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