Hi all, I am new here, excellent forum, but I need a hand with my Coleman 502 stove, I got it in a fleamarket, is in good shape, but I can't get it to start. I follow the instructions, put white gasoline, pump 40 times, close the 1/4 the valve, the little red thing in direction to me. .... when I open the valve I can't hear the "gas", other rare thing is the pump, I can't close it. I don´t know if it has a problem or need to pushing stronger.... When I put the stove headlong, in the cap, start to drip... I fix it (provisional) with a piece of plastic bag.....
Firstly, I'd replace the fill cap gasket. I've been known to use o-rings from the auto parts store in a pinch, or you can order a new one from oldcolemanparts.com. The old gasket can be burned with a torch (well away from the stove, obviously) and then picked out with a small screwdriver. Alternately you can buy a whole new cap from Coleman. If it leaks fumes, they can catch on fire. Keep your eyebrows! On to the pump! I'm not sure what you mean when you say you can't close it, do you mean it leaks pressure? My best guess is that it's not pressurizing at all. Does the pump offer any resistance at all? As you pump more and more it should get harder and harder to pump. If it doesn't, you may need to service the pump. Edit: Also, you have to unscrew the pump shaft a bit to open the valve in the bottom of the pump tube to let air into the tank, the close it when you're done pumping, and you have to hold your thumb over the hole in the end of the knob.
Hello, Nismo, and welcome to CCS! The 502 is an indestructible stove. We'll try to help you get it going. Let's start with the pump. Coleman pumps have a safety valve, which you open by unscrewing. My simple instructions for Coleman pumps: 1. Turn the pump knob 1 - 2 turns to the left (counter clockwise). This unlocks the safety valve, allowing air to go through the NRV into the tank. 2. With your thumb sealing the hole in the pump knob, pump as required. 3. Turn the pump knob to the right until it stops to close the safety valve. Push the pump knob back in with your finger away from the hole. Occasionally drip a little machine oil through the hole in the pump cover. This will oil the leather cup and the NRV. If after you turn the knob to the left the pump still does not go in, your NRV is stuck. Remove the pump shaft, pour some penetrating oil or WD40 into the pump and let sit for the night - it might release the stuck NRV. Next, I suspect that your tank cap seal is dry and needs replacing. You can find new seals on eBay. Yonadav
Start with the pump. You should be able to turn in clockwise until it will not turn any more, then turn it anticlockwise a couple of turns. This is locking and unlocking the check valve at the bottom of the pump. With the check valve closed (clockwise all the way) pull out the pump, put your thumb over the hole in the end and push down. You should feel the pressure build and stay in the pump, because the check valve is locked. If you do not get pressure, the seal of your pump needs attention. Wet it with oil first. If this does not fix it then the leather is probably torn and will need to be replaced. If you have pump pressure, open the check valve (anticlockwise two turns) and pump some pressure into the tank with the wheel valve closed. Lock the check valve after pumping (clockwise till it stops). The tank should hold the pressure and you should be able to leave it for a minute then open the filler cap and hear it hissing out. If there is no pressure in the tank then the filler cap seal is probably decayed. You can replace this with a new filler cap from modern Coleman lanterns (choose the brass colour if possible, the green one may not be a good colour match) Once you have pressure going into the tank and staying there, try testing the check valve. Open the check valve (anticlockwise) and keep your thumb pressed over the hole in the end of the pump. If the tank pressure is leaking back through the check valve you will feel the pump push back against your thumb. A slighty leaky check valve is not a big problem, just pump up and lock the valve quickly. They can often be fixed with solvents, see other threads for more on this subject. With all of this healthy and up to pressure, try opening the wheel valve 1/4 of a turn. There should be a hiss of air, soon followed by a splutter of fuel and air. If this does not happen we can take it from there by looking at the fuel-air pickup tube.....
thank´s for the advices, here a video of what i mean with the pump and the "i can´t close it", about the cap, yes maybe the next weekend i will buy a replacement but maybe it will not the only problem to get work this "502" :-( i will go to camp in December to Boca de Iguanas and Sayulita, i will need a stove, maybe for the issues i´ll buy a coleman 533 dual fuel, here in Mexico is little difficult get items for camping, in special this kind of stoves :-( LINK OF THE VIDEO: http://www.sendspace.com/file/zfdkz1
Hi nismo, welcome to the forum. Sorry, I couldnt pull the video. If the stove has had auto gas used in it insted of Coleman fuel the generator might be gunked up and not allowing air and fuel through it. You might need to remove the generator and do a clean on it. I found a post where one of our members (presscall) did a full tear down on a 502. (But it will show you how to get at the generator). https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/13152
First - check what pressure be on the tank Unscrew the pump and pump it pump =) 50 times is ok - After it open valve for 1/4 - if stove made Shhhhshhhh shhhh shhhh - all be ok. In 50 pumps it must shhhhh at 3-5 minutes.If you pump it 50 times and stove do Shhhh 1 minutes - check the pump - on some coleman leather on pump be turned on other side and pump not release full pressure on pumping. put some mashinery oil to pump - it may help you get good pressure - and turn leather on other not worsed side. Good pressure - thats all what you need on Coleman stoves. IMHO.
OK, I looked at your video. My conclusions: 1. Your pump leather cup is bad or totally missing. Replace it. (You have to remove the little wire clip, and then pull off the metallic pump cover. After that, the pump rod comes out.) 2. The pump rod goes in as much as it should. It cannot go in any further. 3. Your pump valve is closed. Turn the knob harder to the left, to open it 2 full turns. (This is going to help you only after you get a good leather cup installed.) Yonadav
Thank´s again to all, here is the video in vimeo, more easy to watch PROBLEM WITH 502 If the pump is closed, it couldn't inject air? Why the cap of the pump can't be turned in any direction?
From watching your video it seems that you are not using enough force. Grab the pump hard with your fingers and use power to open it! It may be a good idea to pour some WD40 (or any kind of penetrating oil) down the pump and let it sit for a while. Of course it cannot. That's why it is closed! However, your pump cannot do anything (except make noise) before you install a good leather cup. Yonadav
thank´s yonadav, yes maybe i need power to turned the cap of the pump but, i have little fear to broke the pump if i turned in wrong direction, i don´t know if is totally close or opened.... do u have a picture where u show in what position is the cap of this model of stove when it is opened or closed? please i buy today an oil like the wd40, is from TRUPER... and maybe this wekend i´m gonna buy the 533 dual fuel stove new in a plase dedicate to outdoor, maybe there will sell spare part for my old 502, at least a new cap for the fuel. regards...
The pump valve cannot be "totally open". If you turn it to the left all the way, the valve simply comes out. Just turn it left. You can order a tank cap seal (or a new cap) and a pump leather cup from "Old Coleman Parts": http://www.oldcolemanparts.com/home.php or from Coleman: http://www.coleman.com/Parts/240/coleman-fuel/502-700/1-burner-sportster-gas-stove You can buy the best leather cups from member Sefaudi: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-COLEMAN-L...850?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item4156c4abca http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fuel-Filler...730?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d65b861a
Looking at your video, I can see the pump is faulty. It may just need the leather pump cup oiled. Remove the wire clip from the pump sleeve and take the pump rod off the air valve shaft. The air valve shaft is square to fit inside the pump rod. With the pump rod out of the barrel, you can tell what will need to be done. The air valve is simply jammed and needs to be broken free. You will need pliers and some foul language. Allow the oil to work overnight, then take a pair of pliers padded with some cloth, grab the knurled button, call it some dirty names, then back it off two or three turns. Don't worry, it is very difficult to break. You don't have any real tough problems, just a pile of little ones. Is there a hardware or sporting goods store nearby where you can buy a pump rebuild kit if it's necessary? Good luck, Gerry
Hi Nismo. Got your PT and took up the challenge of a picture tutorial. Hope these help. First, getting the pump out Like Gerry said, the leather pump cup has to be good and well oiled. The one in the 502 in the pictures is in good shape. If it wasn't you'd need to pop the spring clip holding the cup on the pump rod and swap it for a spare All that stuff about 'open' by twisting the pump knob anti-clockwise (anti-horario) and 'close' by twisting it clockwise (las agujas del reloj) refers to the locking and unlocking of the non-return valve at the base of the pump tube The valve has to be unlocked to let the air in when pumping (otherwise air can't be pumped in) and locked as a safety measure to stop the air/petrol vapour coming back out when the stove's lit in the exceptional case of the valve failing. Without that brilliant Coleman fail-safe of the locking valve arrangement there'd be a fireball, so bravo to Mr Coleman for creating that safety feature for his products all those years ago. In these photos I've removed the the valve locking shaft and non-return valve just to show you how those components work. They just do what they're meant to do without any need to remove them ordinarily Surprising how the need to keep a finger over the hole in the pump cap to stand any chance of pressurising the tank is so often overlooked John
In my previous post I said, Must add, Nismo, that there probably wouldn't be a fireball even then. The Coleman has yet another fail-safe device of a chamber in which the non-return valve sits that's closed to the fuel in the tank but has a small-bore pipe with its inlet well above the fuel level and in the airspace at the top of the tank. So, if the non-return valve failed and if the locking shaft wasn't screwed in to lock, fuel vapour and air would emerge out of the pump. Some might well ignite with a bit of a 'pop' but it wouldn't be lethal and the tank would quickly depressurise - crisis over. John
Hi John, That's useful for me as well, not really being a Coleman collector but having a couple that I've never really worked on. I've got a lantern I'd like to get up and running and knowing the detasil of the pumping arrangement is a really good start! Cheers, Graham.
Thank´s Prescall and all in this great forum, today i just get a big advance about my problem (multiple). i open the pump following the tuto of prescall, the plastic in the final of the pump is in good shape (30 year old more or less, more than me -_-) this is a good news because this kind of spare part is so difficult finding here in Mexico, the only way is EBAY... the inyector is in good shape too. But, why could´t turn the cap of the pump? was because was stuck, yes, only i punt little more of oil and turned with "tweezers", power and "wua la" , now i can open or close the pump. after, i try to ignite my 502, once again, i add a piece of a plastic bag in the cap of kerosene to prevent possible leakage, add kerosene, OPEN THE CAP PUM¡¡¡¡(maybe after 30years) and inyect air other problem... the cap, the cap can´t hold the pressure, i can listening the air escaping trught the cap, 2 things: get a new cap (very difficult here) OR replace the plastic ring, maybe the second choice will be the most viable for me. next test when i get the new plastic ring will be try to ignite once again the 502 to prove the generator, but, if the generator is covered or stuck (i dont know the exactly word), can i clean the generator? here some pictures of the description: PD: sorry for my bad english
You said 'kerosene' Nismo! Though a 502 can be fuelled on kero it takes a bit of coaxing (priming) to get it to light and the stove's really intended to be fuelled by white gas (Coleman fuel). Don't rely on a bit of plastic bag to seal that cap when you're ready to fire it up! An 'O' ring of the right size would work fine, but I'd get rid of the existing seal first. Some just burn it out using a blowlamp and that's fine for an antique, unpainted, Coleman fuel cap. If you want to keep the painted finish (I would) pick the seal out using a pointed tool. Then a close-fitting O-ring needs to replace it. Your English is muy bueno - far, far better than my Spanish I'm ashamed to admit. John
