Coleman 2 Mantle model 295 Lantern

[19and41]

Found this at a thrift store in very good condition for $10.  Finally bought a quart of white gas and a pair of mantles.  With them, the lamp lit right up.  It to the naked eye burns whiter than it appears on camera.  It had fuel left in it when I purchased it and it neither smelled nor looked any different from the fresh I replaced it with.  I reckon it will have some shelf life in the lantern.  the lantern is dated 11/89.

[twocvbloke]

Nice looking lantern, I keep thinking of getting a Coleman, but it's the cost of the fuel over here that kills the deal for me, I know they can run on Unleaded petrol, but require more regular cleaning than normal, but they work better on the proper Coleman "white gas" fuel, which if you buy the genuine stuff here is a right old rip-off... 

[19and41]

The place where I got the fuel had a generic next to the Coleman branded fuel  The Coleman was $14 as opposed to the same brandless product for $7.  It was $4 for the quart generic.  Plenty to do the job.  Funny the fuel is nearly odorless.

[TelePlay]

I have one of these, a bit older with dark green paint, that I bought, used and still have the original box. Problem is, not having used it for a long time, the plumbing is plugged up and I have to take the thing apart to clean out the fuel intake line. Have extra mantels and 3/4 gallon of fuel, just won't work and I'd really like to get it cleaned out. These were great lanterns, put out a lot of white light and a bit of heat to keep the dampness out of the tent. I see a lot of them in antique malls but they are usually rusted and/or dented, etc. Now you got me going on another deep sixed dungeon project, as if I need another one.

You got a good deal for a working lantern for $10.

One thing I remember from way back when is that when replacing the mantels, do the first firing outside in that the new mantels give off a lot of cadmium (IIRC) or some other toxic metal not good for indoor consumption. Once used, they are good for indoors in that the metal was burned off, hopefully outside.

EDIT:  Maybe this -- "The mantles used on modern lanterns acquire their radioactive properties during the manufacturing process. First, the fabric that will eventually form the small rayon mesh pouches is dipped into a solution of thorium and cerium nitrates." and includes both Coleman and Aladdin mantels, if this is factual. Always used mine camping so never worried about it. Probably get more radiation form a lot of other sources used every day.

And then this:  "The mantles used on modern lanterns acquire their radioactive properties during the manufacturing process. First, the fabric that will eventually form the small rayon mesh pouches is dipped into a solution of thorium and cerium nitrates. The nitrates are then precipitated into the cloth with ammonia, and—after it's dried—the mantle is coated with nitrocellulose, which fixes the ammonia salts and improves the pre-burning capability of the material. Occasionally, a manufacturer will also add a small amount of beryllium to give the ash (the residue that's left behind after the lantern's nitrocellulose-assisted initial burn) greater strength. However, it's the thorium in the mantle that incandesces and gives off the functional white light.

Unfortunately, that same element is radioactive. It is—to be more precise—an alpha-particle-emitting radioisotope which has a decay series of ten radiodaughters (a "daughter" is an element that is an immediately produced by-product of the disintegration of a radioactive element). The first radiodaughter is radium 228, a betaemitter which—in time—produces subsequent alpha-emitting radiodaughters. "

[twocvbloke]

They've actually stopped using Thorium in most mantles now, so that information's probably a number of years old, but I do prefer the light from a thorium mantle, it's nicer... 

The easiest way to tell if you have a radioactive mantle is it'll have a slight greenish hue to the light colour, more modern ones use Yttrium or Zirconium in its oxides which are far less dangerous, but the colour of the light is more yellow, kind of like a partly dimmed incandescent lightbulb, yeah it produces useful light, but, for aesthetics, it's a bit bleh to me... 

[19and41]

I used to see quite a few domestic Colemans in northern Indiana and southern Michigan , where a lot of folks kept them at the stand by for power outages.  I know the camping lanterns were the ideal fishing light, even attracting the fish.  The mantles I got were the kind with wire clasps to attach them to the fixture.

[dsk]

I have 2 single mantle white gas, and one kero, Great lamps! I prefer the white gas lamps, easier to light up, and adjust than the kero lamps.  For indoor use I prefer the kero Aladdin lamps mentioned in another thread.

dsk