When it rains, it rains. Stoves that is. This past weekend saw three stoves come my way. One of those was from a Craigslist ad for a used Coleman 425 in "good working condition". When I called the seller I realized it was an elderly guy I'd bought a 1956 vintage Coleman 220 lantern from last year. Anyway, his son had dropped a load of stuff off at his house to sell. The Coleman was part of the load. At first glance it looked pretty good - only minor rust on the top hinges and burner bowl. The pump still pumped and the tank held pressure. It had an 11/74 build date stamped on the bottom. He knocked $5 off the price, we shook hands and the old gal came home with me. At home I flushed out the tank with fresh Coleman gas and fitted a temporary replacement cap with a good seal. Pumped her up, turned the valve, touched a match to the burner and in just a short while was greeted with a nice blue flame. For a stove that hadn't been run in probably 20 years she was doing good! After she cooled down I figured I'd try to clean her up. This is only the second 425 I've worked on so I didn't have much experience in the cleaning department. The stove is dirty with soot and some minor food residue. I had a bottle of Simple Green at hand and decided to try that on a small area. While the Simple Green did a job on the soot and grease, it also did a job on the original paint. I should have known better. Simple Green can be a fairly aggressive solvent on certain types of paint and alloys. After cleaning just a small spot I stopped and tried simple window cleaner (ammonia based) on another spot. While it didn't attack the paint it also didn't do as good a job in removing the crud. So... any recommendations for cleaning an almost 40 year old stove? What's a good cleaner to use to remove soot and grime without attacking the paint? Plain old soap & water? I was thinking of Dawn dishwashing detergent but I wonder if it's going to be strong enough to handle the worst of the grime. Thanks in advance! Brian
I've had good luck with good 'ol soad and water in the kitchen sink. Soap, as in Dawn dishwashing soap. It cuts through the grease without damaging the paint. It doesn't get really, really bad stuff out, but it works on 99% of it. Hope that helps, sam
Second the use of dish soap, Dawn works well. I have cleaned up many Coleman suitcases with just Dawn and water with excellent results. It won't fix rust and some soot is stubborn, but in general you won't hurt any paint that is still really stuck to the metal and it will clean up most stove type spills. Compressed air is handy for drying out those nooks and crannies and blasting out dirt etc. Only gotcha is to be careful with loose bubbled paint and maybe the decals. Good luck, Jim Henderson
Bon Ami cleanser is good on food residue, even the cooked on stuff. For really intransigent dirt, try Barkeeper's Friend. It's been around for over a hundred years and works like crazy. Non abrasive except for the water soluable chemicals in it including oxalic acid. The "aroma" is not the most pleasant. If you have a big enough sink or container a good soak in hot, soapy water will loosen an amazing amount of crud. A toothbrush is good for crooks and nannies. A copper or stainless steel "Chore Girl" pad will scrub even some rust from the grill. Which 425 did you get? They're all good, but I'm eaten up with curiousity. I've got a 1926 two burner Coleman stove that fired up immediately after I refueled it. It still works like a charm with no maintanence but a general cleaning every once in a while and a new fill cap gasket every 50 or 60 years. Coleman stoves are as close to "as rugged as an anvil" as any manufactured item I know of. Craigslist is the greatest. Except for romantic relationships. The online dating site relationships often result with a marriage. Craigslist dating too often results with a shallow grave. Caveat Emtor. Gerry
Gerry, It's a 425E. Here's a shot of it running soon after I got it on my work bench. I cranked the valve wide open to get the second burner lit: To get it running all I did was flush out the tank (there was still some old fuel in it - probably at least 20 years old), oil the pump leather, add new fuel, put on a replacement fuel cap with a good seal, and pump it up. It fired right up and ran just fine. Probably the best $20 I spent all weekend. As far as Craigslist goes, I'm very careful when buying or selling. I NEVER agree to meet at my house when selling something. I always try to meet at the nearby county government office complex where the marshall service has its offices. I also have a son-in-law who's a local police officer and once or twice I've arranged for him to 'causally' drop by while I'm negotiating a sale. Not for intimidation, just to ward off any potential evil spirits. That said, I've bought and sold cars, bikes, canoes, tools and lots of other gear via Craigslist and never had an issue with a buyer or seller. Some have driven hard bargains, but they were OK people. You just need to take proper precautions and be smart about it. Brian
Hi, BWH, Great Coleman, and in good condition, too! Congrats on a fine purchase, and by the way, I like the way you do business! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
