Coleman lantern question

[skeets]

OK I k now this might sound silly but a while back a friend picked up a coleman kero lantern, and it was a bit beat up but he got it working. I said I bet you could even use diesel in that thing out side,, He said he didnt think so,,,so I pose this question to those that know more than I

 

[85Hokie]

OK I k now this might sound silly but a while back a friend picked up a coleman kero lantern, and it was a bit beat up but he got it working. I said I bet you could even use diesel in that thing out side,, He said he didnt think so,,,so I pose this question to those that know more than I

kero is more refined than the ol diesel - I sure it might work - but would smoke the place up and the wick would go through hell. Kero is cleaner burning and thus will not smoke and soot up the wick.

If I was freezing and had to use diesel - it would work .....takes more "heat" to ignite the diesel too! So it would be harder to light too!

here are some autoignition points for some liquids that we burn :

Diesel (2-D) >52 °C (126 °F)[3] 256 °C (493 °F)[4]
Jet fuel (A/A-1) >38 °C (100 °F) 210 °C (410 °F)
Kerosene >38–72 °C (100–162 °F) 220 °C (428 °F)

 

[bcp]

A good thread about it:

http://www.colemancollectorsforum.com/post/thoughts-on-diesel-in-a-kerosene-lantern-6000864

Bruce

 

[skeets]

Thanks Bruce and after reading it is still inconclusive ,,lol

 

[ShaunRH]

The white gas ones should only run on white gas. Kerosene is a LOT cleaner than diesel and only in an emergency should you run it on diesel, not only for safety but for longevity of the lamp.

Now, with that said, you can use several forms of jet fuel but they cost as much if not more than the Kerosene!

 

[armylifer]

I own one of the old Coleman kerosene lanterns. If you are speaking of the one that you pressurize by pumping air into it with the little pump on the side of the lantern, then yes, it can use diesel. The thing about those pressurized Kerosene lanterns is that you have to use alcohol to heat the generator up sufficiently to burn the kerosene or diesel. There should be a little metal cup attached to the generator to put the alcohol in.

One thing that I have observed while using mine is that although I could use diesel in it in warmer weather, it did not work well in cold weather. The diesel got too thick to efficiently burn.

I have owned that lantern for 38 years and I have never had any problems with mine when using kerosene though. I had to replace the generator in mine once many years ago and it was really hard to find the kerosene lantern generator. Personally, I have rarely used the pressurized kerosene lantern since I got a propane one and a propane tank tree to put it on.

 

[Ike]

I have one with the crome bottom on it that was my grandfathers It still works good. I don't use it as much anymore because propane is easier. I have another one the I got while at FT Hood and it is a multifuel lantern. You can use gas, white gas or diesel in it. We have used ones like it while in the field use unleaded gas

 

[clay45]

I have one we used as a kid. Use denatured alcohol in the preheat cup or some fire ribbon in the cup and on the generator tube. Then I suggest using K=1 just to keep things clean and use diesel only in a true bonafide emergency.

These also take a larger mantle than your standard white gas lanterns (when you can find them) and they burn bright so well that the large single mantle often puts out as much light as a double mantle gas lantern.

We bought it because we used it around a diesel powered barge frequently. Over time we found the white gas models more convenient but I have fired up the kero a few times over the years just to hear it hiss.