I assume it's a Coleman and that it was meant to run on kerosene. It has an old brass tank with a pump on one end, a couple adjustment knobs, and two burners. It was my grandpa's and I would like to get it serviceable again. Do you guys know what model it is, any way I can find instructions, and any tips one servicing this old timer?
Welcome to the site. Your stove is not a Coleman, it's a Preway (Prentice-Wabers). This one looks like yours to me, albeit, in original paint. https://classiccampstoves.com/posts/201020 Your stove runs on Coleman fuel (aka naphtha, camping fuel, white gas). It won't work with kerosene. Here are some instructions for it's use: https://classiccampstoves.com/posts/166946
You are welcome. If you should find the time to take a couple of pictures of it burning when you have it up and running, I know that I'd enjoy seeing them posted here. Folks at the site generally enjoy seeing pictures of things that have flame as you might well imagine.
Hi, Gary, a buddy found a stove in a thrift shop quite a few years ago that looks very much like this one, except the burners and manifold were cast iron. I don't recall now but the cooking grate might have also been cast. Any identifying markings were long gone. Sadly, I think he gave it away in a fit of garage cleaning. It only took a rinse of the tank and fresh fuel, some oil on the pump, a borrowed Coleman cap with a good gasket, and enough burn time to give some resident spiders hot feet to have it going well enough to fix lunch the day he found it! We never found much info on it, but kind of settled on it probably being a Preway, perhaps dating back to the late '30s or early '40s. Does that sound like any of them you're familiar with? Thanks! Rick C
Hi Rick C I have to modestly confess that I am not a walking encyclopedia of info about Prentice-Wabers (Preway) stoves. I have 4 or 5 here in my collection that mostly collect dust and rarely see use. But, I did recognize the burner and case style of Jakeemt's stove as being from that manufacturer. The rest of my identification was just browsing the Stove Reference Gallery HERE until I found what looked to me like the beastie in question. Same thing on the manual by checking the Stove Reference Library under "INSTRUCTIONS". I have a vague recollection that some P-W/Preway stoves were remarketed under department store chain labels such as Montgomery Wards. ??? Maybe someone more familiar with the manufacturer could chime in on the veracity of this. Prentice-Wabers did use cast iron manifolds for many years, so your remembered stove could be a P-W or Preway I would guess. Maybe you could have a look through the Gallery and see if any of the photos look like the stove that you remember. Cheers, Gary
Hi, Gary and Ken, thanks for the comments and direction: I went and looked, and RonPH had posted a picture of what is probably most likely my buddy's stove here: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/19268 Biggest difference being Ron's has paint and a name plate--the one my buddy came up with was pretty evenly rusted, and if it DID have a plate, it was unreadable. Who knows how long it had sat... I wish I had pictures to share, but sadly not. However, it can be reported that it burned quite nicely just like in Ron's picture, though. Since his is much newer and appears to be in pretty good shape, I'll just wait for the OP to share his burn pics! Rick C
