When I was a kid my dad use to buy white gas for the lanters and boat motor, he said it was gas that had no lead in it. Was it the same thing as todays unleaded gas and if so can you use it saftly? I know that you can now buy the newer lanters that say you can use unleaded gas. I just want to know if the old ones can use unleaded gas. Thank you Steve

-- Stephen Hill (Kinabull@aol.com), April 11, 2000

Answers

NO!!!!!NO!!!!!NO!!!!!NO!!!!!NO!!!!NO

-- Grant Eversoll (thegrange@earthlink.net), April 11, 2000.

If your lantern is truly an older one, I wouldn't use anything but white gas. Coleman does have some multi-fuel lanterns which can burn unleaded gas, or even other fuels. Those lanterns are often well marked and come with different generators for different fuel usage. Usuing anything other than the proper fuel is an accident waiting to happen. If you're lucky the lantern just wont work. A more likely scenario is that it blows up in your face or catches fire. Even if you get lucky and it runs on the wrong fuel, the lantern will eventually clog up from burning inefficiently. It's not worth the trouble.

-- Chris Stogdill (cstogdill@rmci.net), April 11, 2000.

If memory seves me correct--Only Ammoco premium gas was considered (white gas) and I think only older Coleman products used this fuel. You may have to write Coleman with your model and serial number to know if your older equipment uses premium unleaded--aka as white gas.

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), April 12, 2000.

I'd be extremely reluctant to use unleaded "gas" (our petrol) indoors at all. I think everywhere, and I know many places, they added things called "aromatic hydrocarbons" (like benzene and toluene and other liver poisons and potent cancer-causing agents) to the fuel to make the "car engine" (automobile motor) run smoothly. Personally, while I don't say leaded fuel is a good thing, I don't think their answer was any improvement. Anyway, I personally would not want those poisons volatilizing and floating around in a confined space for me and my family to inhale.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), April 12, 2000.

I have used unleaded regular gas in coleman lamps & stoves, but it will eventually plug up the generator because there is a small amount of lead in the gas. we use to use Amaco White gas too. Coleman fuel is Benzine, more volitile than gas.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), April 12, 2000.

I think Hendo is right. The Coleman fuel is not white gas or unleaded. It is in fact Benzine. Only use the type of fuel that is recommended by the manufacturer.

-- Okie-Dokie (www.tommycflinstone@aol.com), April 16, 2000.