Coleman Lantern

Electricity was restored within a few hours after a big wind storm blew through town a couple days ago. The incident got me thinking, however, about how well my family would do if the power stayed off for a few days or more.

Food: no problem, even if stores are closed for an extended period. We keep a well-stocked pantry that could possibly last several months.

Heat: might be a problem. We have a reasonable stash of wood, but the fireplace is so drafty that unless you're right next to the fire the house actually feels colder. The north Idaho winter, while not as cold as some places, isn't exactly mild. As long as we can keep the pipes from freezing we'll be fine if we bundle up, but what we really need is an efficient fireplace insert.

Cooking: Between the BBQ grill and backpacking stove to heat water and soup, we'll be fine. We keep plenty of fuel for both.

Light: No problem. Candles and flashlights are handy, as well as a big oil lamp, and my favorite, an old gas lantern.

This Coleman lantern is of the classic single mantle type with curved glass; I got it second hand from an older gentleman and it required some refurbishing. I soldered part of the upper housing back together, cleaned it all up, bought a new glass globe and mantles, oiled the pump and attempted to fire it up, only to discover that a new generator was needed.

Here's the cool part: this is a model that requires Coleman fuel/white gas, and a specific generator for said fuel. But after looking all over town for the correct generator, none was to be found. I finally found a kerosene type generator that happened to fit my lantern, and thought, why not experiment a little? I put everything together, and finally, the lantern worked perfectly with white gas OR kerosene, or any mixture of the two. This, without having to change generators! (the modern "multi-fuel" lanterns require that the generators be changed over when switching between those fuel types)

Kerosene is more efficient, safer to store and safer to use. Plus it makes an excellent weapons cleaner, lubricant and preservative. On the other hand Coleman white gas is cheaper and a little easier to get started when really cold, so take your pick. I haven't used diesel (low grade kerosene) or pump gasoline (low grade white gas) in this particular lantern yet, but they would work in a pinch. You just have to turn the little cleaning lever more often to keep the orifice from plugging up, and risk fouling the generator. Fumes are also more of an issue with pump fuels.

I love it when classy old gadgets work better than new stuff. Bring on the dark!