Coleman anyone?

As a prepper I have accumulated quite a few Coleman stoves lanterns and heaters. Got Coleman any one?

 

Just a couple Colemen items here...lantern and stove, and both are propane. But several other similar items that run on gasoline and kerosene, but most of them are pre-Coleman era.

 

Gas and propane stoves and lanterns

 

I got coleman stuff older than me, even a lantern that has mica windows.

 

Same here
Gas lantern, Propane stove

 

Lanterns, Stoves, and one of my favorite items a Coleman multitool....

Coleman Pro Lock

 

Coleman gear is usually pretty competent and a fair value. I have like nearly everybody else who has ever camped Coleman stoves, lanterns,and coolers. Also have their coffee pot (you DO NOT want to find out what happens when I don't get my coffee) and last fall was pleasantly surprised at how good their inexpensive tents are.

 

The present ownership is all too typical, Jardin Corp or some such thing, and everything is made in China, but the few contacts I have had with the people who actually work for a living in Kansas for the company have always impressed me. They were trying the hardest they could to help and since it was problems with generators made overseas, they really didn't have much input as to what was going on. Have lamps and stoves dated back into the 1940's. Love, hate relation with old lights and stoves, work well, fuel lasts for generations, but the old Coleman fuel was not white gasoline, it was naphtha, and very volatile. I once saw a man fueling a lantern on a picnic table with an open fire about 10 feet away and slightly down hill, he spilled some of the naphtha and the fumes were ignited by the fire and caused one heck of a flash fire. No real damage done but it sure woke everyone in the area up. In the 1950's, we used to dissolve wax in Coleman fuel and use it to waterproof tipi's, and I know of one case where it caught fire in the process and destroyed the tipi. Have used sealed cans in stoves that I know were 20 + years old when opened and worked fine. Cans tend to rust thru and it is not pleasant to smell something in the garage and find a pin hole leak in a can. Will screw up lamps and stoves if left in tank, so burn them dry and oil the pump leathers and I have stove that was made in 1960's that works fine.

 

This last one is cheating, since only the fount is Coleman, with AGM on top.
I'm rather fond of kerosene, and since Coleman made some designs for export only, I had to borrow ideas from their patent drawings. Kero preheat works as well as alcohol with the screen and wick to direct the flame and reduce soot.

 

Being old and a lifelong Coleman user I have many pieces of Coleman gear the newest probably 30 or more years old. Great quality except for one old 500 single burner that liked to tease me with burning the camp down. Still carry a 400A in the pack because it just works, no muss or fuss.

 

Oldawg, that's not a 501 is it? That one was recalled by Coleman as unsafe.
I've had some exciting moments with single stoves, the worst being a GI Exponent on kero that needed a lot of preheat to not fireball.
The AGM I'm using lately puts on quite a show before settling down, but never gets out of control.

 

I have two Coleman white gas lanterns - my late Dad's old one he got when I was a kid, some fifty years ago, and mine I bought about mid 1990s.
I have a single burner round stove, but I don't trust it. Had it get completely covered in flame once, no idea why. Water hose was close by, fortunately. No blow-up.

 

Yeah, had to go to the shed to check. The only one of the 500 series to ever give me a problem.

 

I knew I'd missed somethIng...Coleman 513 catalytic heater. Takes a few minutes to get going, but heats a small enclosure well. Only 3000-5000 btu.

 

This is my favorite Coleman stove.



It is not heavy and the legs fold up so it can easily fit into a backpack. It is quite stable with the 2 legs and the small tank. It do not use cast iron on it but it holds a pan/pot no problem. We have one of the double burner stoves but it is bulky. The burner above is always the go t, first one packed when we go camping.

 

Gas lantern, three burner and two burner stoves, gallon jug, thermos’ and a pair of the old (60-70,s) large steel bodied coolers. IMHO, the best coolers ever made!