Just got my first Coleman 502 at the recommendations of some on here at CCS. Gonna give it another go today. Last night I put white gas into it to roughly 20% capacity and gave it about 30 pumps, rotated the control valve outward and then cracked the fuel valve open half a turn and gave it a light. She fired up right away. But after what I would consider more than enough time for the stove to be warmed up and running smoothly, the flame would rise and fall noticeably from as low as burning only at the burner ring to as high as flames up to the bottom of the pot. After I pumped the stove another 30 or so pumps it seemed to stabilise more but did not seem to have the same output as, say, my Peak 1 model 400 - 1981 unit. I thought the comparison should be at least close. The 502 does not seem to be throwing out the heat like I feel it should. Could the generator need replacing? Can it be cleaned rather than replaced? I'm pretty good with mechanical stuff. Could the fact that I did not fill the stove with fuel affect the performance? I'm thinking not unless it was running on empty. Thoughts?
I have observed fluctuating performance on stoves when the fuel tank is low. Also, the 502 is hardly a powerhouse. I may be wrong but I thought the output was about 7500 BTUs? If it does not look to be putting out enough heat, you may have a dirty gen tube. Easy to clean or replace.
Pen tube? Not familiar with that term. Please explain/describe the method of cleaning. Thanks Ian....
The heat output of the 502 is at least 10% less then the 400. Sparky's estimate of 7500 BTU compared to 8500 BTU for a 400 Peak 1 seems right. After you pump it up and light it and repump to replace air lost during the lighting process open the main valve all the way. Mine runs good while only 20% full so I don't think that's the problem. As it's already been stated the generator is easy to remove and clean. Usually the only time it needs replacing is when the cleaning needle has been burned down and no longer controls the flame. Ray
You might have a look at the fuel cap. If it is not sealing properly the stove will lose pressure. I have two old 502's ,hahahahha I guess they are all old now, anyway, I replaced the fuel cap gaskets on both as they were no longer able to seal up tight. I also plan to remove the generator for cleaning and i' like to clean up the burner plates too. The way the burner plate screws are situated makes removing the plates impossible without first removing the generator tube so will most likely do a partial fettle to tune her up. This has probably been said before , I really like the 502 for everyday camp cooking as it is super easy to use and is almost bullet proof, although too heavy for back packing I always reach for the 502 when I want to fry rice on the deck.
Hello! I had the same problem with my NOS 502. I am not quite sure if i fixed the problem by changing generator tube, did not get it to boil water but perhaps the change resulted in a boil. The thing is that I worked on it for a while ago and dont remember how it worked out. Think It must have worked since I have not put more effort into fixing it . Here is a link to a thread where I got lots of advices https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/24177/ Gonna test my 502 when I get home, only problem is that I get home in the end of august. Also got a centennial stove and that has higher BTU I think, but it is still not as good looking as the 502. Here are some pictures of my centennial stove and some info about the 502 as well, must remember to take pictures of my 502 also. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/23189/
Sparky, thanks for this. I'm still working out the features of the site. Some slick little items to discover.
Klr650, you're very welcome! Come back with more questions if the search function can't help. Lots of talent on this site!
Ray, I agree with your's and Sparky's summation of the heat output difference between the 400 and the 502. The 400 I have found outperforms the 502 in high output but the 400 I am finding simmers just as well as the 502 giving the 400 a slight advantage. Also I find the 400 is a little more stable because of the wider stance of the feet which provide a larger circumference than the 502, but with that said the burner pot rest on the 502 is larger so more care must be used with the 400 to ensure the pan/pot is centred over the burner. I think if I were going on my motorcycle I would take the 400 because of space as the tank is smaller. In the car or truck I'd take the 502 because of it's larger fuel tank capacity. Yesterday I used the 400 to cook up my supper consisting of beef hamburger patty, onions and mushrooms. Not a thing was scorched or even browned too much. It performed admirably. Today I made my lunch with the 502, consisting of pan fried potatoes which slow fried for more than 20 minutes in the centre of the fry pan. Onions and mushrooms surrounded the potatoes around the outer area of the pan. Again nothing scorched or even browned too much. The potatoes had a wonderful crisp browned surface and were cooked to perfection. Once to that point I poured 3 scrambled eggs over the whole thing and let the egg cook in a quazi moto omelette fashion. Wonderful. I don't see how anyone could go wrong with either of these Coleman models. They are awesome. Now if I could just find a mantle lantern that would "simmer" as well as these units I'd be laughing. Seems the new models are on full with nothing in between and make way too much noise. Far louder than any of my roarer burner type stoves. Any recommendations for a good quality lantern with variable light output that runs on Coleman fuel or kerosene? I don't like the propane or other type cylinder users.
Lanterns? Find a Coleman 220/228 double mantle, in yard sales everywhere. They throttle down nicely (once they're heated up a bit) I've paid as little as $2 for a nice condition 220/228. Heck, I paid only $10 for a 1939 Coleman 220/228, in mint condition!
It's called "Stovie Fever" and is chronic and incurable. Only the symptoms can be treated. Treatment consists of regular and timely acquisition of old liquid fueled stoves, preferable camp stoves but some household stoves do as well. Enjoy your new disease, resistance is futile. Gerry, Stovie Fever sufferer since 2004.
Haha ya no doubt Nord, I must be up close to 30 stoves now but it's the Coleman thing I'm running with now. Started with just the brass jobs like Svea, Optimus and Primus. then I got my first single burner Coleman, it was/is a Peak 1 model 400. The 400 and the 502 are by far the best simmering stoves I have, including the 111T's. I'm wanting to find a good lantern or two that can be throttled down to ease up on the fuel consumption like when I want to leave a lantern on when I leave camp for a half hour or something and want to be able to see when returning to camp without having to fumble for matches etc. in the dark but it does not have to be running on high just to do that. Would be nice to find one that purrs at low speed and low light levels. I've had a couple that if I tried to turn them down in brightness they could not sustain that level of low light as the lantern would on it's own continue to slowly slowly get dimmer and dimmer. So I'm looking at those 220s and 228s that Baja recommended. Has anyone ever made a good pocket-sized lantern?
Over the 400, I'll take the 502, myself. The 502 holds more fuel, low to the ground, with nice sized pot supports, and the burner bowl is near completely wind resistant. Heat output is lower than the 400, but still enough to keep hot meals coming to the table. With a good preheat, you can run 'em on kero, or on a mix without preheat. AS to servicability, I have no doubt I could pull the genny and do a field strip and replace in the dark, let alone blindfolded, not like it's bleepin' likely to happen. Murph
The double mantle lanterns will put out enough heat to keep the generator hot, even at low throttle. However, there will be consideral "pulsing" of the light... You might consider also one of the single mantle jobs, like the Coleman 200 (coleman fuel), or one of the rare and elusive Coleman 201's (Kerosene), and run them wide open... You can also get frosted glass for most lanterns.
The single mantle 286-CL1 is adjustable no problem. At "low" it will still give you a nice guiding light to find your campsite in the dark. Add a Coleman (or Coghlan's) sparker and you can keep your matches in your pocket! Best regards, Wim
Remember with the 502 there are 2 components to good fuel delivery. The generator is obvious and should definitely be cleaned or replaced first. The other component is the fuel pick up inside. It has a very small orifice that over the years gets gunked up with the residuals from old fuel. If the bottom hole in the fuel air tube is partly occluded the stove will never make proper heat because it delivers less fuel. If after you have done the generator service, and you feel it still isn't right, pull the valve out of the fount, disassemble and clean with carb cleaner. Then re-assemble and good to go. There are good instructions for this on the web. A normally functioning 502 should simmer significantly better than a 400, it's also easier to light, the pump works better because of a longer stroke, much better wind protection, and much nicer to use generally in practice. It's always my go-to morning coffee stove when camping. One last thing-when properly serviced, they should start at 1/8 turn, don't go above 1/4 turn until the generator is hot. Then it runs wide open with the simmer adjusted by the cleaner mechanism. Drew
Baja, I have a late 70's early 80's 321B coleman single mantle lantern that runs well but it is on full the whole time it operates which is what I dislike about the lantern. Oftentimes in the evening and it is pitch black outside, the lantern is too bright and destroys a person's night vision. During those evenings it would be really nice to be able to run the lantern at a dull roar rather than balls to the wall. Is there a single mantle lantern that will do that? Can the 200 be throttled down? Or do you have to run it on full like my 321? I have bought one each of the 220 and 228 from ebay in very nice condition so I will give them a go once they arrive. I also wanted to know if there are backpacking-sized gas lanterns out there? Something like a 400 stove size? Or perhaps a small kerosene wick type? I have a Candoil that is pretty cool and I like it a lot but just wondering about the gas versions. I have been through the reference library and not found anything like it size-wise in a lantern. Drew, I have been using both the 502 and 400 a lot lately and I'm finding the symptoms of the 502 to be vanishing - it seems to run better all the time. As for lighting I don't find either difficult to light but the 400 does take longer to stabilize to a nice blue flame. Maybe that's what you were referring to? Although the 502 can be turned down lower than the 400. my 400 simmers beautifully. I can't see a need to ever need anything better but that just means I have not yet discovered the need for something better for my purposes. I totally agree with you that the length of the pump and the larger font of the 502 is a bonus. But size-wise, the 400 is smaller and has a wider stance once the legs are opened and in use than the 502. I'd take the 400 with me on the motorbike and take the 502 with me car/truck camping. Both are excellent items.
