The brass sided, green painted fount is also characteristic of that time. Coleman’s first production of Models 220B and 228B was May, 1930. Until early 1934 all of the founts of these two models were stamped 220B on the bottom. These models could be purchased with either a Pyrex (left) or mica globe (right). Details of the early construction of these models is shown below. We believe this lantern is a Model 221, a kerosene fueled version of their Model 220 above (McRae).
Of course you still have to buy the lanterns, so lets take a look at the cost of buying a new lantern. Prices will vary from store to store, but they are all going to be in the same ballpark. The specs say this LED lantern will run for 85 hours on hi. If you run these lanterns on low, it costs much less per hour to operate. See the chart below for all the figures side by side.
We used it practically every night for over ten weeks and didn’t have any problems. The plastic base is not very durable nor does it stay on when you lift the lantern by its handle. I thought the propane lantern was coleman grill going to be my favorite. 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 will smoke a lot at first, but then it burns off and shines very brightly. After the initial installation of the mantle, coleman camping it doesn’t smoke anymore when you relight it. During this testing period, we only had to change the mantle once.
The Coleman Quick-Lite 327 was sold from 1920 to 1924 from the Wichita (USA) plant with no date stamp. This lantern, in Ron Lenfield’s collection, includes the box and accessories. Although this lantern has a later style baffle plate, the usual baffle plate in this version is as in the lower image.