Coleman stove leak

[les45]

I have a mid 80's vintage Coleman two burner propane campstove. I have used it sparingly over the years, maybe five or six times a year, and always keep it clean and properly stored. Recently I have experienced two instances when a flame started coming out of the left burner control knob at the front. I was able to shut it off both times at the propane bottle and there was no apparent damage. Has anyone else experienced this type of problem with a Coleman stove? Is it fixable or should I just bite the bullet and call it time for a new one? The way it is constructed, it doesn't look to be easily disassembled to get to the burner piping.

[eamarquardt]

I dunno but take the stove apart, remove the valve and see if you can disassemble it. Sometimes things are put together in such a way that they can't be disassembled w/o damaging them. Sometimes you get lucky and you can service them. If you can get it apart it's probably an O-Ring that is damaged or dry. O-Ring fit isn't critical (one a bit bigger will usually work but smaller sizes usually don't work well). Hardware stores carry std O-Rings and Harbor Freight (the place you love to hate) sells assortments of them.

I usually use a teflon based grease called Magic Lube on 0-Rings and stuff. Swimming pool supply stores sell it in tubes. A tube lasts a long time.

I had the same problem with my outdoor propane burner a couple of months ago. Installed new O-Rings (Harbor Freight kit), greased em up, and it works fine and will last a long time, ha.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Cheers,

Gus

[eamarquardt]

I dunno but take the stove apart, remove the valve, and see if you can disassemble it. Sometimes things are put together in such a way that they can't be disassembled w/o damaging them. Sometimes you get lucky and you can service them. If you can get it apart it's probably an O-Ring that is damaged or dry. O-Ring fit isn't critical (one a bit bigger will usually work but smaller sizes usually don't work well). Hardware stores carry std O-Rings and Harbor Freight (the place you love to hate) sells assortments of them.

I usually use a teflon based grease called Magic Lube on 0-Rings and stuff. Swimming pool supply stores sell it in tubes. A tube lasts a long time.

I had the same problem with my outdoor propane burner a couple of months ago. Installed new O-Rings (Harbor Freight kit), greased em up, and it works fine and will last a long time, ha.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Cheers,

Gus

[les45]

Actually found that it was fairly easy to disassemble this stove. The center bolt in each burner holds the whole thing together. Valves screw right out after pulling the knobs. Couldn't find anything obvious; all piping was intact and the O-rings looked good with still lots of factory grease on them. With this much uncertainty and the risk of fire, I've about decided to scrap the whole thing (except the small tank hose and wire stand) and just buy a new one. Cheap insurance.

[eamarquardt]

Actually found that it was fairly easy to disassemble this stove. The center bolt in each burner holds the whole thing together. Valves screw right out after pulling the knobs. Couldn't find anything obvious; all piping was intact and the O-rings looked good with still lots of factory grease on them. With this much uncertainty and the risk of fire, I've about decided to scrap the whole thing (except the small tank hose and wire stand) and just buy a new one. Cheap insurance.

It ain't "rocket science" (the Challenger disaster notwithstanding). Before throwing out the stove I'd see if I could get some slightly bigger O-Rings or at least new ones and install them with new teflon based grease. When I took apart my patio burner I didn't see anything obviously wrong but with new O-Rings it worked fine.

O-Rings are cheap. I'd give it a try. Any leak won't be a "gusher" and if you using a hose with remote tank and regulator you can turn off the gas a few feet away from the stove without the risk of burning yourself and the fire will go out quickly (if yer doing this where you can't set anything else on fire).

You should also blow out all of the venturis and gas passages of the stove with compressed air. Sometimes spiders, other critters, or debris gets in there and causes problems.

Never give up, never surrender.

Cheers,

Gus

[les45]

This older model doesn't use a true O-ring. The cross section is square and it sits in a square groove in the stem. I've searched the internet and the parts are not available anywhere. Even called Coleman without success. I'm concerned that a standard O-ring in that groove would eventually self destruct and leak again. Walmart has the same Coleman stove on sale for $38 right now. My concern is that I don't always tend to the stove while it is burning, both at home and while camping. Some challenges aren't worth the risk. Like I said, cheap insurance.

[bobhenry]

You don't happen to be trying to run it with an unregulated bulk tank? I was a dummy and tried that on one of mine and it just don't work. Fire everywhere !

I had spider egg sacks in another cook top and simply disassembled what I could and blew out the rest. With the path to the burner obstructed it was backing up down the control tube.

[eamarquardt]

This older model doesn't use a true O-ring. The cross section is square and it sits in a square groove in the stem. I've searched the internet and the parts are not available anywhere. Even called Coleman without success. I'm concerned that a standard O-ring in that groove would eventually self destruct and leak again. Walmart has the same Coleman stove on sale for $38 right now. My concern is that I don't always tend to the stove while it is burning, both at home and while camping. Some challenges aren't worth the risk. Like I said, cheap insurance.

I've been servicing things with O-Rings for half a century. Rarely is the groove that the O-Ring sits in on a shaft rounded at the bottom to fit the O-Ring. However, given that it isn't an O-Ring it may not be a std size.

In an application like this (the O-Ring being completely captive) they rarely fail catastrophically and blow out.

For less than a buck (and the experience of fixing something) I'd try and fix it.

With a little effort you could always test it with compressed air first.

But, $38 isn't much and you could probably find a used stove for less.

Cheers,

-Gus-

[Dale M.]

Have passed up many camp stoves at yard sales for $5 to $10....

Dale

[pmowers]

This older model doesn't use a true O-ring. The cross section is square and it sits in a square groove in the stem. I've searched the internet and the parts are not available anywhere. Even called Coleman without success. I'm concerned that a standard O-ring in that groove would eventually self destruct and leak again. Walmart has the same Coleman stove on sale for $38 right now. My concern is that I don't always tend to the stove while it is burning, both at home and while camping. Some challenges aren't worth the risk. Like I said, cheap insurance.

I bet that the O-ring was originally round, but has gotten compressed and deformed over time and use. It would be an un-needed expense to specify a special seal for something like that. Why cut into your profit?....But, I could be wrong,

Coleman used a weird sized O-ring on their removable regulators for their skillet and slow cooker, and does not carry replacements. Apparently they are the same rings as used in paintball guns and are available by the bag at most suppliers.

[eamarquardt]

I bet that the O-ring was originally round, but has gotten compressed and deformed over time and use. It would be an un-needed expense to specify a special seal for something like that. Why cut into your profit?....But, I could be wrong,..........

Wellll, the compressed and deformed shape would explain why it's no longer sealing.

Go for new o-rings.

Cheers,

Gus