Great little stove - probably dates into the late 50's early 60's. Pictures show it out of the (original) box. Love those cast iron burners!
Why do so many suitcase stoves look like they were in a train wreck? That one is especially nice, though.
That is a beauty. I'd like to think they have just seen a lot of good use. I know the one my folks had had a fair amount of scratches, rust, and miles on it -- it got rained on more than a few times. (It was just a common Coleman, but I kick myself for letting it get away.)
Most likly it's because they have been lovingly used for most of their lives. One must remember that here in the States a Coleman 2 or 3 burner was THE stove to have and use. And a lot of them were used while not a few were abused by people who used them every day of their camping trip then put them away. Rarely were these stoves cleaned. The idea of cleaning one's stove while out on the banks of a lake, river, or in the campground just didn't spark great interest. And when the family got home "dad" had to unload the car and put things away so he could go to work the next day. Cleaning up the stove and giving it a good polish to protect the finish was not a top priority for him. I do know of one man who plans his trips so there is one day left in which the family has to wash and clean then put away everything used on the last outing. I gave his stove a going over just to ensure it's continued operation. There was no work for me to perform. The leather was clean and moist the generator was clean like he'd just scrubbed it with a 3M pad, the tank had no rust in or out, the interior of the body of the stove was as clean and sparkly as when first made though the grates and burners showed hard use. i just opened it and promptly closed it and handed it back saying there was nothing for me to do. lance
I don't think I've ever seen one in that color before. Looks like a really nice and clean stove. The Kampkook suitcases are some of my favorite cast iron stoves. Thanks for sharing... sam
Echoing Lance-- I've always cleaned the Coleman in recent years on getting home, but confess to a couple of times in the distant past opening it up for an upcoming campout and seeing the previous year's grease, egg white, gravy, etc-- what was left after a year, that is...
Only reason my 425E isn't AFU is it was bought new 35 years ago for the church where I attended for the youth group (Scouts), and used all of a half-dozen years, and stored in a dry storage for 30 years, undisturbed, cleaned and stowed. Pastor handed it to me for work done on the building, said I may as well take it, not like it'll ever be used here again. The church was dissolved after 125 years and absorbed by other congregations. But I still GOT that stove!!! Murph
