cleaning up a world war 2 millitarty coleman stove.

[Woodbutcher]

Great find Slow, how about some pictures to show us what you have?

[Wolffarmer]

When you light it. don't hold your face or other parts of your anatomy over the burner. Think of the old cars backfiring. Not that they back fire but they tend to flame up several feet for a few moments.

Randy

[rainjer]

Please post a picture. We would need to see it before giving advise on lighting it.

Jeremy

[doug hodder]

Slow....once you check it out, tank is clean, pump works, filler cap doesn't leak and the tip cleaner has the tip cleaned, it pumps, holds pressure and operates like it should with air....put some fuel in it. Pump it up, crack the valve just a bit so that it dribbles some fuel in the cone shaped burner area, then close it down. Not a lot...Just a bit of fuel.

Light up the fuel in the cone shaped burner....let it burn..it will really flame up, make sure you didn't get it all over the place and it's all in the cup. Once it's flaming...let it burn a bit till it preheats the little piece over the center of the generator, watch it closely, the fuel may start to boil. Just before it goes completely out, crack the valve a little bit. Raw fuel will hit the preheated piece in the burner. It may flame more, if so, back off on the valve till it's completely preheated. Then crack the valve again and it should roar to life.

They make a fair amount of noise so don't flip out (kinda like a tiny jet engine), and you should not do this inside the house if you are unfamiliar with it. I don't light up the military stoves inside at all, who knows what can go wrong since you are lighting up a puddle of raw fuel. Mine have operated fine with the tip cleaner in the down position, but if you need to adjust the amount of fuel, the tip cleaner can be used to do that. I'm sure others may have a different approach to it, but this is what works for me. The soldier in the field didn't have any sort of butane torch to pre-heat, just matches. Doug

[rainjer]

Slow - does it look like this?



If so, it is not a military stove. I t is a Coleman 530 stove or "GI Pocket Stove". I was made after WW2 but made similar to the 520 military stove for the troop coming home from the war. They are fun stoves.

If it has fold out legs under the fount (tank) then it is a very early 520 stove or an M1942 stove.

Here is the 530 instructions:
http://www.oldcolemanparts.com/resource ... /530_1.htm

Jeremy

[Angiewy]

I'm going to have Slow post pictures of the before and after. The auction we went to this weekend was the estate sale of my "adopted" grandparents, Bill and Joan Larsen from Douglas. Joan was killed in a vehicle accident just a few weeks before I met Mike. Bill is 92 and is in an assisted living center. I was "representing" my family at the auction. Mike provided a lot of support and got to spend some time talking to Mom, met Bill and his nephew.

For once, I was not the only hauler. Poor Slow had the duty of hauling most of the stuff to the vehicles.

I saw once again how blessed I am to have this man in my life. I sincerely look forward to Mike cleaning up the stove and being able to send the pictures to Bill.

ANg

[Kevin & Sandy]

I have a stove like that, I couldn't believe how it fired right up despite it's age !!

But I was wondering, they built this stove for troops in the field, but when it is warming up the generator, it creates a foot long flame !
If I was hiding in a foxhole, I wouldn't think a foot high flame would be an ideal thing....... They must have had to been pretty careful with this. It gets HOT though, the little bars on top glow red pretty quickly...

[KCStudly]

Slow, I can't say for sure because I have not used it on nickel plate, but for other metals I have had good luck with a product called Never Dull (clicky). The web site says it works on nickel.

It is a very soft fiber impregnated with lubricant and polishing materials. It is way finer than the finest steel wool.

I would use a little dish soap and water to remove any grease and grime first, then try the Never Dull on an small out of the way spot. Rub it on a bit. It will make a fine black slurry, gets on your hands, then wipe with a clean dry soft cloth rag, like an old T-shirt, until the residue is gone. She will shine with a little elbow grease.

A small piece goes a long way. I have had the same can on hand for many, many years.

Have fun and don't forget the pic's.