UPDATE: I looked on eBay and mine are the nicest by far. I found a date stamped on the bottom. The 220E was made in June 1963 and the 220F was made in May 1971.
Recently Peggy and I found two old Coleman lanterns at garage sales...and they were cheap. One was $5 and the other was $10. I can't imagine why anyone would sell these. Knowing Coleman's reputation, and also knowing that parts are still available, we happily took them home. Oddly, the more expensive one was in the worst shape. There was soot all over the inside of the globe and hood; it was a mess. They cleaned up nicely. I put in some gas but neither would pump up. I went to the Coleman web site and downloaded a manual. Judging by the picture in the manual I figure these lanterns are about 40 years old. After looking at the parts breakdown I determined that each needed a new cup on the pump. I placed an order on Coleman's site on Monday. It's Thursday and the parts arrived. To my surprise the cups are made of leather. They were easily replaced and each lantern pumped up nicely. I lit the lanterns and let them burn for about 30 minutes. These lanterns sell new for $59.99. I've only invested about $14 each. Even if I never go camping again they will be great when the power goes out.
At one of the garage sales we also got a Coleman stove (for $10) that runs on either Coleman fuel or unleaded gas. It was such a greasy mess! The owner had never taken care of it. We spent a couple hours completley stripping it down, cleaning it and putting it back together. Now it works as good as new. We will keep this stove with our emergency supplies. We already have Coleman and Camp Chef propane stoves and the addition of a duel fuel stove could really be handy.
1 comment:
Good finds Dad! I love finding good deals!
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