Coleman Addiction.....for pesants. ha ha ha!

[DaveInDenver]

The good thing about Coleman appliances is their resilience. The only thing that really hurts them is leaving them empty of fuel sitting on a shelf for decades. If they are stored with fuel left in them the steel parts don't rust nearly as badly. I've opened tanks with really stale fuel but still clean while the tank from an empty stove was full of rust.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It is a double edged sword, fuel dries out and the residue can plug the fuel and air tube. I have ran into that with lanterns.

Filling the fount with acetone for awhile will get them running although with a pulse. More run time/fuel ran thru will get that to go away after awhile.

Biggest problem a stove gave me was a stuck check valve on a garage sale find. I threw the valve in the carb soak tank at work over lunch and it came right around.

 

[Martinjmpr]

My latest treasure...

Yikes! That’s a terrible thing to do to a nice Mil Spec.


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[85_Ranger4x4]

Yikes! That’s a terrible thing to do to a nice Mil Spec.


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Kinda what I thought.

Aside from the funnel its all there, current plan is to see if I can get it to run and maybe make it green again.

It has some dings so it will never be a show piece... but I have been looking for one for two years.

Trying to match the funky green is proving more difficult than I thought, apparently I am the first to repaint one of these. It should look like this:

 

[Martinjmpr]

Kinda what I thought.

Aside from the funnel its all there, current plan is to see if I can get it to run and maybe make it green again.

It has some dings so it will never be a show piece... but I have been looking for one for two years.

Trying to match the funky green is proving more difficult than I thought, apparently I am the first to repaint one of these. It should look like this:

Yep, I have a 1958 MilSpec that looks just like that. The painted collar is interesting, most other Coleman collars were unpainted except for the black steel collars that were used in 1951 - 52 200A series due to aluminum shortages caused by the Korean war.

If you haven't already done so, you should join the Coleman Collectors Forum (https://colemancollectorsforum.com/) and they can likely give you the exact paint codes needed to restore that lantern. You can usually get replacement stickers/decals at Old Coleman Parts https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/

If you're on Facebook there are a few Coleman collector groups there that also have a lot of good institutional knowledge.

 

[Martinjmpr]

The good thing about Coleman appliances is their resilience. The only thing that really hurts them is leaving them empty of fuel sitting on a shelf for decades. If they are stored with fuel left in them the steel parts don't rust nearly as badly. I've opened tanks with really stale fuel but still clean while the tank from an empty stove was full of rust.

I have purchased lanterns that had fuel in them and had obviously sat for years collecting dust, and literally pumped them up and lit them without doing anything else.

Having said that, most of the time you find an old lantern or stove, chances are good that the pump leather will be dried out and won't allow you to put pressure into the fount (fuel tank.) Usually a few drops of neatsfoot oil will puff up the pump cup enough to allow you to pump air into the fount.

The other thing I see is dried out fuel cap gaskets. If a stove or lantern won't hold pressure the first thing I do is oil the pump cup and the second thing I do is swap in a known good cap with a good gasket (which is easy to do because most Coleman stoves and lanterns after about 1950 use the same fuel cap.) I'd say 75% of the time this works to get the appliance running.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Speaking of Colemans, this past weekend we hosted another camping trip for our group (Colorado Teardrops and Tiny Trailer Campers) and one of the women brought out a brand new 425 stove. Brand new as in "still in original packing materials."

I was surprised because I thought Coleman only made dual-fuel stoves and lanterns. The 425 is a white-gas only stove, so it surprised me that it was still available.

She told me she bought it off Amazon and sure enough, the 425 stove is still available:


The funny/ironic/sad thing about this is that she likely paid the full $227.00 for that stove.

In the Coleman Collectors world, "suitcase stoves" like the 425 are, for the most part, not highly prized or valued. Unlike a lantern, which can be cleaned up to make a nice display piece, most suitcase stoves are well used, scorched with lots of burn marks and spilled food, and have been banged or knocked around.

So I didn't have the heart to tell her that the last time I bought a 425 stove it was only because the seller had a 228E lantern bundled with it and would not sell it separately, and I wanted that 228E.

I think the most I'd ever pay for a 425 in working condition is maybe $5. I have a 413G and a 413H (2-burner suitcase stove that is about 25% bigger than a 425) and that one 425. All of them work fine but I rarely use them.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yep, I have a 1958 MilSpec that looks just like that. The painted collar is interesting, most other Coleman collars were unpainted except for the black steel collars that were used in 1951 - 52 200A series due to aluminum shortages caused by the Korean war.

If you haven't already done so, you should join the Coleman Collectors Forum (https://colemancollectorsforum.com/) and they can likely give you the exact paint codes needed to restore that lantern. You can usually get replacement stickers/decals at Old Coleman Parts https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/

If you're on Facebook there are a few Coleman collector groups there that also have a lot of good institutional knowledge.

Yeah, someone else asked a few days before I searched and the only suggestion was to try to paint it OD and then clear coat it.

Matching paint for a 252 Milspec fount - The Coleman Collectors Forum

I have a while to ponder it anyway.

I have purchased lanterns that had fuel in them and had obviously sat for years collecting dust, and literally pumped them up and lit them without doing anything else.

Having said that, most of the time you find an old lantern or stove, chances are good that the pump leather will be dried out and won't allow you to put pressure into the fount (fuel tank.) Usually a few drops of neatsfoot oil will puff up the pump cup enough to allow you to pump air into the fount.

The other thing I see is dried out fuel cap gaskets. If a stove or lantern won't hold pressure the first thing I do is oil the pump cup and the second thing I do is swap in a known good cap with a good gasket (which is easy to do because most Coleman stoves and lanterns after about 1950 use the same fuel cap.) I'd say 75% of the time this works to get the appliance running.

I have a heck of a time with bugs, mainly in lanterns. I usually strip them down off the bat and clean the mud dauber/spider webs out of the air tubes before I even try to light the thing. Cuts down with fireball drama and saves a mantle or two per lantern.

Speaking of Colemans, this past weekend we hosted another camping trip for our group (Colorado Teardrops and Tiny Trailer Campers) and one of the women brought out a brand new 425 stove. Brand new as in "still in original packing materials."

I was surprised because I thought Coleman only made dual-fuel stoves and lanterns. The 425 is a white-gas only stove, so it surprised me that it was still available.

She told me she bought it off Amazon and sure enough, the 425 stove is still available:


The funny/ironic/sad thing about this is that she likely paid the full $227.00 for that stove.

In the Coleman Collectors world, "suitcase stoves" like the 425 are, for the most part, not highly prized or valued. Unlike a lantern, which can be cleaned up to make a nice display piece, most suitcase stoves are well used, scorched with lots of burn marks and spilled food, and have been banged or knocked around.

So I didn't have the heart to tell her that the last time I bought a 425 stove it was only because the seller had a 228E lantern bundled with it and would not sell it separately, and I wanted that 228E.

I think the most I'd ever pay for a 425 in working condition is maybe $5. I have a 413G and a 413H (2-burner suitcase stove that is about 25% bigger than a 425) and that one 425. All of them work fine but I rarely use them.

Not sure why they bother making them at that price... even $140 for a dual fuel is pretty steep IMO


Most I spent on a 425 was $20. It was a old one with wire legs and had the aluminum stand to go with it. (I mainly wanted the stand)

 

[Todd n Natalie]

I have a couple pieces. It's a start.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I have a couple pieces. It's a start.

View attachment 663909

Be careful with those two burner stoves. They seem to multiply without warning.

 

[jerdog53]

New to me Coleman 228E built in 1956 still going strong!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Had some of my coleman stuff out over the weekend.




It was 30 odd degrees... so I baked breakfast on the stove in the balmy 67* camper. First time using either so I will call it a huge success.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Had a nice hot lunch while chasing deer today.





Need to work on the cookwear but it worked perfect.