OK, I'll be the one to ask. What the heck is that, what does it burn, when was it made, etc and more etc......?? thanks, Piper
Hi Piper; ..sorry, I'm brand new to the forum and couldn't properly edit my first gallery upload. These photos are of my Coleman 457G Handy Gas Plant that I recently finished restoring with some assistance from Richard Wolfenden out in California. The unit is fully functional but I've decided not to light it up after restoring it. To answer your question about the unit {courtesy of Terry Marsh's website}.. Coleman made larger heating units in the 40's and 50's called Handy Gas Plants. They were used in such places as dairies, farms, and workshops. I've heard that these units may have been used to sterilize milk cans and possibly used under metal feeding troughs to warm the food for the cattle. The Handy Gas Plants require an external hand pump and have pressure gauges. The fuel tank cap has a check valve built into it. To pressurize the unit, you would put the nipple end of the hand pump tight against the opening on fuel cap and pump it up. This 457G unit has an output of 35,000 BTU. It runs on Coleman fuel but I think it might run on gasoline as well. In the process of restoring the unit, I did use a reproduction decal and I also replaced the original pressure gauge with a modern equivalent. ..glad you enjoyed the photos. -Dustin
Pretty.................dang...................nice Dustin. I've been wanting to get one of those too. Duane
Nice restoration Dustin. Looks like a serious bit of kit. I doubt if there are any this side of the pond. Is that Rio Rancho near Albuquerque, NM? My wife and I really enjoyed the ABQ Natural History Museum and the ABQ Planetarium is the best I've ever been to. Regards, Terry
Blimey John, I didn't realise it was that big!!! I knew that as soon as I said "I doubt if there are any this side of the pond", I was setting myself up for a fall . Terry
Hi Terry; That's correct.. I'm in Rio Rancho, NM which is just northwest of the city of Albuquerque. I've been here about 12 years - originally from Washington State, just outside of Yakima. It sounds like you enjoyed your visit to Albuquerque - hope you got to try some authentic 'New Mexican' style food during your visit. I started collecting some vintage Coleman stuff about 4 or 5 years ago. My current restoration project is a Coleman 381 Handy Hot Plate. I'm about 40% done - making some headway on it. -Dustin
I had one, though not nearly as nice They surely do crank the heat. I ran mine on unleaded gas simply because of the expense of even part filling that cavernous tank with Coleman. I guy I got it from claimed it had been part of a travelling side show, the guy I sold it to was in Australia and wanted it bad enough to pick up postage. Hope you use it!
