Hi everyone, I'm having some trouble with my Coleman Feather 442. I replaced the pump cups, and the maintenance kit came with a new generator, so I thought, 'Why not replace that as well?'. Now when I pump the stove and turn it on I can hear the gas, but it won't light. I had a look at everything and was wondering if the gap between the generator and stove should be there (see pic) or whether there is some other problem. Thanks!
Welcome Damocles, well, your picture is not clear enough to provide you with an answer. Do you have the manual with you? It would have been best to fire up the stove on the old generator to see first if it lights up. Follow the instructions on the manual on how to light it up and use the recommended fuel which is coleman fuel (which is different from kerosene). Someone more knowledgeable on the stove may come along and give you some advice. Ron
It used to go on the old generator (when the pump cup was still ok). But of course after fitting the new generator I threw the other one away! The manual is only 2 pages and only shows an exploded view.
I saw your question so I got out the Feather 442 that I used this week and looked at the same angle that your photo shows. My generator shows the same gap and it worked perfectly last two camping trips. I think that can be eliminated as the problem. When you hear the gas do you hear a steady hissing or do you hear the irregular "spitting" sound? The spitting sound indicates fuel is flowing and on mine it starts as soon as I turn the fuel lever on. If there is a steady hissing (air only) then no fuel is getting to the burner. If no fuel the first thing I would suspect would be the new generator (presuming the stove worked well before the replacement) Take another listen and let us know what it sounds like to you and I am sure you will have lots of good help here.
I tried it a couple of times. I definitely smell gas. Sometimes there is the spitting sound, and sometimes that only lasts a few seconds before being just an air noise.
Intermittent gas flow would make me suspect that there could be a problem where the fuel is being picked up inside the tank. Try agitating the tank vigorously while the valve is on. Sometimes that can loosen an obstruction inside the tank. If that affects the gas flow then it might be worth draining the tank, rinsing with fresh fuel, draining again, and giving it another try with a fill up. Anyone else have a thought?
Welcome Damocles and Robert H to the site!!! Strange You are getting air but no fuel. Is the cleaning needle moving in and out of the jet while turning the control valve? It could be the fuel pickup being clogged. I have never been a fan of this later design Coleman came up with. You can remove it fairly easily to check it out. Check out this post Cheers, Jeff
Gave it a wash out with some fuel, then pumped it up, turned it on and kept tapping the bottom of the stove. Took a few goes with the tapping but it was obviously some gunk because each time the flame would get a bit bigger. Once it turned on properly the flame was green and spluttery for a bit, then back to normal (actually a bit better than my previous definition of normal)
Ah excellent!!! I hope the stove serves you well. A lot of people love the Coleman 442 and its older slightly better sister the 400. Jeff
Great news! That sounded like so much fun now I want to find a non working stove in my collection to get ready for next week's camping trip!
