#7 - 1946 220C - Failure breeds experience
Vital Stats
Model: 220C
Date: July 1946
Technology: Instant-Lite
Mantles: 2
Fuel: Gasoline
Date Acquired: August 20, 2016
Collectors develop a keenly trained eye at flea markets. In 2016 I had a 4 year old and a 6 year old, so my trips to the flea markets were few and short, and my spying eye was not fully calibrated yet, so I learned to buy first and inspect later. Such was the case of my trip to an out of town flea market near where my mother-in-law lives. It was already an hour out of the way, each way, but mercifully I actually had my wife with me. Regardless, the young kids were with Granny and we had short time.
Meeting with a friend of mine from nearby, we cruised the aisles with a the speed of a leopard and the eyes of a falcon. It didn't take me long to spot the 2 napping old men with their sparse assortment of oddities, and 2 green lanterns sitting on the floor. I approached the gentlemen, woke them up, and asked how much for the one with the odd yellow label, befitting a 220C. $12. $8? $10. Deal. For the other, a 220E, I asked how much. $6. No thanks, I already have one. Big mistake (more on that later).
I collect my prize, get in the car, and begin inspecting it while my friend drives us to a local lunch spot. It's from July 1946; easily the oldest lantern I've found to date. Not much different than the 220E, visually, except for the presence of a large yellow caution/instructions decal on the found under the valve wheel. The condition of the lantern was poor, at best. Given the pattern of the rust all up along one side (the other side was fine) , it looked like it had been laying in a shallow stream for at least 2 years. There was a large amount of either rust or river sludge down in the fount. Unfortunately the side that corroded had also taken off a good bit of the paint around the label, and about half the label. But when I took off the vent and the globe is when I discovered the real heart breaker; a large tear in the brass air tube just below the bend where the generator enters it. This part, give my skill level and tools, was irreparable. Fortunately these parts are pretty numerous and easy to find, but the only thing I was finding on oldcolemanparts.com was a complete valve and burner assenmbly for over $20. If only I could find some other junker with a good burner for cheap...
GAH, that 220E for $6 back at the flea market! Remember that mistake?
It was getting late in the day and we needed to get back and the flea market was about 20 minutes back in the opposite direction, if it was still even open. Fortunately my friend was heading back that way and he said he'd pop in and see if he could get it. He did, but it would be another couple of months before I'd get my hands on it.
Of course I couldn't wait. I got it home and because it had mantles on it, I got it lit and running, poorly, despite the crud in the tank and the hole in the tube. It took quite a bit of scouring and de-rusting and is currently one of my trashiest looking lanterns, but also one of my best running (after adding the new air tube). The vent has since fallen apart and I had to replace it with one from the same 220E. I also used the brass burner tubes from the 220E in place of the steel ones on the C, which I have since regretted and will put them back on there the next time I need to replace the mantles. I like to keep these pieces original.
One of the distinctive things about the C variant is the mixture of brass and steel parts found on them during it's short run. World War 2 had just ended and brass and nickel were still in high demand; Coleman was lucky to be producing anything at all. This variant was the last to feature a screw-on pump cap and the only one to feature a painted brass fount for the entirety of it's short run (1945 - 1947). It was the first of the series to feature the new Sunrise logo on the globe, transitioning from the block text logo that had been present for the preceding 12 years.
Model: 220C
Date: July 1946
Technology: Instant-Lite
Mantles: 2
Fuel: Gasoline
Date Acquired: August 20, 2016
Collectors develop a keenly trained eye at flea markets. In 2016 I had a 4 year old and a 6 year old, so my trips to the flea markets were few and short, and my spying eye was not fully calibrated yet, so I learned to buy first and inspect later. Such was the case of my trip to an out of town flea market near where my mother-in-law lives. It was already an hour out of the way, each way, but mercifully I actually had my wife with me. Regardless, the young kids were with Granny and we had short time.
Meeting with a friend of mine from nearby, we cruised the aisles with a the speed of a leopard and the eyes of a falcon. It didn't take me long to spot the 2 napping old men with their sparse assortment of oddities, and 2 green lanterns sitting on the floor. I approached the gentlemen, woke them up, and asked how much for the one with the odd yellow label, befitting a 220C. $12. $8? $10. Deal. For the other, a 220E, I asked how much. $6. No thanks, I already have one. Big mistake (more on that later).
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I collect my prize, get in the car, and begin inspecting it while my friend drives us to a local lunch spot. It's from July 1946; easily the oldest lantern I've found to date. Not much different than the 220E, visually, except for the presence of a large yellow caution/instructions decal on the found under the valve wheel. The condition of the lantern was poor, at best. Given the pattern of the rust all up along one side (the other side was fine) , it looked like it had been laying in a shallow stream for at least 2 years. There was a large amount of either rust or river sludge down in the fount. Unfortunately the side that corroded had also taken off a good bit of the paint around the label, and about half the label. But when I took off the vent and the globe is when I discovered the real heart breaker; a large tear in the brass air tube just below the bend where the generator enters it. This part, give my skill level and tools, was irreparable. Fortunately these parts are pretty numerous and easy to find, but the only thing I was finding on oldcolemanparts.com was a complete valve and burner assenmbly for over $20. If only I could find some other junker with a good burner for cheap...
GAH, that 220E for $6 back at the flea market! Remember that mistake?
It was getting late in the day and we needed to get back and the flea market was about 20 minutes back in the opposite direction, if it was still even open. Fortunately my friend was heading back that way and he said he'd pop in and see if he could get it. He did, but it would be another couple of months before I'd get my hands on it.
Of course I couldn't wait. I got it home and because it had mantles on it, I got it lit and running, poorly, despite the crud in the tank and the hole in the tube. It took quite a bit of scouring and de-rusting and is currently one of my trashiest looking lanterns, but also one of my best running (after adding the new air tube). The vent has since fallen apart and I had to replace it with one from the same 220E. I also used the brass burner tubes from the 220E in place of the steel ones on the C, which I have since regretted and will put them back on there the next time I need to replace the mantles. I like to keep these pieces original.
One of the distinctive things about the C variant is the mixture of brass and steel parts found on them during it's short run. World War 2 had just ended and brass and nickel were still in high demand; Coleman was lucky to be producing anything at all. This variant was the last to feature a screw-on pump cap and the only one to feature a painted brass fount for the entirety of it's short run (1945 - 1947). It was the first of the series to feature the new Sunrise logo on the globe, transitioning from the block text logo that had been present for the preceding 12 years.
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