Old coleman naptha stoves | Squat the Planet

Old coleman naptha stoves

jeffyDee

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So i found this mid sixties Coleman 2 burner camp stove. You can use gas or naptha. Its the kind you have to pump the red tank that hangs off the front. Anyways are they practical to strap to your pack or useless as fuck.
 

Dmac

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I have several of them, great for camping and rubber tramping, but I would not want to carry it around with me in a backpack. It is just too bulky for that besides, there are much smaller and lighter ones around.
 
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Tude

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Ha - was just thinking about these the other day as I'm in my prepper stage atm and have charcoal grill as well as a little propane --- but would like another coleman with the two burners. (hehe - used to have a big old coleman lantern that either lit up and was awesome or didn't light/burned the stupid filaments in the lantern. ha.

I'd love to have one of the older 2 burners though :)
 
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Art101

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When I was part of an unnamed political movement involving camping out I had one of these as a back up in our kitchen area and it worked great.I wouldn't want to pack one trying to catch out.They are just a little to cumbersome for that but great for a base camp.
 

Hylyx

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Oh man I remember camping with one of these when I was little. I always wanted to pump the tank way too much... Rad cuz you can use camp fuel (and i think 91% rubbing alcohol??) without having to pay for those little green logs.
One like this, yah?
coleman-425c-stove.jpg
 
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Ranger

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Oh man I remember camping with one of these when I was little. I always wanted to pump the tank way too much... Rad cuz you can use camp fuel (and i think 91% rubbing alcohol??) without having to pay for those little green logs.
One like this, yah?
View attachment 33116
Only use naphtha(aka white gas, camp gas, Coleman fuel etc.) or gasoline. The stove in the picture is bullet proof and works even at -40 if you dip the brass fuel line in fuel and light to preheat or fire starter paste smeared on also works good. If it's older model the pump gasket is leather and will last forever just needs to be greased or oiled, newer stoves have a synthetic pump gasket that will eventually wear out but can be changed to leather.
 
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Dmac

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Two of mine run on coleman or white fuel, the third will run on both and on unleaded gas (my favorite) If you run unleaded gas in one that is not set for it, it will work for a while. But gasoline burns hotter so the jets get deformed and after a short while it won't work right. There are kits so you can convert to the fuel source, if you want.
 

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creature

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JeffyDee, hola!

Viking, Spirit, Hi!

been using gasoline stoves for years.
there's even a rare 3 burner version:

s-l1600.jpg


& the single burner, about the size of a large grapefruit:


s-l1600.jpg


i think i've ranted about these before.. lemmee see..

yep..

"i'm a die hard advocate of gasoline stoves.
you can get them from 1 to 3 burners, with 2 being common & easy to find used for $20 or less.

practice with the fuckers, away from anything flammable or consumable, until you get the art of lighting & regulation down.
they are cantankerous fuckers, too, & require cleaning, repair (pump seals, typically) & often enough replacement.
they are, however, the absolutely cheapest form of cooking you can do on the road, unless you decide to deal with propane tank swapping, multiple propane tanks or propane hose extensions, (to get to picnic tables).
the thing i like, even though propane by swap out may be as cheap, & def. cleaner, is that if you run out of fuel you only need about a pint of gasoline to do two decent meals, & you have a much better idea of how much fuel you have left..
but gasoline stoves are def dirtier & more inconvenient, unless you put in the time (&pain) to learn how to maintain the fuckers."


the one burner stoves are fairly heavy, and you absolutely *must* understand how they work, as well as bone up on properly maintaining them.. i did not have a painless experience, by any measure..
they are not simple, they are not clean, they are not light & they are not 100% reliable..

they do, however, when they work well, burn hot as all fuck, & you can feed 15 people with a 2 burner for 4 days straight ; )

once you understand them & how to fuck with them & what not to fuck with, then the one burner unit becomes a viable pack item.

unfortunately, since they burn a gasoline flame, they can't be used for direct grilling..

also, as a slant to the thread (since "naptha" is mentioned) i've seen the alcohol / wood DIY stoves posted, & they look pretty cool..
the thing is i suspect they don't burn hot enough to cook game.. i may be wrong, but i'm fond of some things being damn near burned..
that being said, i have some plans in my head for a *lightweight* gasoline stove, and i'm also curious about using true naphthalene as a solid fuel ('old fashioned' mothballs) in a beer can stove.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene

the thing that makes the pressurized stoves burn so hot is the amount of burnable fuel delivered per second..

i've got an idea in my head for a simple pre-heater, to increase convective flow, and/or a 2 chamber mini that would burn scrap, yet effectively pressurize a main burner..
 

Jerrell

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I'm going to piggyback this thread versus creating a new one since it's about an old Coleman gas stove.

I have one with a red tank and the pump doesn't work. It won't push in much (like the tank is over-pressurized) and it just spins when I turn it.

Does anyone know if it's possible to take the pump off an old Coleman lantern and use it on the stove tank?
 

creature

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@Jerrell, howdy : )

Before you write your pump off, unclip the 'C' clip from the pump barrel & pull the shaft out.
If the black pump seal looks good (not too raggy & the skirt portion is still intact), just spray a little WD 40 or whatnot in there and see if it still pumps.
Also, turn the pump shaft knob clockwise, until it stops, then back off a couple of turns for pumping.
Make sure she's at least a quarter full, too.
Pump repair kits can be bought from walmart for about $7.
These old gas stoves are dangerous, cantankerous, difficult & can take a *long* time to understand & get used to..
But once you get the hang of them?
They're *awesome*.

Read through this & related threads for more instructions and technical details.
Good luck!!
 

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