How to Light a Military Style Lantern Properly ( No Fireball )

Here we have a Coleman Military Lantern. In this video I will show how to responsibly light it without a burst of flames. Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for more videos!
*Gasoline and White gas is very dangerous. Please follow the Coleman official lighting instructions when lighting a lantern or stove and do so at your own risk. This page has no liability to any accidents that may happen while preforming any of these procedures on your lantern or stove.*

[@matthewnewman7187]

Great video and nice and clean lantern. We have a 1952 Coleman military lantern and use it every year at hunting camp.We just follow the directions,light it outside (it's a bit noisy) but works everytime 🇺🇸. At end of season I drain all the fuel out, wipe it down, put it in a plastic bag to keep the spiders out, back into its original box and it's all set for next year!

[@NJPurling]

I had a 1985 State Machine Products lantern. The top was a matt heat-proof paint not stove-enamel My answer was to wire a few inches of fibre glass oven gasket inside to use as a pre-heat pad. They are a awfully crude design that you could make quickly and cheaply. One of these is a bit of a shock after a Coleman 220D. They are damn noisy, but they work.

[@rexjolles]

This really applies to all Coleman lanterns. Good stuff. A nice change from the Dietz Little Wizard

[@crookedlantern3810]

That's true. I think people forget that coleman wrote their instructions for the general consumer. If they told everyone they had to preheat the generator on every lantern, people might consider it too much work. As a hobbies who doesn't like to clean soot off of my vent, I prefer this method.

[@rexjolles]

@@crookedlantern3810 I remember my scoutmaster had one of the Coleman lanterns. I thought it was the coolest. I have one of those old brass blowtorches from the 20's-50's and it works on the same concept. Fill it with your flammable liquid of choice, pump it up, preheat the head, and then turn the knob and light it to fix da pipes

[@moyockmoo2]

Thanks a lot! I'm getting my first mil spec next week, and this will help me get her running. Thanks, again. Liked and subscribed.

[@crookedlantern3810]

Thanks, I hope it works well for you!!

[@user-we5kz7mj9b]

I bought one like that yesterday. Gonna run and this video is very usefull.

[@harryhumstone3149]

Thanks for the info

[@abuabdullah7328]

Long time no see, good to see well my friend. Welcome back.

[@crookedlantern3810]

Thank you! It has been a while. I'm going to try and keep them up.

[@seabee12333]

Why shut it off after pumping and lighting? just let it warm the generator and open/close the valve it will not flame up and will burn bright within 90 seconds. and put the vent back on, it helps the generator heat up faster. Good video though, thanks for posting

[@crookedlantern3810]

I prefer to not have a big "flare up". Not only can it be dangerous, look bad from an outsider, it makes the lantern all dirty. This way, it is a very controlled light. It takes a little bit longer but it prevents the aforementioned from happening.

[@texaswoc3461]

I was just reading an old instruction book from the 1920’s for a quick lite lamp and it says to turn the valve “a turn” to light the mantles and then “close again quickly”. It goes on to say “when the mantles begin to dim, open valve”. It explains that failure to close the valve quickly after lighting the mantles will cause them to “flare up”. I would expect this to be true for all Coleman gas lamps/lanterns despite their age since they all work with vaporized gas. For lamps used in the home back in the day this would be really important!

[@gilbertopadilla3611]

Good tip for use in the home. This is the first time I've this, thanks for the info.

[@JasonC1981]

Nice! I have a mil spec one from 1969 made by Coleman. I don't think it's ever been fired. I have the original box for it too.

[@occamraiser]

That's probably quite valuable then.

[@w.rustylane5650]

I usually use my torch to heat the generator before lighting. I've never tried it any other way. Mine is an SMP model from 1981. Don't ya just love the roar the milspec lanterns make? There's nothing like it. W Rusty Lane K9POW in eastern Tennessee

[@crookedlantern3810]

They are noisy, but great. Preheating the generator will work every time too!

[@rgboyte]

Wow ! 😊

[@BiitchSlapper]

I thought the generator was the inner brass verticle tube beside the mantle that feeds the metering valve

[@rl8750]

do you know where to get repair parts for this lantern. Mine is dated 1985 thanks

[@crookedlantern3810]

They are hard to find generally, but I would start on oldcolemanparts.com and then hit eBay after that.

[@offensivejerk]

Hey please help asap. I just got a SMP milspec wanted a milspec for years and tried it light it today, but I too seem to have a leak around where the generator nut is. If I put a lighter there it will start up. I replaced the generator and snugged it down tightly. I see you had this peobl too, how did you fix it?????

[@crookedlantern3810]

Since this is a curved gen. It can be a bit of a pain to align properly. Make sure it is seated as closely as possible to the curve of the outlet. Then slowly tighten the nut. Snug firmly. Nut not to much!

[@offensivejerk]

@@crookedlantern3810 did that resolve your issue?

[@crookedlantern3810]

@@offensivejerk yes. It's hard to align it.

[@GabrielFranco-tg7dz]

SMP lantern do u start it the same way

[@crookedlantern3810]

I do. Should light up fine like that.

[@Skulldiggers]

I just bought a 1958 Mil Spec. Cleaned everything and it gets plenty of fuel, but I can not get it to burn properly. No matter what I do I get a fireball, no matter how long it runs, it remains a fireball. Looking for ideas on what to do. I don't get that typical hiss and glow.

[@crookedlantern3810]

I would try a new generator. If fuel is getting through bit not taming down, the packing in the generator could be shot.

[@Skulldiggers]

@@crookedlantern3810 Thanks, I just ordered one from OCP and will give it a try.

[@johnjajack3673]

Just the video I needed. Thank. Somebody gave me one of these. if it's the same. Mine is NSN 6260-00-170-0430. Looks to be never used, but is missing any mantles even in spare parts storage. Is there an ideal mantle for this and/or can you suggest one?

[@crookedlantern3810]

Just some standard coleman mantles will do.

[@johnjajack3673]

@@crookedlantern3810 Thanks!

[@lampcollector5315]

you know where to get a valve check for a mil-spec

[@crookedlantern3810]

You can Try oldcolemanparts.com

[@votpavel]

can you just set alcohol in a cup and burn it to preheat generator or no?,i saw people do it for kerosene lanterns

[@crookedlantern3810]

Well, there isn't a pre heat cup on this. So that won't work.

[@budwhite9591]

In theory you could, don’t see what it would hurt. Your problem is going to be that the angle of the generator your preheat cup won’t sit level and won’t hold as much alcohol. Try it. See what happens

[@votpavel]

@@budwhite9591 thanks alot

[@VQ1whales]

I think you need to move your on/off valve to the left an inch or more..

[@crookedlantern3810]

Maybe, as far as I can tell this lantern has never been disassembled. It should be as is from the factory. I'd be liable to leave it that way.

[@DragonFireFi5]

Yo I just found a Coleman lantern I'm gonna try and get it running, just took the glass off... pretty vintage stuff

[@crookedlantern3810]

That's great. Is it a military lantern like this one? Some of my other videos can help you identify what it is.

[@DragonFireFi5]

@@crookedlantern3810 I did some research it's a 1010 ash flash AFC, but it has a single burner and Coleman glass...

[@crookedlantern3810]

@@DragonFireFi5 those are cool lanterns. The function is similar not not exactly the same. I would proceed with caution when attempting to light it. I am not aware of many replacement parts that may be needed. Just be sure it doesn't leak fuel prior to an attempted light up.

[@DragonFireFi5]

@@crookedlantern3810 I'm only a little concerned as I have no mantle, if it's dangerous I'll find out soon enough 🤪

[@crookedlantern3810]

@@DragonFireFi5 good luck!!

[@TheIrishAmish]

The cap gasket is NOT a seal, it is a gasket. DO NOT use an O-ring.