On Christmas Holiday this week, and decided to work on resurrecting my Coleman 413H that I received new as a christmas gift December 1992. The first thing I wanted to do is see if it would fire up, which it did. However, there was something odd about the burner; it wouldn't quite burn properly. So, I shut it down and while it was burning, it smelled a bit off, like something singed. I disassembled the burners this morning and found the source of my frustration: a gecko had built a nest in the burner and air intake tube! The mama was singed, and a much younger one was flat-out cooked! Needless to say, time to restore my old stove.
Welp, I'm here to tell you - as of 1201 AM 30 Dec, Your Insurance Policies are hereby cancelled buddy!
I'm underway restoring this "old friend." I brushed and sanded the rust off of the old box and now I am in the process of re-painting it, inside and out. The color is a bit off; went with farm implement (John Deere) green, which matches my other two 513s (F and G, respectively). Also repainted the tank after brushing and sanding; again a lighter shade of gloss red than the original. I'll show pics once done in a day or two. The lizards were unceremoniously tossed in the yard. I think the cat finished them off (circle of life and all that). Kinda sad how Coleman went with a thinner grade of steel than my two earlier models. Just to show that newer is not necessarily better. My G model is built like a battleship in comparison.
Got it all cleaned up. A little wire brushing, sanding and a new layer of paint, she's ready to cook. Some lessons learned; I should have sanded down the whole tank instead of just the rust spots. Had a bit of trouble with the paint peeling off after it dried, due to the original gloss paint remaining smooth.
That's not the only place they went on the cheap! The end cap on the pump went to cheap-arse plastic, and no more leather pump cup, either! Murph
Forum; I recently acquired a Coleman of a similar model...it was actually a trash pick in decent shape (YIPEEE!) ...it had fuel in the tank which did not smell particularly bad (like from a car which has been long-term parked...I don't even know if Coleman fuel deteriorates in the same way...someone could please advise on this.) ...so I poured a bit out on the ground and it had enough octane to quickly ignite and burn fine...next, I tried to pump some pressure into the tank and testfire the burners...no joy...so my plan is to go through and clean the valve and gasifier assembly, as I don't thing I was getting any fuel being vaporized. Could someone please direct me to info on this family of stoves (I am only an occasional visitor to this site, so don't immediately know my way around)...I'm thinking I'd like to at least see an exploded assembly diagram of the tank and valve assy. Of course service and overhaul instructions would be even better. Cheers and TIA, Ron
Great find! These stoves are easy to resurrect once you learn a bit about them, and I have found the easiest way to learn about them is YouTube. Dozens of videos regarding rebuilding these stoves. I'll see what I can find regarding a diagram.
https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/diagrams/413H.jpg Here is a link to a diagram for the 413h. If yours is a different model (practically the same, with minor variations), www.oldcolemanparts.com is a treasure trove of ALL things Coleman.
ml; Thanks for suggestions...I actually did go to YT after posting and I watched two videos on this style stove...restoring these does seem rather straightforward with leaks or corrosion being the most commonly occurring issues...so as a vintage Volvo specialist who is pretty well experienced in SU carbs, and one who is not afraid of micro-mechanics, I don't expect to run into anything I can't figger out! [Are there any pro/con thoughts about sealing the fitting threads with finger nail polish "seals, but is easy to defeat and loosen", that I saw in one of the vids?] Cheers from a wintery Connecticut! (Insulated pad under SVEA time!)
I don't have any additional thought toward sealing the threads. The fit is quite tight once I got the valve placed back in the tank. Not a bad idea, I suppose.
I just got an amazing deal on one of these 413H's. This stove is hands down better than my other (smaller) Coleman stoves in every way. The build quality is much more better.. robust, the output is remarkable! I like the fact that I can use two larger pots, and I don't struggle with space for a second pot when I'm using my Coleman folding oven at the camp site. This has become my go to family camp stove, picked it up for $20CAD because the NRV metal ball was stuck. the owner was happy to get something for it after all these years) Sprayed some carb cleaner in there and it works like new. Powerhouse is an appropriate name for this beast.
