Hello people! I am brand new to your forum, and very glad I found it. I have had some old camping gear since I was a scout and have used it periodically since then, including my ever trusty Coleman 425B. Unfortunately I have not used it for about 5 years. My girlfriend and I are planning our first camping trip this weekend, and I figured I better test out the gear. I went to fire the stove up today and the attachment point between the tank and stove would catch on fire (obviously leaking right?), while the right burner would get some flame but the left burner would not light. Since the attachment point was on fire and I didn't want to blow myself up, I quickly shut it off and started searching for some tips online... and now I'm here. I imagine there is some gunk or build-up in that connector that is causing the flame, and also reducing the pressure to the left burner. I would assume I need to open it up and clean it out... but as to how to do that the correct way, I'm not sure. I'm trying to leave town on Friday and would love to get this thing burning correctly by then. Any ideas? Thanks a lot! ~ Joe
Welcome, Someone more qualified than me will be around soon to help but -- My first thought is the cleaner lever is pointed up instead of down therefore the little guitar string sized wire is blocking the flow to the burners. It should be pointed downward. Second thought that something crawled in and died (spider/web) in the burners' line. Blow it out with compressed air or the best you can do at home. The left burner requires you to twist the turnbuckle handle on the left side of the stove to open the line. You can take the tank off, pump it up and see if it squirts a steady stream of fuel out into the yard. If so, that part is not the problem. It will take a few minutes for the right burner flame to go from orange to strong blue. Then it is time to open and light the left burner. If all else fails use this -- tuna can oil lamp On second thought, maybe not the first camping trip memory you want to lead with!
Hi All: Ted for not believing yourself qualified you have come up with some excellent ideas. I would ad make sure carry handle is up or down (depending on stove model) when tank is attached so tank tabs fit flush against stove body allowing generator tip to protrude as far as possible into manifold. Mike...
I would add that blowing air alone will often not dislodge spider webs, it needs a pipe cleaner run thru it... Spidey webs is tough stuff!
I agree with Baja that you do need a pipe cleaner to remove the dead residents and cobwebs inside the tube. Ron
I have a 425F ?? that I picked up used. It had an odd problem similar to yours. When I removed the main burner rings(easy, one big flat-tip screwdriver) I found a wasp nest and spider webs in the burner tubes. Once cleaned out the main burner achieved full intensity, the secondary burner fired properly and no signs of impending flaming death from the vaporizer tip. As a tip, it may not be a bad idea to cork the burner is you store it in the shed or garage. Hope this helps, AR
I'm having the same problem, I think. I don't know much at all about camp stoves, but I just bought a used one (coleman propane, older style), and I just tested it, and I only had flame coming from underneath. I too, am camping on Friday, and I'm kicking myself for not testing this sooner, but I only just got a hose for the propane tank.
Joe, Sounds like you may have more than one problem. The flame at the tank connection (if that is where it is, I could not quite tell from your discription) is pretty common and can often be fixed by just slightly tightening the nut at the valve, not too much. This will compress the valve packing material. Eventually, after many tightenings, this may no longer work but I don't think you are there yet.
I just finished taking it all apart, and cleaned it out with a pipe cleaner - you were right, both burners were blocked with little moth webs. Thank you so much for saving my camping trip.
Another familly camping trip saved looks like this Friday is a good weekend to go camping, good work everybody...
Free entrance into the National Parks in the States this coming weekend, I have Lassen Volcanic National Park an hour from me. I'll be staying home as I just got back from vacation last week, so enjoy if visiting the Parks.
Itchy, this is exactly the problem... or one of them hehe. There is a flame coming from and enveloping the connection point between the tank and the stove. I will certainly try tightening the nut that is there. Thank so much for the response! Ted, thanks for the great ideas on cleaning out the stove! You certainly seem qualified to me! I will be following your advice later today and see what happens. Thanks AR I'll disassemble the burners too and clean them out! I'm glad to here it might keep the impending flaming death from the vaporizor tip. Thanks for the info! I didn't know this was happening... now I'm reconsidering the whole trip haha! I don't like camping with a bunch of people around me... old backpacker habit. I camp for seclusion, even though thats pretty hard to find in California during the summer. And thank you very much to everyone else who posted their thoughts and ideas about these issues! I really appreciate all the advice! I really never expected this kind of response from here! Now I hope all you guys can get on my motorcycle forum and give me some good advice too. haha Thanks again, and I'll make sure to post a follow up when after I get a chance to clean it! ~Joe
Don't forget that we love pictures. Have a camera(digital) about when you do the disassemble. You never know what you may find. If for no other reason than to see were all those important parts go as you put it back together. AR
Hello everyone! Great work all. One thing though. The lighting lever has nothing to do with the cleaning needle on these. It is just to add air from the top of the tank to the fuel to atomize it for better lighting. The cleaning needle is actuated when the fuel valve is closed. I generally open and close it a couple times before pressurizing and again after it's burning good and blue(with lighter at the ready). If it's an older one, the burners unscrew from the connecting tube for easier cleaning. Corking the inlet wont do much good unless you stuff a rag or such in under the mixing box where the gas vapor blowing by picks up air. This is where the little mud daubers love to nest. A bit of screen here helps keep them out also. I cook on my Colemans and others (currently a 426b 3 burner monster on a hi stand next to my gas grill) instead of using the inside stove to reduce my A/C load.(ok, I'm BUSTED! Really I just like to use them and it's a great way to rotate them and keep them in working order. Stoves should be used, not stored, right?) No kitchen gas stove I've ever used can come close to the heat output of the main burner on this or my 413s. Enough of my rambling. Happy camping. Mike
toonsgt, Well there ya go! I learned something new. I should have already known that the "light" lever was simply that but I've been hung up on cleaner needles lately so that's where my mind took me! Anyway, it's been awhile since I've opened a suitcase stove. Thanks for correcting the misinformation.
Joe, Yeah, these posters span the globe so chances are someone is an the keyboard any hour of the day.
No sweat. That lever looks identical to the cleaning needles on the old single burners, so it's a logical assumption. Cleaning needles have given me more trouble over the years than anything else. Mostly on the WWII models where they snap off flush in the eccentric block(arrgggh!) I still have a couple in the bin waiting for me to grow some more patience. Unfortunately, nothing's growing well right now with all the heat lately. Been over 100F for a while now. Ha! So I'll get back to them in the fall. Mike
I just purchased a Coleman 425B stove from Goodwill and am having similar problems. I saw in your post the "tank test". I am not able to get any fuel to come through the tank stem that leads to the stove. What's the fix? New part? Remove all fuel from tank, take apart and clean?
Mmmm You can disasemble the Generator. Remove it from the valve, be sure to put a wrench on the valve to prevent twisting. or put the flats on the valve in a vice. Pull out the rod from the genny. Whats left is a tube with a spring inside, encrusted with carbon. The easiest way I've found to remove the spring is to use a heavy duty paper clip. Straighten it out, then using needlenose pliers, put a 90 degree bend at one end, about 3/16th inches long. Now screw it into the tube a bit and the spring usually will pull out. The remaining carbon can be burned out over a stove. A bit of compressed air while hot will clean it out in a jif! Do this OUTSIDE