Wilmot collects lanterns the way other people might collect art. He treasures every piece, and puts valuable time and attention into restoring each lantern to its rightful beauty. Wilmot ignores today’s plethora of battery-powered, rechargeable LED headlamps and lanterns, giving preference instead to the “timeless” gas Colemans. Coleman’s first production of Models 220B and 228B was May, 1930.
Model L227 is a Quick-Lite model with a wide ventilator. This version, in Dwayne Hanson’s collection, is the most well known with a flat capture nut to hold the ventilator and several indentations in the ventilator (right). 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.
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. The brackets in the middle portion of the ventilator center the mica globe (image above).
If you want to drop the operating cost, then all you have to do is fill the tank with unleaded gasoline. At an average price of $2.50 a gallon, that will bring the operating cost to $0.07 per hour. The construction of the above 228B built in May 1930 includes a swaged bail that will only fit in the key slot on the frame member when it is under the frame. As a result the bail will not detach from an assembled lantern. This lantern is the largest and the heaviest product we reviewed.
You can adjust the light output with the tip cleaner stem or the valve, depending on the model. Click here for an owner’s manual on your lantern if you don’t have one. Remove coleman canopy the ventilator and globe, then spray the lantern with a household cleaner like Simple Green®. Remove as much dirt and dust as you can and remove the old mantle(s).
After preheating with a torch, a row of small flames come out of the rear of the heater, directed at the upper part of the Q77 generator. This lantern, in Dean Dorholt’s collection, is date stamped April 1929 (lower image). If you need a lantern that burns really, really brightly, this is your product. It’s a large, heavy propane lantern that can put out some heat. The model we tested came with a plastic base that has stabilizing feet and a hard plastic carrying case that makes transporting it easier than it otherwise would be. It has a single mantle that attaches on both ends and glass dome that covers it.
The reflector was designed for the earlier LQ lantern but also fits in L220 and L228 models. The spring steel reflector rests against three of the uprights and the shiny inner surface reflects light from the mantles. The coleman lantern ventilator and mica globe were removed for this image. These two Quick-Lite lanterns are unusual because the pump is only partially mounted in the fount. The check valve can be seen between the pump and filler cap.
Coleman only manufactured Model 228C after WWII, from late 1945 until early 1947, with some production overlap with Model 228D (below). Model 228C has the same features as Model 220C above including a green painted brass fount, screw-on pump cap, and yellow lighting instruction decal. This lantern, dated B (July – Dec) 1946, is in John Stendahl’s collection. This lantern is date stamped 7 9 (September ’27), six months before the L220/L228 lanterns were introduced. It appears to be an early version of those first instant lighting models with the same burner and T88 generator. The globe is embossed Coleman and Pyrex Reg US Pat Off Made in U.S.A. on the back (not shown).
Choose from propane and battery operated lanterns. From left to right above is, gas, Led, propane (northstar), and Justin’s propane lantern. His propane lantern has two mantle bags, whereas mine has one long mantle that stretches from the top to the bottom.
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. The cost of these tanks vary depending on where you buy them. They can be up to $8 if you buy them at a small bait store in the middle of nowhere. I found the cheapest price to be at Walmart, for around $1.84 each.