What's in here, then?

I arrived home this evening to find that a big box had been delivered.



That's a Coleman 236 in fron of the box.


Looking inside...


Front view with the glass door taken off.


I am looking forward to getting this going, but it will have to wait a couple of months because I'm heading off o/s soon.


Cheers

Tony

 

Thats been delivered to the wrong address .
Should light up well as it is .
Looks like you belong to the SL1 club now
Bob .

 

Niiiice! Congrats, great score!!!

Best regards,

Wim

 

Gawwwww very nice.

 

Great find. Not many of those out there. As far as I know only three in the UK and one of those came from Aus. ::Neil::

 

I have been given a little bit of history on this light but I need to check the story against any date that might be written on the back of the reflector.

It’s in good condition having been stored in the purpose-made box.

Cheers

Tony

 

A very lucky find!

 

@Lamp_Doctor not only the wrong address, but the wrong country.

 

@Matthew92

Definitely delivered to the correct address! I even paid an exorbitant amount for freight and insurance because it was being trucked about a thousand miles (too big for Australia Post). Nonetheless, I'm very pleased to have it, unmolested by transport, along with its custom-made box.


@Lamp_Doctor

Where does the SL1 Club gather for a quiet shandy?



Cheers

Tony

 

Just look for the pillars of light going up into the night sky

An excellent addition, Tony! Looking forward to seeing it make light.

 

Nice toy, should fettle up a treat. Enjoy

 

Excellent find Tony. Congratulations.

 

Front door:



Reflector dated 23 November 1942.


Reflector is in good (uncleaned) condition, but I will have to re-seat the wadding when I fettle it.




Cheers

Tony

 

Tony .
Is that asbestos packing holding the mirror in its frame.
Bob

 

@Lamp_Doctor

Bob

It most likely is asbestos woven strap.

Tony

 

Dreaming of the day I find one of these, unfortunately I think it will always be a dream.

 

If I'd known you wanted one, Matt, you could have had mine...

 

Damn, maybe one day. I should think you’d be fighting off collectors from every angle for that.

 

Wrong address and wrong continent too !

 

Today I re-packed the wadding (packing) for the reflector.

As it was very likely to be asbestos, I:

1. Put on the mask,



2. Wet the wadding and took apart the reflector frame,


by unclipping the bent copper tabs and removing the copper inner ring.





3. I the soaked the wadding in water and stitched the join (the ends were held together by old paper tape).


4. Refitted the wadding around the lens.


5. Re-seated the lens with its wadding back into the outer copper ring-frame.


6. Carefully, with a twisting motion of a screwdriver on the underside of the wadding, worked the wadding into the correct position.


7. Replaced the inner copper ring.


8. And there it is!



I then started on the tank.




This light has spent many years working on a wharf in South Australia (I have good prevenance for it), then storage in the same district. It was no surprise that there was rust in the tank.



The inside of the tank is having a good citric acid bath now...

I’ll post more as I go along.


Cheers

Tony

 

yes, wrong address. no wonder i have been waiting so long. cannot wait to see it lit.

 

Today was "working on the tank day".


Given the amount of rust in the tank (see above), I gave it a good soak in citric acid, then added some stones to the tanks and gave it a fair few shake-and-rinse cycles with the citric acid. The advantage of the wide pump/filler hole is you can use good sized gravel to work the rust.




The rarity of this light, and the fact that at some stage in the past someone had pasted the bottom of the tank with solder, made me I decide to use the remaining "POR 15 Fuel Tank Sealer" that I had bought a few years ago.




After using the "POR Metal Ready" and thoroughly drying the tank, I poured the POR in the tank and made sure the entire inside was coated. I also checked that the fuel pickup was not blocked.




After draining the POR from the tank, I used the residue to paint the rust on the outside bottom (tank in draining position).



That, and repairing the big box it came in, saw me out for the day.



Cheers

Tony

 

it was delivered to the wrong end of the state .
it should have come to the north .

kerry

 

While I’m waiting for the POR15 to fully cure (two more days), I’ve been working on the big box using my very rudimentary carpentry skills:







I also pressure tested the tank and dunked it in a bucket of water: no leaks!

Cheers

Tony

 

Looks like you're ready to go! Would love to see it lit.

 

@george

I’ve got a bit of painting to do, and finish the box (but I’ll light it before I finish the box). I’ve got about 24 hours for the full cure of the tank sealer to finish before I light it.

Cheers

Tony

 

Great adventure! Thanks for taking us along for the ride. Also looking forward to seeing it lit. Let me know when you do it, I'll look off to the south.

 

@Marc

Actually around the evening of Saturday 24 November (eastern Australia summer time) the southern sky might have more than one of these shining.

Cheers

Tony

 

Well mine will be there to plus somebody else that makes 3.
Yours is looking good now plus the box being repaired to .
Bob .

 

Fueled up the tank and gave it a flame test today.

Low pressure.


Half pressure.



I’m happy with the tank, vapouriser and burner.

... on to the final painting and refitting the lens.

Cheers

Tony