Got this in yesterday and it was today's project. I didn't see this model anywhere, so thought I'd add it. I know someone was putting together a P/W list, so I hope this helps. I don't know what year this was made. The Tank was a mess. Huge gobs of solder from a previous unsuccessful repair attempt. Heated it up, got the end cap off, cleaned it up and resoldered it. Had to braze the support bracket on the bottom as well. Cleaned the generator and burners. These were very well built units. After the burner cleaning, I decided to try something different. I used spray graphite on it, and am so far very pleased with it. It's a very volatile spray that dries very quickly. Looks pretty good too. Not sure how it will hold up, but we'll see. No cuppa tonight. Sorry. Mike
Nice one! We know it is post 1920. Previous to 1920 the town of Wisconsin Rapids was know as "Grand Rapids Wisconsin" on PW Stoves. Edit- that is a SUPER clean looking specimen!!!!
I just hit the case with some 409(spray cleaner) and a rag. Gave the tank a vinegar bath while it was apart and hit it with some fine steel wool under running water afterward. The generator(brass) was solidly packed with carbon and even several heat/quench cycles and heat/compressed air didn't clear it. I got hold of the spring coil and just yanked it out along with about a pound of carbon. Had an old coil from a Coleman 425 that fit perfectly. The cast iron grate is as found, haven't messed with it and may not. Unfortunately, the seller did a horrible job packing it(1 layer of bubble wrap under brown paper) and one of the retainer tabs on the bottom of the cast broke off en route. A testament to how solid this thing is. It's very heavy too. I'll braze that tab if I paint the case, but don't want to burn the existing paint as it's in pretty good condition for its age. The pump works beautifully too. So I'm happy with it. Mike
Hey, Sarge, Outstanding stove, and an outstanding job of getting it back up and running, Sir!! Well done, all around! I, too, like the early PW stoves, and think they are VERY underrated. Small, heavy duty, and very fine cookers: what's not to like about them?!! Again, well done, Mike!! 8) Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Yes, it is very nice. I need to get motivated and work on mine some more, they don't look as nice as yours, but the #4 has a pressure gauge that works. I think I need to get a gun barrel brush for my #4 to clean the generator tube.
Thanks for the kind comments and info. The valve on these is a bit odd to me. The spindle just threads right through the packing. Unless I'm missing something, that is. Here are some before pics. I wish I'd taken some pics of the tank in detail before I worked on it. It had about an eight inch of solder gobbed on the bottom half of the end cap joint. Looked like a solder bird crapped on it for a week. And it still leaked. Good to go now though. Is there a good way to remove the solder tinning that remains from that debacle? Mike
Hi Sergeant, The best way to remove solder "tinning" is to use a mild abrasive, wet and dry, paper such as #600 or finer. The tinned layer should be very thin, so material loss is minimal. Best Regards, Krophile.
Thanks Kerophile, I have some of that and some 1000 and finer wet/dry. I did a pretty decent job of wiping it with my leather glove while it was hot so it shouldn't take too long. It's thin enough that you can't detect it by feel. The inside of the tank was immaculate after the vinegar bath. Just some varnish deposits from old gasoline that wiped right off. The original solder line was only about 1/16 into the joint, so I see why it was leaking. Mike
Hi everyone. I am new here and just came upon a stove like the one shown here in this thread. It needs some cleaning and I don't have any idea if the stove operates or not. Apparently the legs are missing, based on the pictures here. Can anyone give an idea as to the age of the stoves....when they were made? And value-wise, what are they worth? I'll thank you in advance for any help you can offer.
Finding the age of a given stove is dicey. One way is old magazine and newspaper ads. Some stoves are marked, Coleman, for instanced dated many of their stoves. Many of the Coleman suitcase stoves have dates on the tank tab nearest the valve. For others there are coded dates sometimes and as styles changed other manufacturers changed along with them giving an idea of age. Someone here may know about this particular stove, that's another way to date one, when a relative bought it new. As to value, it is whatever one can get from a willing buyer. This site is particularly uninterested in value. We love our stoves for what they are, not what they may be worth, sorry. Gerry
