Coleman Lantern Camping Fuel -vs- Pump Gas 6-month Update 

This Guy is the Coleman Master, No one knows as much as him about these Coleman Lamps, Awesome.

Today gas was 4.89 at Costco, what a difference a year makes.

I believe the correct term is Coleman whisperer. Frank is extremely knowledgeable, helpful and a great person. He help me fix my lanterns after I almost gave up. Many thanks Frank and grateful for all your videos. 👍

Frank, Your test has answered an old question for me, namely what's the difference between unleaded gas and white gasoline in a Coleman lantern. Coleman "Camp Fuel" prices are RIDICULOUS these days, like 18 to 22 bucks a gallon locally! In my small collection of lanterns, I counted my two MIL Spec Coleman 252As as "Dual Fuel" lanterns; now it looks like ALL of 'em will fall into that category!

Good to know. I've been using Coleman Naphtha equipment for 40+ years. In the military, I was trained to "NEVER" use anything but Naphtha (white gas) in these devices. Wish I knew this info years ago. I've spent a fortune over the decades on Naphtha. Never again 👋🇨🇦👍👍👍!

I haven't bought any Coleman fuel for over 10 years. All nine of my Coleman appliances are run on non-ethanol regular gas. 5 stoves, 4 lanterns. The 'newest' one is 40 years old, the oldest 66 years old. No problems whatsoever. Only reasons I use non-ethanol gas are (1) the fact that ethanol will absorb moisture and cause rust and corrosion over time, and (2) the 'shelf life' of non-ethanol gas is about four times that of pump gas. But then, I do regular maintenance on all of them every winter before storing them away. I think lack of maintenance is , by far, the biggest killer of these fine machines. Give them a little TLC and they will last forever, even on pump gas. Keep up the good work, Frank! Afterthought: We all need to keep in mind that Bill Coleman originally designed all of his appliances to be used with regular, leaded gas in rural homes and farms where electricity was non-existent. Fancy "Coleman Fuel" was for city folks, and usually not available when you lived 40 miles from town.

Wow, this is fantastic. Canadian Tire wants $32 for a gallon. Pump gas is 1.43 a liter here in Edmonton, times 3.78, that's $5.40 a gallon. I'll use pump gas!!!

Thank You Frank! It is a very important TEST! I live in Belarus and in my country I can't buy "Coleman Fuel", but I saw this video and found on the Internet: Car gasoline in the USA is 87 AKI - (Anti-Knock Index). RON - (Research Octane Number) - the most common type of octane determination in the world (Australia, Europe). So 87 AKI corresponds to 91-92 RON (Car gasoline in Australia, Europe). It is cool! Thank You Frank! ... Leonid.

If you wrap a piece of copper wire around the generator it'll hold more heat and vaporize regular gas more efficiently.

I have ran 87 octane pump gas for over 40 years in my lanterns and stoves. Never had any problems.

Good to see another of your videos, Frank. Your videos have been a huge help to me. Thanks for all you do!

I’m so glad you answered that question for me! I like the Coleman fuel simply because I just like the look of the cans (all reminds me of my childhood) so I will be keeping my Coleman can full of unleaded with sta bil in it for longevity, again thank you Mr Super Coleman Man! 😊

I'm glad that you're putting this out there! I knew that we burned unleaded when I was in my teens and then I see all these vids saying don't and you'll blow yourself up! All people keep saying is that you can use Coleman fuel or propane or kerosene! Try and find any of that under 5.00 bucks a quart where I'm at in S. Tx. Keep the knowledge flowing. I've woke up in a tent covered with snow and my go to was that double mantle lantern. 5 minutes af to er lighting that and you're turning it down to keep from roasting in there. They aren't just for light.

Excited to see the results! Keep us posted

Thanks for the info and comparison test. Good to know!

It is becoming harder and harder to find White gas, they used to sell it at Lowes and Home Depot but at least in the Seattle area they no longer sell it so the only store that has it is Fred Meyer or Wal Mart but they ask over $20 per can so that is pretty pricy, I can find Coleman lanterns that cost less than one can of fuel! One thing you can find here is plenty of fuel stations that sell Ethanol free gasoline and I have been using that without any issues, at least for me.

Looking forward to seeing what they look like inside. I've heard the generators clog up a bit faster and need cleaning more often. Personally I just tried pump gas for the first time tonight and my stove works great on it. I had tried a brand new generator on the stove and I didn't like how it acted. So I put a lot of effort into getting the old generator apart and tore to bits and cleaned. I put it back together and now it works great. I'm just disappointed that the brand new generator I got for it doesn't perform well. It makes me want to find some new old stock generators from the 1980s. The new generator burns well on high flame, but when I turn the flame down a little, after a minute or so the flame just slowly dies down farther and farther and I have to keep adjusting it. Very annoying! With the old generator it holds a steady flame wherever I set it.

Cool. Good to know that pump gas works in these lanterns. Thanks for the video.

Thank you, Frank!

Always wondered. Thanks for burning up the myth!

Awesome! Thank you for posting.

Right on Frank

Frank. I am like you. I run pump gas in mine. BUT, in my 200A lanterns, I preheat the generator and run Kerosine! Yep. No problems at all with the original Coleman (clean) generator. I have not had a problem, but have not lighted one up on Kerosine with the outside temperature below 40 F. I want to print a sticker on one of my 200As and have it say "Tri-Fuel"

This was a good experiment to run, very informative. It brings up the question of ethanol blended fuels. I have access to about five different grades of ethanol blend where I live, and I wonder how well it will run on those

I have been burning 87 octane gas in all my Coleman lanterns/stoves longer than I can remember. Only time I use white gas is on my 518E heater. Never had one issue. I check the generators once in a while and they’re usually fine.

what a great test, that’s good enough for me my friend, i just bout my last gallon of white gas, thanks for the great info and for sharing 👍

Thanks for posting. If you really are concerned about fuel types, you need to do this for yourself. We also burn kero in our lanterns. That is educational as well as informative. I do not know how the " cant do XYZ" got started. Consider the 120 year history of Lanterns, and all the places they have been taken.

This man’s my idol.

Hello Frank, thanks for sharing. I have been using pump gas for years in all my stoves and lanterns, as we don't have coleman fuel or any other camping fuel in my country. I am using 91 octane gas. Never had a problem with it. Although I clean them when ever I feel they starting to act differently. For the lanterns I rebuild the generators with a brass mish instead of the card bord packing. Sometimes I need to clean the whole lantern when I forget to empty the lantern from the gasoline and leave it for long time.

How much ethanol does the pump gas contain where you are? I'm in So. Cal. Im wondering if this would effect the performance of my lamps?

Pump gas works I've used it many years!

Hi, my name is Mike, and I'm a recovering fuel snob. It's been 2 years since my last negative comment about pump gas in camping gear. Haha! I used to be one of those fuel snobs and still am to some extent. After some trials of my own, nothing close to what you are doing here, and was surprised to be that wrong. Most of all, I was disappointed in myself for not testing it in depth sooner and putting out bad information all those years. But I am a man who admits when I'm wrong. I did have isolated issues that I attributed, probably incorrectly, to the fuel, but correlation isn't causation. In the end, I reached the same conclusion as you, with a couple caveats. Pump gas goes bad way faster than white gas. And all the known and unknown additives in pump gas. I frankly don't want to breath the burnt components of those mystery chemicals that are designed to go through a catalytic converter before being released. For decades we were all fat and happy pumping millions of tons of tetra-ethyl lead into the air we breath so our engines didn't knock. I'm no scientist, but that can't be a good thing. So now what, ethanol, and MTBE and????. In fairness, on the flip side, the detergents in modern pump gas may, in fact, HELP in keeping things clean in there. But then take a step back consider that I quit mixing 2stroke fuel for my lawn equipment a long time ago. The maintenance issues I had every year with equipment simply went away when I started using 20 dollar a gallon canned fuel. 100 bucks for 5 cans of gas that will be more than enough to get me through a season pales in comparison the the money and time lost repairing issues caused by pump gas. Fuel lines, primer bulbs, carb kits, etc., it's just not worth it to me. I have way to many Coleman lanterns and appliances to be able to cycle enough fuel through them to keep it fresh. Canned white gas is 1/2 the price of the canned premix 2 stroke fuel. So......... Old habits are hard to break and easy to justify to myself, I guess. Haha! Can't wait to see the end of test tear-downs. Glad you are back at it and I'm thoroughly enjoying your content.

I've been using gasoline after seeing your video the first time. I've had no issues. I was wondering if you could use it in the Coleman catalytic heater or if anyone has. Great channel. Great content. Thanks very much.

Frank, How do I fix small dents in the founts? Thank you I enjoy the videos

I only just discovered this video, and it made me...finally...jump on buying a Coleman Dual Fuel single burner stove that I'd been "watching" on Ebay. It is a model 440, and I haven't received it yet, but wanted to refresh myself on Coleman gas stoves/lanterns. So...I started looking for a new dual fuel GENERATOR and Pump, for backup parts, and I find an alarming LACK of options. Can you tell me how/where I can get parts for my 440 stove? Thanks.

Hello Frank! I have viewed all your videos which are very educational. My question to you is, will you be videotaping videos on how to rebuild Coleman Stoves? Thank you in advance!

Great video Frank! Would I be right in thinking that if you used regular gas for the summer season and then rinsed out the fount with cf before it was put away for the season, you would avoid any buildup in the fount from the additives in the regular gas? I assume that any leftover regular gas that was in the fuel/air tube, valve assembly and generator could just be cleaned at season's end and then be good to go with gas after that was done. Was thinking of running gas in a '74 639....thanks again for all your videos

Hi Frank, love your videos! Do you know what material they used to seal the top part of a (290-5891, 295-5891) generator just below the tip nut to the generator barrel?

Thanks for your very informative videos. Just to be clear...pump gas is gas station gas? Reg./Hi Test?. Any change in generators? Thanks

Back in the 60s we all used American now Ammaco lead free. It was the only lead free gas at the time. We called it white gas because it was clear and lead free.It worked fine in lanterns and stoves.

I agree with you 100%+ . I don't know if these Colaman appliances could burn leaded gas from the pre-1975 era, but since then, all Colaeman liquid fuel appliances became dual fuel after lead was removed from the formula. My concen is my liquid fuel heater. Would pump gas (with additives specially blended for engines) damage the catalyic burner?

Ive used unleaded never had any problems or any problems with the generator cloging because of it

So my old 288 I just rebuilt can run on pump gas???

I often find gallon cans of unused Coleman fuel at garage sales for next to free. I know some of them have to be from the fifties or sixties. I think Coleman fuel might just last forever is stored properly

I pretty much run pump gas in everything EXCEPT lanterns above E. The liner in lots of the later lanterns dissolves and clogs up the later ones.

Frank, Ive been collecting Coleman for over 20 years and have several table and wall lamps that I burn inside the home, as well as lanterns. Sense the lamps were made for indoor use, it makes one think of the byproduct of combustion indoors, what would be your take on this?

First time here Frank and I love what you're doing here. I can remember using Coleman fuel back in the 60's and 70's while in the Boy Scouts and everyone said you never put anything in them but Coleman Fuel. Nowadays folks are making their own Coleman Fuel, "White gas", by distilling gasoline and looks impressive at how much garbage is left after the distillation process and everyone says it preforms just as good if not better, What are your thoughts on making your own, or simply just keep using regular pump gas?

Yes! You can run on Non-Ethanol gasoline in your coleman; Ethanol will dry out any rubber seals it comes into contact with. But you can also run all Coleman appliances on JET-A fuel, and your diesel truck too! Just $5/gal from the small airport near me. They'll sell to anyone. Check if your local small airport has a credit card pump (most do) And put it in a colored (yellow for me) 5 gal container. Burns Real clean.

How old is a 220H model? I found one trying to restore it but only can find limited parts online maybe because its soo old!! Its in good shape though!! Minimal rust.

Have you had any adverse effects between Coleman fuel and the crown camp fuel at all? The price is very different

Gotta ask, does Canada use the 10-15% ethanol blended gasoline like we are stuck with in the US? Have you found any issues with this corrosive mixture? I make a lot of coffee out camping and have had to siphon gas from my truck a few times I have run low on Coleman fuel. Then I flush the tank of this blend when I get back home so it doesn't sit in the tank for very long.

The only reason I don't really plan to use gasoline all the time moving forward is the fact that it's not as stable as white gas. I've seen what it does in a lawn mower carburetor, and I don't want that varnish in my stove and lantern. I only use a gallon or two per year anyway so cost isn't a very big deal. If I were using the lantern and stove a lot more often, I'd definitely use normal gasoline.

Does anybody have any info or experience adding Seafoam to the gas being used in their stove or lantern? I cant be the first to consider this, and since watching this channel, it doesn’t seem that there’s much of an issue using pump gas anyway. Just curious.

O.k., similar to calculating mileage on a car by tracking fillups and miles driven, how many hours does a tank last, and any difference in time between the auto fuel and camp fuel ?

my experience with pump gas is it is sooty and good outdoors now indoor i would use the white gas as it gives off less soot and doesn't have the same smell curious if this is you experience

That's all I've run for years is pump gas in my old Colman lanterns no lead only 😎👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Can I use it on any Coleman lantern or only duel fuel.? I have the 286 lantern can I use it on that ? And which fuel is better for it we have the 91 and 95 octn?

i knew it i kept telling people but they say you cant even do it much less belive that it runs fine

somthing i have always wondered is whats the diffrence between the one that say dule fule from the ones that are not dule fule is there a big diffrence between them and i prefer to use gas in my coleman lantern i have only used coleman fule and gas im not a fan of kerosen so i dont ever use it even in my hurican lanterns i have a coleman heater that i only use coleman fule in it since im not sure about how safe gas is in the heaters or if i can even use gas in the coleman heater but i would if i could be sure it was as safe as using it in a lantern would be

can you please make a video on the tabletop lamp in the intro of your video. got two from a fle market dont know to much about them please help.

So which non-ethanal octane rating are you using?

i purchased a second coleman lantern. it was made 5-55 and it’s a dual mantle. can’t find the model number on it. still has original globe, generator is hard to move

How dirty does pump gas get the parts

Ok, here I go down the rabbit hole. Just brought in Dad’s ‘67 228F to do PM. If I can burn pump gas through the oem generator, I want to know how!

thanks frank i live in ontario and napha gas just went to 30.00 a gallon my freind sugested high test gas another youtuber suggest useing low octane gas dose it make any diffrence

So what about a higher octane or ethanol free gas would it be more comparable to Coleman fuel

I've been burning regular pump gas for over 30 years- no problems*

The pumped gas does not store well or last as long as Coleman fuel . So because the average person does not burn 19 tanks of fuel in a single use of there lantern , I think it is better to sick with Coleman fuel , because the left over fuel is going to stay in the tank for probably a least a year .

Are you using gas with 10% ethanol? In my small engines if I don’t use pure gas water accumulates over several months of not using. You have burned these two lanterns almost 320 hours in the 6 months. I have not burned my 8 lanterns and 6 stoves that many hours since I got the first one. Very interested in your results and your conclusions based on your tear down at the end. Good video.

Will pump gas burn in a 220e ?

What's your take on non-ethanol pump gas versus regular 87 octane?

Can I run regular unleaded gasoline in a 220J?

How to clean a generator, please ?