To start with... Can someone describe exactly how the fuel tank with the Air Screw works? I know you open the Air Screw to pump the tank pressure up but what exactly is going on inside the tank? Thanks, Will
Hi Flintstone, Welcome to CCS. Which Coleman number 1 do you have? What condition is it in? Pictures would help us to help you. Regards John
I think you leave the air screw closed to pump up the tank. Here is Post of a refurbished one. https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/old-faithfull-refurbished-coleman-1-1923.19430/
Yes I have a Model #1 with the detachable oven panels in unrestored condition. Photo 1 - Brass Tag Front Photo 2 - Brass Tag Rivets Back
Hi, Flintstone, I really appreciate you posting you question on CCS! The air screw on the earliest #1 stove, was, indeed, an NRV. Small, yes, but a very workable NRV. I'm away from my computer right now, but will talk more about this when I get back. Welcome to CCS! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Evening, Will, Just back from down the mountain. Thanks, again, for posting your question here, so that everyone can participate, if they wish to, and everyone can see our discussion, and hopefully, can get their own questions answered from it. As I typed on my cell phone, yes, the small air screw is the NRV of this stove. In function, you make sure it's closed, then fill your tank with the proper amount of Coleman Fuel. Then, here's a small experiment: Try to pump air into your fuel tank with the air screw closed. Did it work? Nope. Just like the NRV's on later Coleman stoves, if the air screw/NRV is closed, you cannot pump air into the fuel tank. Now, open the air screw a few turns, and begin pumping pressure into your fuel tank. Keep pumping until you have enough pressure in the tank, and that is determined by how much fuel you put into it, and how much back-pressure you begin to build up whilst pumping. Once you do it a few times, you'll quickly learn when to stop, and when to keep pumping. When you are happy with your tank pressure, push in your pump rod all the way, and hold it there. With the pump being firmly held in place, close the air screw, and VOILA, you are ready to light the stove!! Make sense? Again, give it a try, and all will be made clear. Once the NRV/air screw were incorporated into what we all know and love today, Coleman discontinued the air screw on the original #1, as it was then superfluous, as the NRV did both jobs, just as it does today. How about more photos of your old #1, including the burners, and their caps, the fuel tank, regulating key, oven, simmering plate, and if you have it, oven rack? We love seeing that sort of stuff, and everyone will appreciate your sharing here! What are your plans for your old Coleman? Are you going to refurbish it and use it? Sell it? Or, what? Again, that stuff is right up our alley, so please share your plans, and we'll all be happy about that. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask. One more thing, I learned most of what I now know about the early Coleman Model #1, from my very good friend, Flivver, who was the first one here to own and refurbish one, to the best of my knowledge. A huge thanks, and a great big HUZZAH, to Mike, for always being there to answer, "just one more question"!!! Take care, Will, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
welcome from Canada, a great question and Doc did a great job answering it. When I got my early #2 it has the same set up, I nearly pulled out my remaining hair trying how to pressure the tank, thankfully someone like Doc helped me out. These early stoves are great regards Jan
Will; I hope you like yours as I have mine. I have used it for over forty years and never been let down, it is now our regular camp stove. I think it is one of the best Coleman suitcase stoves, it has few moving parts that never need replacing just a cleaning and that only if you use other that Coleman fuel or equivalent, none of which are rubber or plastic and the "hot blast allows it be lighted in all weather from 70 mile an hour winds to driving rain and will cook during same. (for more info and pictures see picture gallery on the #1 and also in the events gallery) Mike.
Thanks to all and Doc for the welcome and answers - cheers. I understand to pump the model #1 tank up you unscrew the Air Screw (NRV). But what I am trying to understand is how a one way valve on the perimeter of the tank accomplishes this? How does it work? What is going on inside the tank? To answer this question with regards to the other style of early tank, you would unscrew the pump handle counterclockwise to unblock the air passage in front of the one way valve (NRV). As air pressure in the pump cylinder increases it pushes the valve to an open position (spring loaded ball bearing, I presume) enabling air to enter the tank. As air pressure in the pump cylinder normalizes, the one way valve closes preventing the air from leaving the tank. Continuous pumping pressurizes the tank to a functional level. To seal the tank you would of course turn the pump handle clockwise to double block the air passage. Can someone explain how the Air Screw tank works? Was Coleman the party that invented the NVR at the bottom of the pump cylinder? How many Model #1 stoves have surfaced? Interesting that posted ICCC records indicate 13,000 Model #1 stoves were produced/shipped. That seems like a ton of stoves to me. Why so many? Lots of campers? Military use? Or maybe these stoves helped many people through bad times? But then, I thought the 1920's were roaring... Amazing Coleman Model #1 Stoves... I dumped out the smelly old gas, refueled and it fired right up. Not bad for a 93 year old! Will
Morning, @Flintstone, and @flivver , Mike, I'm glad you join in on this conversation! Thanks! Will, as far as I know, nobody has yet done a cut-away on the fuel tank of a #1 stove, and for good reason: You might not be able to find another fuel tank!! Suffice it to say, that the air screw, and pump rod, work together, to allow pumping of pressure into the tank. As I wrote above, Coleman soon developed the version that is still in use today, and they did away with the two-piece setup. The NRV IS a captured steel ball, but it is not spring-loaded. It floats freely inside it's hollow, and in smaller stoves, if you shake them and they are empty of fuel, you can hear the ball moving around inside it's hollow. When people use poor gas, unleaded (or leaded) gasoline, and other sorts of fuel, other than Coleman Fuel, shellac builds up on that ball, and will eventually cause it to seize up inside it's hollow. Mike taught me to use Lacquer thinner, to break down and wash away the shellac, and that works perfectly. Now, I do believe that Mike actually removed an end cap from a #1 fuel tank once, to bang out lots of dents in the tank, from the inside. and it worked perfectly. It's possible that he will remember, exactly, how the two-piece setup works together, mechanically, and can relate that here. I have a fuel tank that can stand some repairs, and "may" be tempted to remove an end cap and look, myself. But, that's not something I'm excited to do, without much further consideration on the matter!! I have no idea how old you are, Will, but some of us Old Timer "almost" remember that camping across the US was VERY popular in the 1930-1940 time period, and on into the future years. All that began in the 1920's!! Car camping, or "Caravan Camping" as it was sometimes called, was all the rage. Many stoves were manufactured during that time, by many different companies. The most excellent little book, "Autocamping" written by F.E. Brimmer, sometime in the 1917-1922 time period, and published in 1923, details many of the "why's and wherefore's" of that early car camping craze! It's an excellent read, and a fine compendium of wonderful information. I thank Mike for turning me on to it, and love re-reading my own copy, often. Also, I have a fabulous magazine, which contains lots of photos of the early "Caravan" type vehicles, and the stoves and kitchen setups that were popular in those days. Some of the interesting stoves of that time, were: - the Cree Tent wood stove, - Common-sense Collapsible stove. - The Little Red-E Camp Stove. - The Kamp Kook gasoline stove and Kitchenette. - The Livingood Folding Woodstove. - The Tourist Gasoline camp stove. - The Glenwood Camp Cooker. And, many, many, many more..... Many of the gasoline stoves were gravity-fed implements, which, thought they seem rudimentary, work wonderfully well, and these include the wonderful Glenwood Camp Cooker. I happened to find one of those, complete with it's original Blue Bird Oven, at a local antique store, and bought it, quite a few years ago. It is mentioned, specifically, in the Brimmer book, and though it's taken me a while to finally fettle it back to life, it is now working like brand new, though I still need to decide whether I will repaint the case and tank, or just leave it in it's "as found" patina state. So far, our Glenwood, made in Pasadena, CA, in the early 1920's, or even a tad before that, is the only one that's been found, to date, and we value it, highly, especially since I was able to talk to a son, who's Grandmother, and then Mother, owned and used the Glenwood!!! The Coleman #1 stove was developed, made, and marketed during this same time period, and was competing against Prentiss-Waber, and other gasoline stove makers of that time. I can easily see why 13,000 #1's were produced and shipped, and wonder that this number is not actually higher than it is! As to why they have seemed rather scarce, today, look at what happened not too long after they made and used: WWII would be upon the World, and here in the US, scrap drives, for steel, and other metals, were in full swing. I'm betting that many Coleman #1 stoves, as well as many other brands of stoves, including Mike's old Clayton and Lambert #3 (which now lives with SB and me!!), were given up for the war effort in such scrap drives!! Makes perfect sense to me. Having said all that, plenty of #1's have surfaced in the last 5-6 years, and they keep popping up with some regularity, now. I have two, Mike has had several, if memory serves, and I've seen quite a few old #1's offered on the bay of evil. They don't seem to commend the exorbitant prices that they once did, which is natural, as the supply seems to be increasing, and the demand falling off, a bit. Mike's comments on the stability and power of the #1, are spot on the money. Once I fettled mine back to life, I was really happy to see just how good this stove actually is! From screaming power, to a very good simmer, the #1 can do it all. Be very, very careful, however, if you fettle your stove when Flivver is there, as you "may" find yourself a part, or two short, whilst reassembling your stove!! Ever the innocent, Mike will disavow any knowledge of said missing parts....... for a good, long while!! Then, they just seem to "magically" appear on your fettling tray, as if they had never been missing....! He's a scamp, that Mike!!! (and, truthfully, I wouldn't have it any other way!!) I hope this rambling has offered a bit of the info you are seeking. I "may" be tempted to remove an end cap from my spare #1 fuel tank, which leaks. But, I'll have to give long and serious consideration doing that, before deciding. IF I do remove it, I will take close-up digital photos of how the innards are setup inside the tank, and will post them here. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Will: There is a interconnecting tube between the air valve and the pump, one affects the other. The NRV is simply a check ball, it never as all Coleman check ball NRVs needs fetteling. If it gets clogged due to improper fuel, simply soak with lacquer thinner then blow out with high air pressure. Trying to remove them is a waste of time and often destroys the NRV in the process. Mike.. (Doc, if you decide to remove an end cap call me)
Doc, just love reading your ramblings, did I mention I also have a newly acquired #1, an early US #2,Can #2A, 2C, and I am sure a few more. Its interesting that Coleman went to the modern pump system quite early in their production, with the exception of the #10 Gypsy that used the fuel cap that required a seperate hand pump, where as AGM and PW used the fuel cap that required a hand pump, which IMHO is superior as there are way less parts to replace or wear out, as for being an Old Timer, I am getting there Jan
Here is a discussion on the pump and fuel tank internals: Coleman No. 2 - Pump Assembly and Check Valve It's a Coleman No. 2 but it should be close enough as a reference to the discussion above about the check valve. Modern stoves put that valve down inside the pump tube and is turned by the pump handle. sam
Hi Sam, Awesome essay. You have a rare #2 as the very early version of them used a left over #1 tank which is what you have. As Doc mentioned I have had these tanks apart several times over the years but only to fix dents or patch large rust holes, never to work on check valve or pump as almost any problem with them can be remedied easily without taking the tank apart. Cleaning and tinning both cap and tank properly during reassembly is the secret to a leak proof and tidy job that looks as though it has never been touched. See the #1 in the reference gallery I fixed up for resale. Titled "Earliest version of Coleman #1", The tank was opened and sealed from the pump end to fix caved in tank. Mike...
I've learned something from contributors to this thread, thanks all. Not Coleman models I'm likely to find an example of in the UK, but interesting to get those insights nevertheless. John
Hi All; To comment on an earlier post about these stoves and camping. Camping by wagon or horse and buggy became very popular in the US among the more affluent in the 1880s. The early 1900s brought the automobile a and a huge surge in camping as one could take the whole family and supplies a good distance to see the sights. The pressurized gasoline suitcase stove appeared in the early teens making it easy to cook for a carload, then the cheap car (cheaper than a good horse) arrived the: model "T" Ford, allowing the relatively poor to car camp. By the late teens and early 1920s car camping was insanely popular, hence Coleman jumping on the suitcase stove bandwagon in 1923. Camping declined shortly after the stock-market crashed in the late 1920s but but exploded again in the 1930s as many folks became homeless due to the dust bowl as well as the depression. It exploded again after the war when folks were able to go back to work. Mike
Good Morning, Mike, Sam, Scouterjan, and All, When Will first contacted me, via PT, about these things, I asked him to please post his questions here, so that we all could learn, and share, from the excellent membership of CCS. I'm SO glad that he did post here, and as you can see, this thread is already one that offers tons of excellent information, and clears up much of the confusion on exactly how that early pump/NRV setup worked! Sam, due to your comments, and those of Mike, this thread has vaulted into a most favorite position, for me, and I will definitely file this for future use and enjoyment!! WELL DONE!! Mike, huge thanks for you jumping in on this thread. You are the one who taught me everything I know about the early Coleman stoves, the #1 included, and I'm grateful for that!! Thanks for once again sharing your experience and knowledge here! Scouterjan, your comments are much appreciated, and I thank you for them. As it is with you, and so many others here at CCS, I LOVE our stove hobby, very, very much, and am happy to share what I know, and then learn from those who can teach me!! In any case, thanks again, for your kind words, and your collection of the early Coleman stoves sounds wonderful!! Congratulations to you for having acquired the stable of early Coleman stoves you currently own, and keep up the good work! Thanks, again, to all who have contributed here, as this thread already exhibits what makes CCS such a special place!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
just showing off a bit, my restored early #2, it uses the #1 tank with that built in C/V, Its on the left with the Canadian 2A on the right
Scouterjan, Ditto to what Ken said, and WELL DONE!! Lovely work, on two very interesting, and well deserving Old Coleman stoves!!! EXCELLENT!! Is your oven rack original, or did you cobble one together? Flivver did one, that works pretty well, but I'm still on the hunt. Thanks for sharing, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
