Care of Chickenthief, I now own a Coleman 550b, or at least I will as soon as he receives the swap for it. I have never owned a petrol stove,and indeed have always been rather scared of the idea ( nearly 50 years of paraffin), but I am rather liking the Coleman and indeed thinking of using Aspen 4T in my omnifuel as well. Which leads me to a couple of questions. The first is specifically about carrying Aspen 4T in the car. Is it safe to carry it in the 5 litre container it came in. Bearing in mind it will gradually empty of liquid as the fuel gets used up, and allow vapour to build up. At least I assume it will. A web search talks about approved containers, but it seems to be more about labelling and container colour than anything else. Bear in mind I am in the UK, should there be any legislation around this. Secondly, any words of wisdom about the Coleman 550b that I should know. The sorts of things that you wish someone had told you when you got your first petrol/Coleman 550b stove. Many thanks, Graham
I've carried 5 litre cans of panel wipe (essentially the same thing as Aspen) in my car boot for many years without a problem. Don't expose the can to the hot sun. As far as petrol stoves are concerned, most (including Coleman) are designed to run safely on that fuel and be idiot-proof - it's not good for marketing to incinerate your customers. Most failures are due to user error so simply follow common sense as you would with any inflammable liquid:- Don't fill or empty the tank when there are sources of ignition around. Don't vent the tank when the stove is lit. Allow the stove to cool sufficiently so that it's comfortable to hold before refilling. Check for fuel leaks before lighting and nip-up unions as necessary. Light the stove outside the first time well away from anything flammable and have some means of extinguishing it to hand should something go wrong - damp (not dripping) cloth, sand, a metal bucket, fire blanket, correct fire extinguisher for liquid fuel fires. I wouldn't use a petrol stove indoors or in a tent. Read (and understand) the instructions. Follow them to the letter. Keep your stove well maintained and in a serviceable condition. Follow that lot and you should be OK...
David, Thanks for the comments especially on carrying fuel, it sounds as if I over worrying. I did take more care than usual when lighting it in case it took a turn that I didn't know how to deal with. But it lit really well, 50 pumps, opened the valve and it lit like a butane burner. I was very impressed. Graham
Aspen 4t is a fantastic fuel. I keep mine in the origonal container with no problems. As david said its not the best idea to leave it or any fuel in direct sun light. I wont use any other fuel in my petrol lamps and stoves. Not that im a stovie,i just happen to have a couple, or was it a dozen or two. Anyway i would recommend aspen every time. Nigel
If you are only needing the stove for "the odd brew up" do not carry any spare fuel, fill the tank and use that. Petrol and air in a can is no more flammable than just petrol in a can, the inside of the can will be above the upper explsive limit (UEL) for petrol anyway, as David has said the only time to worry is when you open the can and start to "pour" watch out for vapour build up, try to do it out of doors. If you are unwary about your storage can use a proper "petrol can" plastic or metal.
Ohhhhh..... my 22-250, £200 worth of ammo and a field full of those little @£$€"#¤%. I'd bring a stove for a brew up of course Sorry Sorry
Thanks for the confirmation about just using the original container. And of course the direct sunlight tip. Graham
I wasn't really thinking about a brew up more two weeks worth of camping, when I would need to carry a larger quantity of fuel. But thanks for reinforcing the pouring issue. Graham
But really the 550 is'nt made for "The tears of angels". No preheating tray or nought, at best it is "shotty". Might be just a limb from Coleman?
ahh, welcome to the Coleman side of life. Growin up here on this side of the pond; nothing says camping like the roar and smell of the old Coleman stoves! Plus, it's nice to be able to hit yard sales and find ten plus year old gallon cans of fuel for just a buck or two. The tins may be ugly, dented and even corroded on the outside, but the inside is always nice, shiny and clean. It's amazing how well it keeps....needless to say we've at least ten gallons sittin around .....and around 27 or 30 one pound coleman propane bottles....don't ask
On this side of the pond its the roar of a paraffin primus/optimus that does the same thing. In over 50 years of camping, I have never seen a Colemans stove "in the wild" only occasionally in shops. I suspect that with Colemans fuel coasting more than ten times the price of paraffin, there has been a disincentive to go the Colemans route. Unless you know about Aspen 4t/Panel Wipe,but even they are about three times the price of parffin. However, they seem popular with anglers over here,but I get the impression they burn unleaded rather than a Coleman type fuel. But I very much like my 550b, which it would seem may no longer be available in the UK as its not listed in the Coleman UK web site. Graham
Mind you the price of paraffin just now is getting really silly. I saw it on a shelf the other day, pre packed, 4 litre can, £8.50 Needles to say I didn't buy any.
I saw some the other day, in my local DIY at £6 for 5 litres, which I thought was pretty good. And I have just paid £15 for 5 litres of Aspen 4T Graham
