Aladdin 1A, Coleman 639

Well,
I haven't even started repairs on the Tilley x246 and these two found their way into my possession.

The Coleman was a gift from a relative who saw that I had taken an interest in Kero lamps and the Aladdin was hanging in the basement of a secondhand store I occasionally visit.

I had a good chat with the owner of the store and he said that he has more lamps/stoves in storage that he would bring in for me to look over.

The Aladdin has some cracks around the base of the fount, apparently common for these early Australian Aladdin's, I'm not sure if it will hold pressure, I may need to soft solder the cracks.

The Coleman doesn't need much work, just a bit of a clean and a new mantle, it still has fuel in the tank.

Ben

 

The Coleman 639 is a good powerful 500cp kero lantern. It should be date marked. Being a Coleman it will probably need a clean and maybe a new seal for the filler cap but you may find it will just work as found. ::Neil::

 

Thanks for that bit of info Neil, I'll have a good look at it tomorrow and see if I can fire it up.

the Aladdin will need a little more attention to get going, having the glass intact, it'll probably move to the top of the list though, after the Coleman that is.

Cheers

 

The Aladdin is an interesting lamp. Has it got 'Aladdin 1A' stamped on the collar?

 

G'day Matty, yeah, it has the stamp on the collar and doesn't appear to be any other marking on the lamp either

 

I thought it would have. I think this is either the first (if the fuel cap has been replaced, it should have a winged fuel cap to be the first) or if it isn't the first, is most likely to be the 2nd 1A.

When you clean up the lamp would you show me some photos of the fuel cap and the pump handle and cap. I suspect the entire lamp is brass except for the hood clips?

 

No problem, Ill give you further details/photos once I clean it up a little

 

Fine fettling projects!

 

@Ned's Head

If you need to solder the cracks, drill a small hole at the top of the crack to prevent further cracking.

Cheers

Tony

 

I fired up the Coleman this arvo, it didn't need a lot of attention, I just pulled it down and gave it a quick clean, fit a new mantle and flushed out the fount.

It burns nice and bright.

 

Sounds about right for an old Coleman. They often only need a clean. Looking very good. ::Neil::

 

Cheers Neil,

There's quite a bit of surface rust on the bare metal parts and removing it would also remove the electroplating, would cleaning off the rust and painting over the metal be a good idea?

 

To clean the all-steel nickel-chrome plated 639 and 339 I usually soak the fount and burner frame first in lye and then in citric acid. This will ruin the vinyl sticker, but replacements are available. The citric dissolves the rust and makes the fount look almost like new. If necessary you can then polish the fount and seal it with car wax to ,protect it from further rust.
The burner frame can be painted with VHT silver paint to reflect light & heat and for protection.
A fringe benefit of painting it is that it can seal up the gas leak in the bail holes that makes some of these lanterns a bit smelly.
Keep the aluminium collar away from the lye and buff it if you like.

I have painted several of these founts that were badly disfigured by rust. Rustoleum Gloss Hunter Green, followed by clear laquer and baking in the oven at just below 100C for about 2 hours. Let it cool very slowly in the oven to room temperature. I use an old Coleman vent with a bolt through the vent stud hole as a stand for the fount.
Remember to mask off the pump tube end, fuel cap thread and valve bung hole