Been a long time since I have posted; haven't added to the collection for a few years now. However, a Coleman 426 appeared at a yard sale today, I couldn't resist at $15. What is interesting about this suitcase is that it has rounded corners and many more welds than its letter-designated siblings (this was the first model in the series made in 1949-1950). It also has what I think is a lid rest that allows the lid to serve as a table for serving food. Perhaps the Coleman gurus have some other ideas for the bracket?I have included pictures with the bracket deployed supporting the lid. The previous owner took good care of it, the pump leather was well oiled and the fuel had no rust. Cooked dinner on it this evening and all is well.
Interesting about the bracket. My dad always hung the camp towels off them to dry them and know where they were......never even thought of it being a brace.
a Coleman three burner and a Baby Enders are the 2 extremes of my wish list! very nice find and i would of payed twice what you did for one like that.
a bit too coincidental that it is just right to support the lid . making the lid a table . but hey , if you use it as a towel rack , then its a towel rack on yours . cheers kerry
I have a goodly number of Coleman stoves (two 426s, a great stove, btw) that have these lid supports (known in Coleman literature as "rod brackets"). They all function the same way to properly support the lid of the stove so the hinges don't get tweaked by dropping the lid all the way open when the wind flaps are not needed. And, it does make a dandy shelf when in that configuration. Coleman literature clearly indicates that supporting the lid was the rod brackets intended function. As a "towel rack" the lid support doesn't really work that well, since the towel is on the other side of the stove and I have to reach across three hot burners or boiling pots to get to it. Here's a photo enlargement of a paragraph from my Coleman 419 manual:
G,,day . with that bit of information , I think the case rests , pun intended cheers Kerry ps ; time to throw your towel in ,
But Bernie...I feel I must interject. One doesnt need to reach across three hot burners for the towels. They are used afterwards for drying the dishes...which made them wet...which is why they hang near the stove to dry out. At least thats what Dad said....... :-)
From the earliest days, that bar was meant to support the lid so it could be used as a tray, or so the oven (most very early Coleman stoves had an oven) could be used as a warming rack. In later literature (1940's -50's) it was also referred to as a "towel bar". (I'm not at home at the moment or I could show ads.)
