiders love to build nests in burner tubes and stove manifolds. Tthey are too sticky to be blown out by compressed air, it requires a physical intervention.
