$2 garage sale find

[johnnyb1216]

found a coleman 512 3500 btu heater at a garage sale today. being a newb at the coleman thing not real sure if they work good or not. the top screen and snuffer is goin to need a good bead blasting but the fount is pretty nice, some peeling paint and minimal spots of surface rust ( 0f corse one spot is on the year stamp) is nothing that the bead blaster wont clean up. anyways i took it apart and it seems to work almost like an oil lamp with the wick and all. im just wondering with the wick heating the heating element without any real pressure accually puts any heat out, esspecially needing ventilation. i now they are not worth much but since no lantern finds i spent a couple of bucks so i wouldnt go home empty handed. does anyone use these?

[Zollinger]

I have a couple of them. They do work , but MUST have lots of ventilation. IMHO they kinda stink until they really start to get going. To light mine, I fill fount and turn upside down until you see a fuel spot on the top. Light up and wait for the fireball to stop. To extinguish use the snuffer to put out (it takes a while to go out and cool down). The first one my DH bought me didn't have the snuffer, but I found a stainless steel bowl to use.

edit: stoopid fat fingers.

[logman7777]

These came with a little squirt bottle when new to do that but most I have seen dont have the bottle.

The best way to start it is to fill the tank up and then squirt coleman fuel in an "X" pattern across the top and light that (be sure to have it outdoors when you do). They take around 15-20 minutes to burn "clean" but it still had an odor. Definitely wouldn't recommend using one in a TD or even a closed Tent Camper. I had a close call (Carbon Monoxide) with mine in my Scotty Sportsman and never used it again.

[Wolffarmer]

Just saw this thread. I have two of the beasties. The earlier ones the directions say to put the fuel on top. Some models later, can't remember which ones, say to turn upside down until fuel wets the top. These burn at temps lower than the flash point of the fuel and it is safe to just pour the fuel back into the fuel can while it is going and let it burn dry if you don't have the snuffer or want to dry up the font. Also means you can re fuel it without having to shut it down. Yes it is safe. I wanted to test this out so I got mine running nice and good and took about a teaspoon of fuel and poured it right on the head. All it did was vaporize. Of course one would not want to have an open flame any where near.

Randy