This combination propane lantern – stove – water heater was made in the U.S. by Action Technology Inc. It has two patents, 3,687,128 and 3,730,165, filed and granted in the 1970s to a Utah inventor. The lantern (upper image) uses two mantles; heat given off by the lantern helps heat the stove rack above. The water heater has a manual pump (the white pipe which may be partially missing in the lower image), a plastic intake tube for drawing water (lower image), a reservoir and coils over a burner inside the case behind the pump, and a discharge tube (not shown). This unusual appliance is in Steve Miller’s collection. A more recent version of this appliance can be seen here.
A sticker on the underside of this LP stove says Made in Korea. The American Camper trademark was filed in 2002 and was not filed for as required by the USPTO in 2013. This two burner stove Model 2120BFB operates on either butane, or propane with an extra provided adapter, canisters as shown here. The stove features electronic ignition. The legs fold up and the canisters can be removed for storage. Each of these appliances came in a yellow plastic case (lower image) or cylinder (lantern). This stove is in Russ Slivinski’s collection.
The American Camper line also included Model 2121BF one burner stove (above) and Model 2122BF two burner stove (below). The burner flames are protected by windscreens below the cooking grids. As on Model 2120BFB above these two stoves, these models have electronic ignition and can be fitted with either a butane canister or a propane canister with a provided adapter. These stoves are in Russ Slivinski’s collection.
This Model 2160BFB American Camper lantern uses a single small mantle that is tied at the top and bottom of the burner. It also has electronic ignition, uses butane or propane canisters, and has retractable legs. The lantern fits down in the yellow case once the fuel canister is removed. This lantern is in Russ Slivinski’s collection.
American Gas Machine, a Division of Queen Stove Works, Inc., manufactured these four lantern models (upper left to lower right): KFL-1, KFL-2, KFL-11, & KFL-21. All use LP (liquified petroleum gas) cartridges that are no longer made. They are inserted up from the open bottom of the “fount.” The first 3 lanterns are in Brien Page’s collection while the last is in Tim Treutler’s collection.
Model KFL-3 was of simpler construction than the models above and lacks the “fount”/canister holder. The cast iron base includes the model name. Don Ostby, whose collection this is in, also has the box which holds the assembled lantern.
This is a Kamp Kook two burner stove, Model 50-25 that uses two K-Fuel (LP) canisters that are protected by the hinged metal pieces in front of the grate (raised in this image). This unfired stove is in Bob Meyer’s collection. This model is in a K-Appliances catalog of the Queen Products Division that we can date to 1959.
This propane grill is branded Apollo and Battle Creek, Michigan. The propane tank below is stamped Lee Cylinder Co, Indiana, and is date stamped September 1961. The grate (middle image) folds up to close the grill and the two burner valves are accessed through an opening below the grill (lower image). A flame spreader can be slid along the grate wires over one burner. Russ Slivinski, whose collection this is in, compares the heat output to nearly the same as a Coleman Handy Gas Plant. Russ made an adapter (not shown) to refill the propane tank.
Armstrong Products Co., Huntington, West Virginia, made this Adams 3 in 1 Sports Lantern, Model 30102 (marked on the box). The label notes that this appliance cooks, heats, and lights. The Adams 3 in 1 Sports Lantern was also made by Goss Gas and can be seen here. This appliance is in Brian Bleakney’s collection.
Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Co, Louisville, Kentucky, made this trade marked Blue Grass brand propane heater (lower image) that is in Marty Edward’s collection. The heater likely had a wire guard over the aluminum reflector. The bail is offset in its mounting to the stand so that it hangs in a level position (upper image). The stand and fuel line parts are similar to those used on propane appliances made by Clayton & Lambert, located in nearby Buckner, Kentucky.
The Otto Bernz Co., Inc., Rochester, New York, made this Bernz O Matic model TX007. This was probably an early model based on the stand that only accommodates the 14 oz propane cylinders. This one mantle lantern is in Brien Page’s collection.
Both of these lanterns may be Bernz O Matic Model TX006. These two mantle lanterns in Glenn Knapke’s collection (left) and Brien Page’s collection (right) are presumably early models from the 1950s or 60s as the above TX007. The lantern on the right has a Bernz replacement metal base.
The Otto Bernz Co., Inc. made several models, including this TX-900, in this style with the propane tank at a slant under the lantern. The globe is marked “BERNZ-O-MATIC PORTA LIGHT” and “PYREX Made in the U.S.A.” The date stamp on the black valve wheel is August, 1955. The handle is slanted at the top to complement the slanted cylinder holder. Jim Robson owns this lantern that came in a box stamped TX-700.
This Model TX850L two burner new-old-stock stove came in the original box with propane cylinders, etc. Glenn Knapke can date this stove to the early 1960s based on the papers with the stove.
Bernz O Matic Model TX 550 one burner stove dates to the mid 1960’s. The propane canister stores inside the back of the stove when not in use. This stove is in Patrick States’ collection.
This is the DeLuxe version of TX 550 above, the TX 550L. This DeLuxe version has fold-out legs and lid support (see Model TX 850L above), The fuel valve and gas tip are one piece, which eliminates the hose as on Model 550 above. The only dates on this stove, in Dana Kennison’s collection, are on the unused, empty cylinder (12-70) and on the shipping label (3-10-71).
Bernz O Matic’s Dual Beam Model No. TX750 (left), TX750PI (center), and for Sears as their Model 7112 (right) propane lantern. The one on the left is dated March, 1969. The one in the center, in Brien Page’s collection, has an electronic ignition feature (upper left in the image) and dates to Nov. 71. The lantern on the right is in John Morris’s collection. Screens at the bases of the globe keep insects from entering the chambers and destroying the mantles.
This is the Bernz Model TX500 stove. The stove, in Kevin Grant’s collection, is date stamped September, 1955 on the knob. The propane cylinder that came with the stove is date stamped October, 1955. The grate on this single burner model folds up to form a carrying handle as on the TX800 model stove below.
This Bernz O Matic Two Burner Propane Gas Cook Stove, Model TX-800, is dated Dec. ’55 on the two valve knobs. Each burner has its own propane cylinder and is independently controlled. The grate folds up to form a carrying handle and the instructions are on the sheet metal plates in the middle of the grate.
Bernz O Matic Model TX-825 Picnik-Chef Cook Stove uses two propane cylinders to fuel the two burners. This stove, in Brien Page’s collection, has never been used.
Bernz Model TX600 is a firepot used by plumbers for melting lead. It is missing the cast iron pot and perhaps a ladle that likely came with the appliance. The date stamp on the valve wheel is December, 1955. This restored firepot is in Ken Brown’s collection.
Bloodhound Tracking Systems used to make the above light that is powered by a LP canister. The light is especially good at illuminating blood making it useful for locating a bleeding animal. This light, which is no longer made, in in Tim Haulman’s collection.
Blu-Burn-R Products, Inc., Monroe, Wisconsin, made this Porta-Flame outdoor cooker that was fueled by an LP canister. This stove, in Bill Whitten’s collection, was advertised in the mid- to late-1950s.
The Brinkmann Corporation has a lantern model with a built-in reflector that can be opened for 360 degrees of light (left) or closed to reflect the light (right). This lantern is in Brien Page’s collection.
The Brinkmann Corporation also has this all stainless steel propane two burner stove. Brien Page, whose collection this is in, did not have a propane cylinder attached when he took this image.
Bullfinch Gas Equipment Ltd., Birmingham, UK, made a variety of commercial propane lanterns. This floodlight was exported to Sweden and marketed by Primus. It may have been used by the Civil Defense This floodlight is in Brien Page’s collection.
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The Terrence Marsh Lantern Gallery 