Dad's Coleman Camp Stove 502 Part 2

So now that I had Dad's Coleman Camp Stove 502 cleaned and put back together, (See Part 1), it was time to fuel and light it.

I found an owners manual for the unit on this site listed under Coleman 502 Sportster Stove.

This stove runs off of Coleman fuel.  I learned that only Coleman fuel should be used in this stove, since regular gas or anything else will have additives that will gum up the interior.  I bought a gallon at Meijer for $14.

This forum was helpful:  http://www.colemancollectorsforum.com/?forum=181081

I needed a funnel, and from looking at other people's pictures, the funnel that came with these units looked familiar.  I looked in my box of oil changing stuff and found this...

Absolutely amazing!  I've had this funnel in with my tools since my early college days.  I have no idea how this got mixed in with my stuff, but this must be Dad's original funnel.  I gave it a nice cleaning and now it can go back to it's intended purpose.  And having this funnel sure makes pouring the gas so much easier - it is very stable in the filler hole.  I did not bother to use a filter in the funnel.

  

Next it was time to fire it up.  Here is a quick summary of how I do it.  

1. Make sure the shut off valve is closed, (red wheel turned clockwise until it stops)
2. Turn the plunger knob counter clockwise 2 or 3 revolutions.
3. Put thumb over hole on plunger knob, extend knob out from unit and pump (I only do 15 pumps). 
4. Turn plunger knob clockwise until it stops, (you do not have to keep your thumb on the hole, nor does the knob have to be fully retracted when you do this.  Just push it into the unit with the hole uncovered when you are done). 
5. Turn the red cleaner-regulator lever a couple of revolutions, the direction does not matter.  Leave the lever pointing away from the stove. 
6. Get your lighter or match ready, (flame it), then open the red shut off valve 1/4 turn counter clockwise.  You should hear hissing.
7. Immediately place match down in the fire bowl and it should catch.  The flame of the stove will be a couple inches tall and yellow.
8. After a minute or two, the flame will shorten and turn blue, then fully open the shut off valve counter clockwise.
9. To adjust the flame height, turn the red cleaner-regulator lever.

Pumping the plunger...

Opening the shut off valve while ready to quickly light...

The yellow flames have died down a bit and are starting to turn blue...

It is hard to see the blue flame in the daylight, but the stove is ready for cooking.

Heating water...

Cooking hash browns. The fry pan is too wide, but with frequent turning, cooked wonderfully.

Yum!!

Dad's Coleman Camp Stove 502 Part 1

This is the camp stove from Dad's barn.  I remember this from the basement in Ohio on top of the brick ledge over 30 years ago, and have not seen it since. Until now.

It is a Coleman 502 camp stove that uses white gas for fuel. I believe this stove was made in 1966.  There are decades worth of dust and dirt to clean.  Here are some pics before the cleaning process...

To the internet!  There is an excellent forum post called Project 502 that describes in detail how to take the stove apart.  

I followed his method and the dissasembly went smoothly.  Despite the dirt and minor rust, all the screws and fittings came out easily.  The removal of the lower burner part required a special tool with very wide jaw.  I do not have an oil filter wrench, so I used a jar opener that was in Dad's kitchen.  Worked perfectly.

Some more pics of taking it apart...

And finally, all the pieces laid out...

I did not remove the check valve.  I tried, but a screwdriver was not going to get it without damaging it.  So instead I left it in place, squirted some carb cleaner in the plunger hole and let it sit for a couple of hours.  There is a BB sized ball that now moved freely with gravity when I tilted the fount.  (Hard to see it move, I just noticed the position of the ball changed slightly).  I also did not remove the valve assembly from the fount and I did not use any cleaner inside the valve assembly nor the fount where the fuel goes.   (just in case, fount = green tank).


The other pieces needed to be cleaned.   To remove the rust, I used the aluminum foil method I described using on my flashlight post.  Here you can see half way through the rust removal process on the burner bowl just using aluminum foil and water.

There is a leather plunger used to create air pressure.  The leather was in great shape.  The neatsfoot oil came from dad's barn too.

 I lightly sanded to screws to make them look nice.

I used steel wool on the brass, and my dremel brass wheel on the very rusted burner plate shown in the pic above with the screws.  For everything else, I used a rag and Eagle One Wipe and Shine Detailing Spray that is safe for chrome and clear coat.  Its what I had close at hand, but any general purpose cleaner would have been fine.  I applied car wax to the fount.  D cleaned the grill with dish soap.

Here are all the pieces after being cleaned...

Putting the unit back together was straightforward.  So here are the results...

See Part 2 for lighting and operating this cool little stove for the first time in 30 years.

Dad's Flashlight

When D first found the flashlight from Dad's barn and showed it to me, I thought, "whatever, its just and old flashlight."  But then later at home it really caught my attention.  All that chrome.  How old is this thing?

To the internet!  It was manufactured by Hipco and it's from the mid 1950's.

This is the site I used to identify it: http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/Hipco-Flashlight-2-Cell-Ribbed-Chrome-Light-with-Slide-Switch-2D-1955

The flashlight was covered in small specks of rust.

How to get rid of the rust?  To the internet!   I read that rust could be removed from chrome by simply rubbing it with aluminum foil and water.  This site has an excellent explaination:  http://www.robertscycle.com/chrome-clean.html 

However, I was still quite skeptical.  No way to know until I try it.  So cleaning begins...

The only thing I'm doing is rubbing with foil that has been dipped in water.  Unbeliveable - it actually works.  The foil did not scratch the surface and the method seemed to go faster than using steel wool.

The end results...

The lens is glass.  Some new C batteries and it even still works!

thanks for looking.