My dad had a real thing for Sears bought most of our first camping equipment there way back when. Surprisingly I still have most of it. This lantern hasn't been fired up in years but I'm interested in getting it cleaned up.
I want to be careful tinkering around with the generator and such what's the best course of action in dealing with non-Coleman stuff?
That is a neat project. Can't give advice on fettling it as I don't have a Higgins but Old Coleman Parts looks like they carry the reproduction generator for it. Usually that's half the battle.
Most of the time but not always, Sears lanterns were made by Coleman for Sears. This looks similar to a Coleman 242 so a 242/200 type generator should work. If you have a 200 generator compare it to what you have in the Sears and I'm sure they will be the same. Nice fettle.
Some Sears were Coleman for sure but this ain't one of them. This is a Thermos lantern made as a special for Sears. It has a Thermos valve and burner probably from Thermos model 8311 with an old AGM style tank and hood as in AGM model 3016. ::Neil::
@Jerome Price This is reminiscent of the Kamplite LRL-2. You can find pictures of this lantern here on CPL in the Lamp Reference Gallery. Sears ordered lanterns from several different manufacturers which include Coleman, AGM which also makes the Kamplite and Thermos. As for getting your lantern up and going which shouldn't be hard to do. You will need to check the filler or fuel cap washer which most likely is as hard as a rock. There are several sellers on ebay that make this replacement washer. Also Mike at oldcolemanparts has the replacement generator and fuel cap washer. The washer you are looking for is the large 3 piece Coleman. The next item to check is the leather pump cup and in most cases the pump cup is in good shape and just needs to be soaked in Neatsfoot oil, but sometimes the leather pump cup is missing and will have to be replaced. The leather pump cup is easy to find on ebay or at oldcolemanparts. The Coleman leather pump cup will work for your lantern. You will also need to check the NRV, non-return-valve, and it sits at the bottom of the pump tube. The NRV keeps the fuel from leaking into the pump tube. For safety sake I'd remove the NRV for a thorough inspection. Once you have it removed take some pictures of the NRV because different manufacturers used different types of NRVs. Also it would be a very good idea to check the fuel tank for rust and dried up fuel. Acetone works quite well for cleaning the inside of the fuel tank. When it comes to a replacement mantle use either the Coleman 21 or the Peerless 2C-HG. Both are rated for 250 C.P. Let us know what you find. Cheers, Norman
