Coleman 502 tank cap gasket

I bought a 1969 502 form a fella that had it for a long time and I assume it came with/had the original cap on it with a gasket that was rock hard and not holding pressure very well.

After looking through the gaskets offered on his site I ordered a 2 gasket set from Fettlebox UK thinking that there were only 2 sizes of gaskets for the 3 piece caps, either the common size bigger one and also the smaller 500 stove/242 247 small cap so I ordered the gaskets for the bigger 3 piece caps.

I waited for the gaskets to arrive and upon arrival I proceeded with R+R of gasket only to find this when trying to fit new gasket in cap insert.
First pic is trying to fit gasket into insert. (quite a bit too big)
Second is with the 2 new gaskets sitting on top of green 502 cap (not gonna work) and my 413e stove copper colored tank cap inserts (probably might work).

Any idea what's up??

 

I use a bit of some brand of penetrating oil, but gasket has to be correct size. The stove cap gasket might work, I find they all need to be pushed in, taking time with a small flat blade screwdriver, going round and round. Not a easy task.
Duane

 

Hi Duane, the pics tell the tale, first is what is extra length that will not go in, second is where the problem is shown as the same size gasket (from Fettlebox) is loosely placed on both cap inserts and there is a pretty big difference in the diameters of the cap inserts but both caps will fit either/both stove filler necks.
As you mentioned it could be done with the right insert(copper cap) but no way with the left (green cap).
So I was wondering if anyone has seen this before, meaning a slightly smaller cap insert.

 

The gasket for the 413 stoves will be the same as for the 502 stove.

The caps and gaskets for all 200-202 lanterns as well as all 220-228 series lanterns are the same as for the 413 and 502 stoves as well.

Common buna (nitrile) o rings available at any hardware store will serve, although viton is better.

The old gaskets are easily removed by taking the insert out of the main cap and burning the gasket out with a propane torch.

 

Hi John, thanks for the input.

I'm not being an A-hole but if the above were true I wouldn't have started this thread, there is about 1mm difference in the diameter of the inner raised part of the insert.
I've changed probably 4 or 5 of these gaskets so I'm not an expert but I can say that the gaskets from Ross would work fine in the copper cap but not in the green cap as evidenced bu my attempt showing all the extra gasket that would not go in to the groove and you can see the diameter difference in the pics.

 

The above is indeed true. Perhaps you got a cap that left the factory out of spec.

I have more than a hundred Coleman lamps and stoves that all use this same gasket.

Both U.S. and Canadian made.

I bought several dozen Coleman 200 gaskets Made by Fred Kuntz several years ago and they fit all of the above lamps and stoves as well as other models unmentioned.

 

Coleman did not make a special size filler for the 502 stove.

 

Well you got more Coleman stuff than me but I have around 8 lanterns and stoves altogether so I'll have to round up all the caps and break out the calipers and measure 'em.
I doubt the cap came from Coleman but as I mentioned perhaps some aftermarket cap was bought at some point in the stoves life cycle, but seems the paint color is exact match to font and seems like some aftermarket manufacturer wouldn't get color that close.

 

I think I have three sizes of washers just for Coleman stuff.
Duane

 

Duane,
do tell,
comparatively is there one that looks just a bit smaller than the the most common one (like that would fit the smaller insert in my pics I posted??) and if so where did you get it?
Thx

 

Real skinny one. All from Oldcolemanparts.
Duane

 

Duane I typed in "real skinny one" into oldcolemanparts search bar and got nothin????
Just kidding.....

OCP only offers 1 gasket for the 3 piece cap so based on that I seem to be back where I started at the beginning of this thread.
Unless you can see a difference in the 2 sizes you have that would line up with the pics I took at top it seems there's only 1 choice at OCP.

 

Per Coleman parts diagram, part# 118B1361. OCP part 220-1.
Duane

 

Thanks Duane,
I think I'll dig out my lil red 200 and grab the cap and do a compare and contrast to see what's up.

 

I'm already in discussion with Darren regarding this so hopefully will get it resolved soon but welcome any input!

From Old Town Coleman's Frank Bebb

The Old Town Coleman Center

 

I guess safety is paramount, and a poorly sized o ring might certainly cause problems, but the two piece cap insert does not turn when compressed, and an o ring of snug fit has served me on many occasions.

 

Come to think of it, I can't remember seeing an o ring groove in any machinery, that is radiused to take the o ring perfectly.

All have been square cut, many designed to resist thousands of PSI, as in hydraulic cylinders.

Correct sizing is everything.

 

I get mine here. E.J. Basnett Company – E.J. Basnett Co. (ejbasnett.com)

 

Here's what I've found with the cap insert differences.
Measurements are done with Vernier caliper and in thousandths of inch.

502 stove insert ID .508 OD .675 insert overall dia .750
200 nickel insert ID .525 OD .735 insert overall dia .750
200 red insert ID .515 OD .675 insert overall dia .750
413E tank insert ID .525 OD .720 insert overall dia .750

Pic 1 shows where the cap inserts are from
Pics 2-5 shows from left to right the fettle seals sitting on inserts.
Pics 6-7 show where the difference occur in the inserts and why the fettlebox seal won't go in the 502 insert.

 

Darren, this isn't a directly useful thing for me- my small Coleman 'collection' (ha) has smaller or newer caps- but I wonder if measurements on the stove and lamp side would help.

My guess is that the seal point is measurably larger ID than the largest cap ID, and OD slightly less than the bevelled edge examples.

If so, a common seal size that fitted the largest ID but smallest OD would fit everything.

Similarly, you could shave apx 0.3 of an inch off the outside of the seal you have. It will be the tank side that will determine the seal both for the inlet and on the cap insert. The fitting internally and externally is not required to seal.