Hi folks,

I'm taking the family on a car camping trip in June, and want to pick up a good old fashioned Coleman "briefcase style" two burner stove. I know that propane is probably more convenient, but I like sticking to white gas / dual fuel which is what some of my other gadgets, and my smaller backpacking stove(s) use.

I've seen a whole bunch of stoves on e-bay, some dating from the 1970's, and I'm wondering what I should look out for when purchasing used. I seem to recall there that there's at least one member of the board who seems to collect the things, so I'm hoping for some advice.

Thanks in advance.

Jesse

I''ve been using one since probably the late 80s. The only problems I have found are that the generator (the little tube that crosses over the burner to heat fuel) can get clogged or gummed up. That is easy to fix since they sell replacements for probably all models.

The second thing I would look for is to make sure the pump seal is in good condition. That is a small piece of leather on the end of the plunger used to pump up the pressure in the tank. Unless the unit has been really abused, a little 3-in-1 oil will usually fix it if it is not compressing the air properly. It is simple to check. Then plunger assembly unscrews, making it possible to pull the entire plunger assembly out.

My only other concern would be rust in the tank from improper storage.

that would be me----
Ebay has lots of good buys but with the yard sales comming on with spring you may want to check a few of those out first so you have some hands-on with your possible buy.

i got this one a few weeks ago for $5..made in March of 1969,the month i got out of the Army no less.the date will be stamped on the tab that holds the tank to the stove.

this old guy still had fuel in the tank and as how it had that used once abd re-boxed look to it i would guess the fuel was in there that long--check the rust from the fuel that i dumped out..with any old stove that has fuel i would do that,you don't want crud like that in the needle valve.
the pump will need a few drops of oil on the leather.


last is the fuel tanks on the newer models--all the stoves are the same as far as parts and how well they run. i like the older ones with light green paint and smooth finish from the 70's..the darker green,pebble top are mid 80's. but the photo shows the major change Coleman made and you might want to think about.they moved the fill cap to the center,rear of the tank where it could not be opened without removing the tank from the stove.this of course keeps fuel away from a hot stove if you have to top off half way thru a meal.
thats about all i can think of but i'll try to answer any other questions..

Hey Jesselp,

I have used suitcase Naptha Coleman stoves for many years and have not noticed a big difference between them. In the spring you can usually find them here at garage sales for about $5.00 as people are switching to propane. A quick clean-up and they usually work fine.

It is important to use fairly fresh fuel as old fuel can burn poorly, with lots of soot. I learned this the hard way at my hunt camp one year; we forgot the propane stove and used an old naptha one we keep as a spare. It smoked badly until we changed the fuel, then it worked fine.

I recently learned a new trick for a naptha Coleman stove.

When the fuel tank is mounted on the stove the two tabs stick into the body of the stove. These tabs have a little hole in them and a cotter-pin (on a short chain) or door latch (mounted to the right side) can fit in this hole and prevent the tank from being accidentally removed. Most here will already know that if you pull the pressurized tank off while the burner is lit, you end up with a small flamethrower out of the regulator.

Mike

Hey Canoedogs,

I remember Coleman started using more plastic parts on the new stoves. I had trouble once with the plastic unit that held the fuel tank pump assembly, I think I broke it trying to remove the plunger? The older metal type that was locked in with a spring clip was better.

If you have no oil to lube the leather plunger washer, just about anything will work. I often use Chapstick in the winter and have even used margarine.

Was there an Easy-Light model of naptha Coleman stove, I think all of mine are older than that?

Mike

Don't Tell Blast! or, Blast, do you have that on video?

I've owned an used a white gas Coleman stove for many many years. A few years back - when my son was in Cub Scouts - the other adults proclaimed the advantages of the propane version that I finally caved in a bought one. I used it. I tried to like it. I really did! But I just can't seem to control the flame on the propane version nearly as well as I can on the Coleman fuel version.

Though the Scouts continue to use propane, I'll stick with the Coleman fuel.

Hmmmm...and I was seriously thinking about switching over to a Coleman propane stove in order to get away from storing white gas.

//sigh

Anybody else want to chime in with pros / cons / recommendations for or against a Coleman propane stove?

Swamp..i don't have any new Colemans but i did get a new pump in a bubble pack on sale at my local outdoor shop and i was sort of put off to see the pump leather was a plastic/rubber thing.
olive oil is big across the pond for pump leathers and i have used peanut oil,3-in-one,a bit off the cars dip stick.thats why leather is best,a bit of something greasy and it comes back to life..don't know about easy-light..all my stuff is old.
all i can say about propane is --don't leave the empty tanks laying around the woods!!!!!--

Somewhere, 100 years ago, I read of someone who cut a circle out of a (leather) shoe tongue, for an improvised replacement of the pumpleather.