Browsing local garage sales (tag sale, trunk sale, boot sale, etc.,) this past Friday, after all the baby clothes, kids sports toys and Disney VHS tapes I found a sale with four (4!) Coleman suitcase stoves.Since my 1975 Coleman 413 still works great I looked for a three-burner. Found this Model 426 for $5. Took it home, cleaned the worst off. Shook the gas container; it still had about 1/4 tank of fuel. Pumped ten times (oiled leather still good) and lit it. Nice clean blue flame!! Wire-brushed the burner heads to get off surface corrosion and junk to get all three burners burning cleanly. Love the interesting and useful "legs", but goodness, the unit must weigh more than a WWII torpedo! Will leave the outside finish as-is. It shows lots of character. Probably will empty the gas tank and fill with new fuel. I'm amazed that it ran as is was. Only fettle needed was to tighten the packing nut on the control handle.
Nice find! Be sure to inspect the fuel tank closely, mine started rusting out at the seams, I had to find a replacement tank...
Howdy, Greeley, Excellent find, and now that you have this 426, you will love using it whilst camping!! We probably use one of our 436 family of stoves far more often than any other Coleman, for camping, and also for doing lobsters on the front deck at Christmas!! Baja is right about checking your tank for rust, though. I while back, I bought a nice 413G, from 1972, a much later Coleman, and found that the tank had rotted-through in several areas. Darn it! I new/old tank was secured, and I made sure it was clean and rust-free, before buying it, and now that 413G runs like a top, and safely! Check the interior of your tank carefully, for any signs of rust. Well done on your score, and have fun with that new/old Coleman workhorse of yours!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Great find! Great price! You'll get a lot of service out of that one. I think ou can even fit a small lantern inside the case. The rounded corners are what I like about these early 426s. The square corners are okay but I'm sure it took more effort to make them round. sam
Very fun. I think you will find that the rounded corners prevent you from getting lantern inside, I think you can do it on a square corner stove. I've got a 426 like that, it has been on its stand for two years doing various chores!
Ha! Great score! I have a pair of 426d's and they are a couple of my favorite stoves! They're great for parties and car camping! I went out and purchased a set of steam table pans so I can set it up to be a burger and dog warmer. There's still a burner free for salt potatoes or coffee! I'll take more photos this weekend when I get my beast out! It can be a gas guzzler though!
Here are a few photos from yesterday. I hope it will not bother the purists too bad that I've added some flair to my 426d. Also I learned that one should check the pump plunger before getting to the park. Barring that I can report that power steering fluid works in a pinch to revive a dry leather. This rig went through two complete fill ups in the time we were there. I usually keep a propane adapter in the stove because there's plenty of space. This came in very handy when the first fill up ran dry. It let me keep running the stove while the tank cooled enough to refill.
Here's my loadout There's the fuel tank full plus a 1 liter which is about a 75% refill I would guess. I'm thinking about getting a 1.5 primus bottle for this purpose. There is the funnel. Also there is a propane adapter and an old all metal sequoia stand. All self contained. There is a red phosphorus sticker on the top right of the windshield in case someone has safety matches without a box.
"I hope it will not bother the purists too bad that I've added some flair to my 426d." Ok for the Ive been to ? stickers but isnt a Primus sticker on a Coleman a little like putting a Ford sticker on a Chevy?
Ha! I don't know. I just figured that I would get stickers from the marketing departments of the various companies. Ironically coleman had none. I got on the old time coleman site and ordered some vintage replacement decals. An astute observer might note the absence of the lantern in the coleman sticker.
