I picked this lantern up a while ago of E-bay . It came from the same Scout Group @Tony Press purchased this Austramax 3/300 (early) from. It’s a Coleman 249 Scout manufactured in Australia in 1951 by arrangement with Coleman Lamp & Stove Co. Ltd CANADA. It looked in reasonable condition though some of the components looked out of place. Obvious one was the glass. I’m still looking for a correct replacement. The hood doesn’t match with the style used on other 242 / 249’s I have from this era. It doesn’t match a later 249E either. I think it is from a Coleman 200 or 200A. I replaced the hood with one from a donor lantern I have. The pump was too shiny and too long. This was also replaced from the donor lantern. (Original top, correct pump lower) Now down to the actual fettle. I pressure tested the lantern and there were no leaks. So I lit he lantern on the bench without a mantle and it lit. It’s looking good so far. I pulled the lantern apart (no problems there). The vapouriser / generator was bent but I look at that later. Inside the tank were signs of rust in places where the protective coating had broken down. So after washing out the tank with soapy water and a handful of steel nuts I poured in some rust remover. I left it sitting on the bench to do it thing whilst I continued cleaning the frame and other components. After a while I noticed a puddle under the font. It seems there was a hole (4 actually) in the base that didn’t leak until the rust was removed. Repairing the holes. I decided to solder the holes first. 1. Cleaned and sanded the area around the holes. A lot of pitting made this job difficult. 2. Gently hammered a depression around the holes. 3. Tinned the surface to be soldered. This was more difficult than I expected. Either the pitting or treatment of the steel base must have held contaminants. 4. Filled the depression with solder. 5. Ground and sanded the solder until I was happy with the result. I didn’t want to disguise the repair completely so left it visible for future reference. 6. Painted the base with lacquer to help prevent further corrosion. Treating the inside of the font. I haven’t tried to seal the inside of a font before but have had a KBS fuel tank sealer kit sitting on the shelf for a while. So decided now was the time to give it a go. Following the instructions I cleaned the inside of the font and let it dry. I Skipped stage 2 (rust treatment) as this had already been done. I only wanted to seal the base and 1/2 " up the sides but had no Idea how much sealer I would need. I guestamated 50ml would do and used a syringe to extract the require amount and into the font it went. Swirled the sealer around until I had a good cover and waited. A picture of the sealer inside the font. The instructions said the application needs to be thin and don’t let it pool in one spot. 50ml was too much, 40ml would have ample. I had to suck out the excess. I allowed the excess sealer to pool on a piece of scrap plastic to see what happened. Whilst the sealer did stick to the scrap plastic a skin formed on the external surface of the sealer and a void formed under the external skin. Not a good situation if inside the font. Now waiting for the sealer to cure. More to come later.
Nice work @ROBBO55 I’ve one of these Scouts and it’s the only paraffin-fuelled pressure appliance I have that gets the fuel in the tank so hot that the hot vapour released on opening the air valve ignites with a (small) bang. Avoidable of course if the correct procedure of shutting the control valve to dowse the light first is followed. John
@Andrew T Thanks Andrew I missed that 249D in the Reference Gallery. Looking closer, to me the shape of the hoods are very similar between the 200 and the 249D but the hole for the bail is lower on the 249D and matches the hood I have. @presscall Thanks John I don’t have one in working condition. So I’ll keep that bit of information in mind when I get this one going. Which should be tomorrow. Back to the fettle. The Check valve in the base of the pump tube had previously been tested and was in working order. I cleaned all the components using a mixture of citric acid and wallpaper paste and a tooth brush. The Vapouriser First problem was the carbon. Partially fixed by removing the nipple and heating with a blowtorch to burn out most of the carbon. As I mentioned earlier the vapouriser was bent and had been dented in several locations. This not only made it difficult to get apart but also made it difficult to reassemble. Luckily being springs I was able to twist the springs and screw them out. The rest of the carbon was removed from the tube using carb cleaner and a brass bore brush from a 303 rifle. To straighten the vapouriser I searched around the shed and found an old tap wrench with a handle that was near enough the same size as the inside diameter of the vapouriser. A liberal application of grease, some twisting and gentle persuasion with a rubber hammer had the tube straight and dent free. Well near enough to. I could have just replaced it but I don’t like replacing parts unless I have too. Also this one was marked “made in Canada” Re assembling the lantern Ready for testing tomorrow.
OK the instructions on the tank sealer said cure 3-4 days. It’s now been 7 days so filled it with kerosene (Paraffin) and there were no leaks. Primed with meto and away it went. In these photos it is fitted with a Coleman 21 mantle. Note I also have some Kevlar felt in the priming tray. Day time in the shed some lights on Lights off
I use a fish tank air pump to circulate fresh air inside a tank to help cure the sealer. 4 days is enough I don't think I have ever waited longer and the sealer always does the job. ::Neil::
Thanks Phil, I'm happy with the outcome. Thanks Mackburner for the air pump suggestion, I'll use it on the next one.
@ROBBO55 Looking at the pictures, I see that you are using a straight sided globe with these, would that be as how they were sold originally? Jaco
G'day @jacov No, they would have come with a bulbous globe with the green sunshine Coleman logo. But I wouldn't risk an original globe during a test firing and alas I don't have an original to put on the lantern.
Hello Martin, Looking good, can I ask a question I have two a 48 Canadian and of the top of my head 58 English. I've noticed the burner nozzle is large, same as my 237's, both of them so on fire up three times with two types of mantles flamed up, the third attempt got it going but a lot of flame outside mantle an very hot part (I admit maybe the coleman mantle I used was large, it touched the bottom) second half size. Ventilator around the vent went red so I stopped and still scratching my head,hence me heading here.Any Ideas, every thing cleaned up,no leaks.and the not blocked. regards Alex P.S Tony Press, you may have some thoughts,anyone really.
@toad of the cape It sounds like “underburning”. Make sure your “tip” (jet) is not loose and all other parts are tight. Take the glass off, and re-light. If your mantle is no good, try it without a mantle and see if it is burning correctly. Your generator(s) may be no good, also. Tony
@toad of the cape G'day Alex, have you cleaned the carbon out of the generator ? The flame outside of the mantle is usually a sign of excessive fuel in the fuel - air mixture. So Tony's advice is where I would be looking. If every thing is clean and tight then it sounds like the jet might be enlarged. I don't have a 237 so I don't know if the nozzles are the same size but if you have two 249's with the same size nozzles I would assume they are correct .
Thanks Martin and Tony on this problem over the next few days I expect half a dozen or so new generators NOS and a bunch of jets that I found on a trading site here in NZ,242's as well, may have some available too. Armed with those and advice from here will set to.Also with Matt and Tony helping me with the Aladdin should be back in the shed fettling like mad. many thanks to you all, warm regards (by the light of a lantern) Alex
Good to see the old girl running so well. Well done on a successful fettle. I acquired a 1945 249 Canadian Scout with some parts missing. I have acquired all the parts and now to fettle. One my issues is that the vent hood has been painted black, me thinks with heat resisting paint. So one of my jobs is to understand why, and if possible, expose the real green colour beneath .... it maybe chipped to buggery, but time will tell, if it’s real bad I can repaint it with heat resisting paint I guess. Cheers Peter
AussiePete,, Hello there, the paint should come off with a soak and elbow grease,sugar soap paint stripper,try to avoid harsh scrubbing. These lanterns get very hot and their fore are hard on ventilators,if it's badly pitted that should be evident unless someone's stripped off the enamel. happy fettling, Oh a word of warning, chemicals be careful. happy fettling Alex
@AussiePete Thanks for the compliment. Good luck with the hood and I hope the enamel is not in too bad a condition. Looking forward to seeing a post with the lantern complete and running.
Thanks for that advice Alex ....... that’s what I’ll do, hopefully I can resurrect the original finish ..... then after the other works are finished, light her up. Pictures will be had ..... Cheers Peter
I've had some success rubbing the HOT vent with fine steel wool while the lantern is burning to remove paint from the enamel. Wear heat proof gloves when you do it though. The steel wool will not scratch the enamel but it could possibly catch fire so best to do it where it will not cause damage if you have to drop it quickly.
Good to remember Phil, I’ll try the paint stripper coarse first. If there is no joy I’ll try the heat and fine steel wool method. Thank you all for your constructive comments. Now to do it .......
Try the paint stripper on a small unobtrusive part of the vent first. Depending on the ingredients, there is some danger that it may dull the enamel.
Phil makes a good point, I should have been more clear, as with any chemical, acid or alkaline small steps,even citric acid will dull baked enamel most definitely no abrasion.
And I hope this'56 English' the ventilator on this one from Canadian' I have a mint darker green ventilator aside. Thanks everyone
