In our last video, we showed you how to remove seals from Coleman one-piece fuel caps. In this video, we show you how to install a new fuel cap seal and get your Coleman lanterns and stoves running again.
The required tools are simple, you need a pack of Basnett's No. 3 Filler Cap Seals, a paint-can opener or a small screw driver, and a light oil to help lubricate the new seal.We plan to create a better video eventually, but for now, we hope you find this video to be helpful.
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“Gidday Mate,
I've got a couple of milspec lanterns and couple of others. Will the number 3 gasket fit all of the lanterns I have and stoves as well?”
Great question. To answer your question, we’ll run through the three fuel caps you will encounter most commonly. I took a few pictures that I think will help answer that question. For simplicity’s sake, I will refer to gasoline lamps, camping lanterns, camp stoves, and heaters as “GPAs” (gas pressure appliances) for the rest of this post.
“Small Three-Piece” Fuel Caps
The first GPA fuel cap you may encounter, is the “small three-piece” fuel cap. This fuel cap is found on Coleman 242 series lanterns and the Coleman 500 stove. Coleman clothes irons use a fuel cap that is physically the same size as the “small three-piece” fuel cap (and uses the same gasket as the 242 series lantern), but the clothes iron fuel cap has a fitting to accept a handheld air pump.
The take away: If the fuel cap on your GPA has a machine screw on top, measures about ¾” in diameter, and came off of a Coleman 242 series lantern or the Coleman 500 stove (Not the 500a or any later stove!), then you need a Basnett’s No. 1 Cap Seal.
“Large Three-Piece” Fuel Caps
The second GPA fuel cap and one of the two most common filler caps, is the “large three-piece” fuel cap. This is the fuel cap that you will find on most Coleman products from the late 1930s to about 1970. Keep in mind, this cap can swap with the No. 3 fuel cap below, so look at the pictures to determine which fuel cap you have. The large three-piece cap can be found on other makers’ devices as well. American Gas Machine Co. and Military lanterns used a cap that was very similar to, and will swap with, the large three-piece fuel cap.
The take away: If the fuel cap on your GPA has a machine screw on top, measures approximately 1” in diameter, and came off a Coleman or Military lantern from the late 1930s to about 1970, then you’ve got a large three-piece fuel cap and need a Basnett’s No. 2 Cap Seal.
One-Piece Fuel Caps
The last GPA fuel cap we’ll discuss in this post is the one-piece fuel cap. It is found on Coleman devices from approximately 1970 to present. You’ll also find it on camp stoves and lanterns made for Sears, and Military “Mil-Spec” lanterns as well. This cap is easy to spot because, as you can see in the photo, the top of the cap is smooth. There is no inner-disc to hold the gasket in the cap. The seal is installed at the factory and is not intended to be a replaceable item although we have found a way around that. If you decide to replace the seal in a one-piece fuel cap, you should check out our video on one-piece filler cap seal replacement.
The take away:
If your old camping lantern or stove was made after about 1970 (or is an older device with a newer, replacement fuel cap) then you have a GPA with a one-piece fuel cap and you need a Basnett’s No. 3 Cap Seal.
We get this question a lot, so I hope it will help people get their old camp stoves and lanterns going again. If you have a question, feel free to send it our way. We love to talk lantern.
Enoch Basnett
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Why replace Coleman lantern fuel cap seals? Coleman lanterns and stoves were built to last a long time, meaning that there are millions of them still in the field, often with rubber seals that go bad after years of rough use or neglect. The reason that matters to you, is that nothing puts a damper on a camping trip, like sitting around in the dark because your lantern or stove won't stay lit. Equally annoying is when you have a lantern that lights, but constantly loses pressure, leaving you to pump it up every few minutes. Just replace those old fuel cap seals before you need to use your lantern. It is cheap peace of mind to know that when you're out camping or when bad weather strikes, your gear is ready to go to work.
Replacing the seals in one-piece Coleman lantern filler caps is a task that has left many an outdoor enthusiast scratching their head. We promise to make a better video soon, but a customer asked us to show him how it's done, so we rattled off this quick and dirty how-to.
The required tools are simple, you need a pack of Basnett's No. 3 Filler Cap Seals, a couple small picks or screwdrivers, and a sharp knife. You don't need any fancy tools- I once changed a cap seal on a camping trip using just a pocket knife! So, until our more elegantly crafted video is produced, we hope you'll find this video useful.
Once you're done removing your old cap seals, you can check out our video on installing new seals in the Coleman one-piece fuel cap.
Always happy to answer questions!
-Enoch Basnett
]]>In the left-hand column of the chart, you will now have the ability to have a look at the old Coleman parts diagrams for your product. In the right-hand column, simply click on the Basnett's Quick Find number to go straight to the item you will need to purchase. We are loading all of the old Coleman parts diagrams in a searchable format. It appears we may be the first company to ever undertake the project of making all of the old Coleman parts catalogs, keyword searchable.
Similar charts are being created for all Coleman products and we are combing through all of our reference material for information on devices produced by American Gas Machine, Akron, and all the other smaller makers. We hope you all find this new reference material useful, and welcome your feedback.
]]>When I got home, I started looking for parts to fix my old lantern. There weren’t many people selling parts for lanterns back then, so I made my own seal and listed a few on eBay to cover my costs for the sheet of rubber I had bought. Within hours the whole batch of seals had sold. I made more seals that night and sold those within hours. I realized I had stumbled upon the perfect distraction from constant reading and studying for my classes. Within a few weeks I had formed the E.J. Basnett Hardware Company, selling lantern parts, car parts, and hardware.
After law school, my business continued to rock along as a side line while I worked a day job. Eventually other parts sellers popped up to compete with my little company. The E.J. Basnett Hardware Company eventually became The E.J. Basnett Company and our reputation for excellent parts and service has continued to grow. Like most small businesses, there came a point where I had to make a decision. Would I continue to let the business grow and eventually become my day job, or would it become too much of a hassle to continue?
I wrestled with that question for a long time, but I finally came to the conclusion that I love the business of serving our customers too much to ever do anything else. I love knowing that when our customers go camping with their family, a little piece of this company goes with them. I love knowing that every night, a park ranger at Yellow Stone National Park uses a lantern with our parts in it, and that in rural England, fire companies use our parts to repair their civil defense lanterns. I love reading letters from customers who tell us that in a far-away fish market in Thailand, our parts keep the lights on, and that when stormy weather knocks out the power, our parts help keep someone warm and give them light.
As we grow out of a one-room shipping office and into a warehouse (and eventually into retail outlets) we will continue looking for ways to serve you better. To those of you who aren’t Basnett’s customers yet, I hope that you will give us the opportunity to serve you in the future. To those of you who have been with us since the beginning, thank you for supporting us in this journey!
-Enoch Basnett
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