Fuel is much cheaper and abundant for the white gas models. One gallon of white gas is around $10-$15 and will last a darn long time. In a pinch, gasoline works just fine, but will create more coleman lantern soot. White gas lanterns are crazy bright, meaning everyone in your camp site can put away their headlamps and move around unencumbered by a piece of plastic strapped to their forehead.
It’s human instinct to want the safety and security of illumination. Coleman made the L220 (above) and L228 (below) for a short time in 1928. To accommodate the pump, which is mounted into the center of the fount, the fuel pickup tube had to swivel for removal (below the 2nd set of threads). Note the air tube along the left side of the fuel pickup tube, which is necessary for the Instant Lite feature. Coleman made this model for their Sunshine Safety company (post 1923). It has many of the same parts as Quick-Lite Model L327.
It turned out to be such a pain to use, that I don’t use it much anymore. I have the Northstar edition, and it comes with an electronic igniter, but it didn’t work right out of the box. It didn’t want to make a spark, so I bent the electrode down to make the gap smaller. That helped a little bit, but it still had a hard time igniting the propane. The other thing to notice is the the color of the light. The gas lantern gives off a very warm yellow light.
An incorrect gas feed tube was installed on the lantern. When lit, the tube can release too much fuel, posing fire and burn hazards. Fill the fount at least half-full of fresh gasoline or camp fuel.
I measured out 26 ounces when filling the lanterns tank. That means you can refill the tank five times from a one gallon can of white gas. That brings the operating cost to $0.37 per hour. I wanted lanterns that ran on different fuels, but were similar in construction. The gas and propane lanterns are all generally the same type, but the battery operated lanterns come in many different shapes and sizes. The one I choose most closely resembles the other two.
Remove as much dirt and dust as you can and remove the old mantle(s). If you have no previous knowledge of the lantern you are working with, or if you do not know how long it has been sitting, please perform each step. This will help you confirm coleman canopy that your lantern is safe to use, and that it functions as in should. If you need to make any repairs, I will provide links to other sections of this website. This product comes with a metal guard to protect the globe and reduce rattling.
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If you come across any vintage mantels (the little sock like element that glows when the lantern is lit) I would pick these up. The old ones went out of production as they are radioactive and were deemed dangerous to manufacture. The danger posed by them for users is very minimal however (just don’t eat them, you rube), and they burn brighter and hold up coleman canopy longer than new ones. That said, if you are squeamish about them, the new ones work just fine. The Coleman rechargeable lantern is the biggest and heaviest of the rechargeable lanterns that I reviewed for this project. It is a fine lantern for car camping where space and weight are not a concern, but definitely not for any lightweight camping adventures.