#'s19 and 20 - 1973 220H and 228H - Birthday series, part 5

  Vital Stats

Model: 220H
Date: September 1973
Technology: Instant-Lite
Mantles: 2
Fuel: Gasoline
Date Acquired: December 19, 2019

Model: 228H
Date: September 1973
Technology: Instant-Lite
Mantles: 2
Fuel: Gasoline
Date Acquired: July 11, 2018



We close out the birthday series with a two-fer; my birthday lanterns.  I was very fortunate to find my birthday pretty early on in my collecting "career" (above, right). In fact, I have in my records that it was the 10th lantern that I purchased.  It was not in particularly good shape, but you don't turn down a birthday when you come across one.  Some collectors take years to find theirs, while others never do.  September 1973, however, apparently was a peak production month for 220's and 228's and I've stopped counting the number that I have found.  

I have since replaced that first 220H with a much nicer one (bottom) and added a 228H (you can read more about another 228H here).  There's not much to love about the H, but of the H, J and K it has the most interesting history.  The H first saw sales for on month in May, 1972.  It still, cosmetically, looked almost identical to a 220F from afar, which is probably contributes to the fact that very few of these have been found by collectors. Production resumed in early 1973 with the now familiar "printed" collar replacing the "ribbed" collar of the 220F and 1972 H.  The H, in late 1973 (after mine) also saw the transition of the mixing chamber, the uppermost part of the burner assembly, from cast brass to stamped steel, which is still in use today.  The H was very important in the overall timeline of the 220/228 series, though it also holds the distinction of one of the shortest production runs of the series (2 years, tied with the L220/228 and the C). 


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