Restoring Coleman camping equipment

Mini Motors

Mini Motors

Member
#1
#1
Oldschool and I hijacked a thread and morphed it into a Coleman lantern thread. So I thought it a good idea that we continue it in a more appropriate venue. Especially since I haven't learned enough, and the threat of going from lanterns to stoves has been suggested. So....

Not to rehash what's already been discussed, for those interested, you can get caught up somewhere in here;

http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/engines-modifications/52840-why-extend-carburetor.html

So, Oldschool, you mentioned stoves. I have a 413E I'm about to start on. You talked me out of sand blasting the lantern tank, but the stove body is in bad shape. The tank, not so bad. It is now in the cue to blast. Ahead of it are a couple of engine blocks(a Briggs and a Lauson/Tecumseh), then the steel lantern pieces. My first question is if there is a date code like the lanterns and where it might be.
 
Oldschool

Oldschool

New Member
#2
#2
There might be a date code but the E model designation can narrow it down.

Again because its American made I can't tell you much about them.
In Canada we had unique stoves built at the Toronto factory that used mostly cast iron burners ( exception being the J types made int he 40s, again that war rationing buisness ).

Sandblasting will warp the hell out of the frame so you are limited to chemical stripping.
In several threads here I have talked about using caustic soda to desolve paint.
That and electrolosis follwed by an acid wash to remove rust.

The acid I use is Phosphoric ( Naval jelly )

Here is a 4M in the dip.....
This is about 1 cup of caustic soda ( privy sanitizer, the stuff you use to desolve poop in the old back house ) to about 3 gallons of water ( just enough to submerge in a big plastic storage tote ). I also add a few drops of dish soap to help with any grease....
I ran about 2 amps of DC through it ( negative to the stove possitive the Anode, don;t screw that up of you will rust your stove ).

Coleman stuff :: 100_9294.jpg picture by Dougwp - Photobucket

See paint desolving nicely and rust blowing off.....

And here we are 95% paint and rust free
Coleman stuff :: 100_9296.jpg picture by Dougwp - Photobucket

FOllow up with the acid now and scrub with steel wool.

Then wash and oil or it will rust up again on you....

Ready for paint.....

Now back to the dates.
There are tabs on the tank that hold it on the case of the stove.
There may be a date stamped on them, I think someone told me once the US stoves followed the Canadian pattern in some )......

As far as the tanks go just use the BBs if there is rust.
The valves easily unscrew and can be taken apart to clean ( but don't disturb the leaver there is graphite packing in there you will have to replace if you mess with it and if you notice its loose and seems to leak just snug iut aup thats all they usualy need )

Painting is simple....

Us High temp BBQ paint on the burner.

Now a 413 probably uses a Generator thats still availble but odds are its in decent shape anyways.

And the gen unscrews from the valve. Not too much there to have trouble with.

Shoot with some paint and your done.

Notice the knob in the secondary burner is plastic on this stove.

The caustic dip will discolour and soften it so if your stove has any plastics remove these arts.

Last if you have a 2 piece fuel cap ( has a screw in the center ) then you should replace it with a modern one. The rubber o rings tend to get hard and leak.

And here we are done....
Ready for another 50 years of service
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c4vUn0xKd4
 
minibikedude

minibikedude

Active Member
#3
#3
Coleman products do have a Date code on the bottom of the older equipment. I got about 5 vintage lanterns. I got one of the old lanterns with the nickel base and green top, with the sunshine of the night logo on the bottom.
Here is a picture of a lantern of mine from the 70's the 2 is the month of production and the 73 is the year. All old Coleman stuff was date like this up into the 90's still.
 
Mini Motors

Mini Motors

Member
#4
#4
Because I have kept the tank assy in a way different spot than the rest of the stove, the tank is in such good shape that I shouldn't have to touch it. I had obtained a propane conversion for it a couple years before I bought a new propane stove(30 years ago!). The burners and cook grating look like stainless, and are in fairly good shape.

But about sand blasting. I used to have access to a cabinet setup a few years back, and used it a fair amount. When I asked a friend about his equipment, he offered up a blaster for some open air work, and had some pretty abrasive media. He put a halt to blasting when he realized I had alloy blocks to clean, saying his media was too course. I am getting walnut media,(at his suggestion) and hope to do these engines Tuesday. But(finally) to my question. If I keep my distance, and am using a softer media, at about 120 psi, how can warping happen? I don't see me getting to the stove this week. I have limited time and two motors.
 
Oldschool

Oldschool

New Member
#5
#5
Mini Motors said:
Because I have kept the tank assy in a way different spot than the rest of the stove, the tank is in such good shape that I shouldn't have to touch it. I had obtained a propane conversion for it a couple years before I bought a new propane stove(30 years ago!). The burners and cook grating look like stainless, and are in fairly good shape.

But about sand blasting. I used to have access to a cabinet setup a few years back, and used it a fair amount. When I asked a friend about his equipment, he offered up a blaster for some open air work, and had some pretty abrasive media. He put a halt to blasting when he realized I had alloy blocks to clean, saying his media was too course. I am getting walnut media,(at his suggestion) and hope to do these engines Tuesday. But(finally) to my question. If I keep my distance, and am using a softer media, at about 120 psi, how can warping happen? I don't see me getting to the stove this week. I have limited time and two motors.
Click to expand...
The paint they used was very good stuff.
I tried to blast a couple of stove and anything agressive enough to cut the paint will warp it I am afraid....


Does your fuel tank have a red glyptal lining inside?
If not ( 1960s or older ) thats a good gasoline stove.
One of the reasons I repfer th older ones is they cost savings with running unleaded gas in them.
Profane is very expensive....
BTW Cabellas and a few other companies offer a profane refill kit for those little bottles. REALY RISKY to use them because the steel is so thin....
 
Oldschool

Oldschool

New Member
#6
#6
minibikedude said:
Coleman products do have a Date code on the bottom of the older equipment. I got about 5 vintage lanterns. I got one of the old lanterns with the nickel base and green top, with the sunshine of the night logo on the bottom.
Here is a picture of a lantern of mine from the 70's the 2 is the month of production and the 73 is the year. All old Coleman stuff was date like this up into the 90's still.
Click to expand...
That date system was adopted in 1950. Earlier American products are more difficult to date and you need to know the model and back track that with a the two digets tey used.

You have there a pretty good 220 lantern.
If you look for army surplus sometimes you find a militarized version of the 220 called a 252A. There are a lot of interchangable parts. Easy to take a shitty 252 and turn it into a better 220.
Another interesting feature of the 220 is kerosene conversion I have talked about before. Use parts from a 200A lanter ( gas tip and replace the packing with a coil of copper wire and make a small preheat cup and thats very ecconomical lantern you can use indoors our out with the safety of kerosene.

220s are also nice to have around to modernize an old table lamp. Parts can easily be adapted to get an old lamp fixed up.

I prefer the lamps over the 220 lanterns for esthetic reasons.
Here is one of my favourites the 157
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/COLEMAN-CANA...575?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item2c60e853d7
This vender however is a douche and I realy can't stand him.
I think production of American lamps ended in 1950 with most of the cool stuff.
Thats why the majority of stuff you see is Canadian on Ebay ( produced on to 1970 )
 
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MB165

MB165

Active Member
#7
#7
Im still resisting the switch to propane stuff. I have 3 lanterns and 3 stoves. My favorite (and oldest) is my 220F 11/65, it out lights the others is more stable and will run all night. So can I really put Kerosene in this??

Oldschool, have you ever tried putting a schrader valve on a fill cap and used a bike pump to charge the tank? Im tempted.....
 
Mini Motors

Mini Motors

Member
#8
#8
Oldschool said:
Does your fuel tank have a red glyptal lining inside?
If not ( 1960s or older ) thats a good gasoline stove.
Click to expand...

That site you posted in the other thread says the 413E was made from '54 to '60, so probably no lining. Knowing my Dad, he never put anything other than Coleman fuel in it. Time is tight this week, with Thanksgiving and all, so digging the tank will have to wait till next week, but I'll look.

Given the interest here, I'll re post that site Oldschool gave. It's full of LOTS of stuff. There doesn't seem to have a home page, so it'll start sorta in the middle. Scroll to the bottom to get to other categories.

Coleman US stoves mid-1950's - present
 
Oldschool

Oldschool

New Member
#9
#9
MB165 said:
Im still resisting the switch to propane stuff. I have 3 lanterns and 3 stoves. My favorite (and oldest) is my 220F 11/65, it out lights the others is more stable and will run all night. So can I really put Kerosene in this??

Oldschool, have you ever tried putting a schrader valve on a fill cap and used a bike pump to charge the tank? Im tempted.....
Click to expand...
Yes you can do a kerosene conversion to all the 220B series and later.
This goes back a few years but this yable kamo is a 220 based lantern converted to K1 ( 157 was the top of the line lamp in the 40s ).
TO do this you need a generator from a 200 lantern. Remove the gas tip from the end of the generator and take the packing out of the 220 generator and replace it with a loose coild of copper wire about #16. The idea is this helps conduct heat inside the gen body.
Coleman stuff :: New cup picture by Dougwp - Photobucket
Then off to the plumbing shop to get a 3/4 inch pipe cap and some thin wall 1/4 tubing. you want to make a cup like this to hold some methanol for preheating the lantern ( Kerosene is too heavy to light cold and you must preheat as in the video. You can use lead solder for this it does not get hot enough to melt,
157 Kerosene test run - YouTube

I have never modiified a cap dor a scraeder valve.
For on thing I don't trust them and realy a factory pump works very well.If it doesn't work well that because something needs to be replaced usualy the cup.
 
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Oldschool

Oldschool

New Member
#10
#10
Mini Motors said:
That site you posted in the other thread says the 413E was made from '54 to '60, so probably no lining. Knowing my Dad, he never put anything other than Coleman fuel in it. Time is tight this week, with Thanksgiving and all, so digging the tank will have to wait till next week, but I'll look.

Given the interest here, I'll re post that site Oldschool gave. It's full of LOTS of stuff. There doesn't seem to have a home page, so it'll start sorta in the middle. Scroll to the bottom to get to other categories.

Coleman US stoves mid-1950's - present
Click to expand...
Yes thats a good one.
A keeper.....

That one also is suitable for unleaded gas. just remember to empty the tank when finnished and a squirt of WD 40 inside to prevent rust. I always leave the caps off or at least loose. I feel this allows any moister to escape and the tanks tyo dry up insid3e but leave a film of oil ( you might want to rinse them out with gasoline if there is a lot of oil in there next use ).
 
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