Am really amazed at Coleman products I recently received this off Ebay and just oiled the pump cup and fresh fuel and lighted up the first time. Since this is my first 502 I just have a few questions: 1. When the stove is lighted, does it really make that throaty hissing sound just like the coleman lanterns? 2. I have looked at some topics in this forum and saw some of the 502's have a stronger flame where the pot stands become red hot in some areas. 3. The collar on the stove say 502 but the tank bottom says 501 62 does this mean that the 501 tank was also used in the 502 series? It works fine but could the flame be improved with a bit more fettle? Pardon the red tank cap by the way as the tank cap that came with the 502 had rubber seals that were hard as rock so I borrowed the tank cap from my coleman lantern. Thanks RON
Hi Ron, Welcome to the 502 club. I think I have around ten of those. Love 'em. I give them to friends that are really stovies because they are so simple to use and light up. I fettle them first, of course. As for the flame you are getting, well, that's usually due to the usual, like the filler cap and generator. The filler cap must provide a good seal. I see you have a red cap with the screw in it, it's just like the lantern you have. The generator is a little different but really easy to remove and clean. I would remove it and clean thoroughly. If your stove is lighting up, chances are the generator is still in good shape and the jet is still in really good shape, it might just need a little cleaning. I would remove it and clean the jet, the generator tube and the coil and that should get you some good flame. If that's not good enough, pull the burner flame spreader out and clean each of the burner rings. These will build up gunk in them over time and won't let vapor flow as well if they are dirty or rusted. Anyway, congrats. These are nice, tough, single burner stoves. sam
Ron: 502 stoves do make that sound when lit. To me, it sounds more like a mini gas-turbine when operating with some stoves being louder than others. That is normal. I have had many 502s whose flame did make the grate glow red from the heat. That, again, is normal. But a note of caution. 502s, after running for awhile, run hot meaning even the fuel tank can get very warm, close to being too hot, along with the burner bowl. That is also normal but when shutting them down, be careful you use only your fingertips to shut the fuel off and not "caress" the burner bowl while doing so or you will get burned. On your third question, more than likely it was a factory conversion when the recall of 501 stoves was in effect back in '62. Many 501s were converted to the current 502 configuration even though your fount still has "501" stamped on it. Once those founts were used up, nothing but 502 appeared afterwards. Remember, Coleman never threw good parts away. They always used up leftover parts, even when a new model was introduced. As for improving your flame output, not much else can be done except making sure your fuel delivery is in good shape and that you have a good generator. Judging from your pictures, it looks like your generator is warped from many years of usage. That should be changed out. And yes, make sure there is no debris in the manifold including spider webs. But I must warn you, removing the bottom burner plate from the manifold will be a test of your patience and ingenuity. They have a very nasty habit of seizing up on the threads. The burner plate is cast steel while the manifold is stamped steel, thus lending itself to be easily deformed if you are not careful in removing it. Also note, the only parts still available from Coleman for the 502 is the generator, fuel cap, air pump w/stem and the check (NRV) valve. Anything else is either from a parts stove or to be patient while perusing eBay for the needed parts. These stoves were made from late '62/early '63 to 1983. To me, these were argueably the best stoves Coleman ever made. Extremely rugged, super reliable and easy on fuel. About the only way to make these stoves non-functional, other than to remove the generator or other parts is to run over it with a truck! If I seem biased towards these stoves, you are right! And they make fun projects if you want to match them with any Coleman lanterns you might have. Check this out and scroll down to the 22nd picture. They were my creation. http://terrence.marsh.faculty.noctrl.edu/lantern/customlight.html Joe
Hey Joe, I always thought that picture of the 502 circus was a great set of stoves!!! I especially like the 'Sears' and the '275 502' stove. Made me laugh the first time I saw them. Thanks for sharing. sam
Thanks, Sam. I had a lot of fun doing those custom 502s. I used to have the complete story(posting) on the Coleman forum when I made them and the reasons for creating them but the old site was hacked into. The new owners of that site dropped that service and went with a new one, managing to retain some of the archives but not all of it so now that story is long gone and I made the mistake of not copying to my files. If it wasn't for Randall Adams, who made the custom decals for me, I couldn't have done it or at least, not completed them as you have seen them. Ron: I forgot to add that the fuel control knob & screw are also still available for the 502s. And on that flame output, again, you might be able to get a little more but these stoves were not known for high flame/heat output. If you take a normal camp coffee pot and fill it with water then heat it with the 502, it will take a very long time for it to boil. A small pot, not a problem. In this, the 500 has a large advantage due to their higher heat output but for small jobs or just to keep food on simmer or cook with a low flame, even just having a back-up 3rd burner to free up your main camp stove, these stoves will do just fine. Joe
Hey Sam/Joe, thanks for the advise on the 502. So these are simmer stoves or cooking food in a slow fire. I do love the even flame it provides. I will try perhaps to use a mix of coleman fuel and carb cleaner first before considering serious fettling. I read in one post from our friends over the pond that he used kerosene (without changing the jets) and it burned good and hotter than coleman fuel. Then again using kero might speed up gunking the fuel passages in time. On this topic, was there a generator produced for kerosene? I do realize that the fount does get hot (just like the 123's) to the touch and am careful not to caress is as you gentlemen have mentioned. Joe you mentioned the parts are still available. Do you mean on the coleman site itself? Cheers RON
Hi all, Ron nice stove, I'm looking for the 501 marked fount 502 next - I think there are less of them then the 502 marked 502's ? Joe said : "But I must warn you, removing the bottom burner plate from the manifold will be a test of your patience and ingenuity. They have a very nasty habit of seizing up on the threads. The burner plate is cast steel while the manifold is stamped steel, thus lending itself to be easily deformed if you are not careful in removing it." I just have to chuckle and laugh as I have one that I have never been able get off the manifold Joe, I've soaked it in Aero-Kroil, WD-40, for months etc, etc and it still sits today stuck together - too funny Tom
Hi Sam, how do you remove the flame spreader of the stove. I was able to remove the generator but looking at the flame spreader....is it screwed on to the manifold? Am stuck at that part at the moment. If it is screwed on to the manifold, it seems to be stuck. Currently pickling the other parts. Hope to get an early response. RON
Hey Sam, disregard my last post. I was able to remove it (unscrewed) the flame spreader from the manifold. Cleaned it up a bit and assembled it again. Lotsa rust underneath. I will disassemble it again when I have time to paint the metal parts. For now its working well. Note that I saw on a particular site that the kerosene and coleman fuel aperture is the same at .009 Could it be that I can use clean kero on the stove? Ron
To answer my first question - YES I was able to improve the flame when I cleaned the jet, coil, and cleaning rod. I was able to use for the first time the graphite paste and works pretty well as it really seals those threads - no leaks to speak of and I could easily disassemble the parts again.
Hi Ron: Yes, those parts are still available from the Coleman Company. Plus there are a couple of guys who sell parts and/or repair Coleman appliances and will have most of the current, if not all, available parts for sale as well. They might even have a couple of no longer available parts for those very stoves. With the valve turned all the way out, that is full fuel. You use the tip cleaner to adjust the flame down to simmer. This is one of the very few models Coleman designed that allows one to do that. I used to keep my 502 on simmer all day long, keeping our coffee pot nice and hot. When needed, just turn the tip cleaner out for full flame. I guess you might say that it is more of a slow cooker for larger pots. That is an interesting way of putting it. It surely will not compete with a burner of a standard suitcase camp stove in the BTU department but it does the job. Just give it a chance. There was never a kero generator made for this stove. White fuel only. And the tip size, I couldn't tell you. To answer Hydro's question, there were fewer 501 stamped 502s made than all 502 stamped ones. That is correct. And those will be '62 to maybe early '63 vintage being as 501s were produced in 1962. I'm glad you got the flame spreader removed. Shame the factory didn't have the foresight to put anti-seizing compound on the manifold threads. I have had the best luck in removing these by using Aero-Kroil, letting it set a bit then using a torch and quenching, at the same time, using large channel locks to rock the flame spreader back and forth to break it loose. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I always had the manifold clamped in a bench vise while doing the above. Trick is trying to break it loose without crushing the manifold or twisting it. Out of all the 502s I have taken apart and restored (over 20), only 1 I failed to remove the flame spreader ring without destroying the manifold. Luckily, someone on eBay had the whole upper half for sale within a couple of days of me doing that and I jumped on it. If one is pretty handy, one can probably fabricate some sort of spanner with 3 points (steel pins?) that fit into the screw holes of the flame spreader and try and remove it that way while using penetrating oil and heat. Joe
Joe, in fact that is what I did to remove the flame spreader is after removing the plates, I returned the screws and with a flat metal used the screw heads to turn the flame spreader. When I assembled it back, I placed graphite paste to make sure it will not seize up for the next fettle. The two cup tea test took from 10 minutes to a respectable 6 minutes. Ron
If i couldn't see the stove body i'd have sworn this was a movie prop for some sifi flick about plasma drives gone awray. Beautiful blue flame. Can you tell me how much pumping you have done to achieve this flame. On some of my stoves the flames jump away from the burner there is that much pressure. lance
Hi all: Coleman's are certainly not the sexiest stoves around compared to brassies, but when it comes to consistently reliable good blue flame they are hard to beat.(when using proper fuel) Mike... Nice job Ron!!
