I spotted a cheap one of these in need of a lot of TLC. The collar had the tabs all squashed from a heavy load and straightening them was Okay but I felt they would be now weakened even further. The unit was very dirty with rust and gunk. 1. Made a new copper collar from some larger copper pipe offcuts. Fitted almost perfectly diameter wise. 2. Stove ran far too yellow on Shellite (Petrol) and having read about the markings I decided the plain generator without the nicks was for kero. Anyway worked better but still not right. Changed to methylated spirits (95% ethyl alcohol) and stove runs like a bird. So haven't had to worry about generator jet size. On kerosene. On methylated spirits (Metho). 3. Oh and I replaced one O-ring as it was too far gone. 4. The valve was loose too so I removed it and used Locktite and it went an extra 1/4 turn and the black knob would rub so I backed it off to correct setting before the Locktite set. All well in that regard. Yours in stoves
Hello @Sedgman Cool copper collar! One curious, Air intake holes are still enough to be workable? Anyway looks very nice. I've a same one 550B and it was made y95 same. Great job, nice photos!!
Hello @Yun124 thank-you I also wondered about how many air holes as obviously the original collar had more air. Seems to work fine but maybe because I am running alcohol fuel and have it just right. I did think I could always add more holes if needed. Iain
Hello again, and another curious thing, because I don't know exactly about the chemical, -so 5% else might be Water, if yes, no need to consider about the ruined tank-fount in further? IMHO the original collar part is really not a fancy one, it was designed only for its feature... but Yours nice!
Hi @Yun124 Methylated spirits is 95% ethyl alcohol and 5% methyl alcohol in some places but in the Diggers Brand in Australia there is a water content in that last 5% and some other rubbish to stop people drinking it as they sell it at supermarkets and hardware stores. Thanks @Tony Press for the Diggers info. Regards Thanks for the tip, interesting thought. I'll test it out but I'm hopeful it won't do much.
Ahh now understood. In my country, ethanol and methanol both are not sold as blended, that was why I thought Water. 60-75% Ethanol (and Water for balances)0 is usual product from market, but the addictive must be put, Bittrex, in order to prohibit drinking alternatively as Liquior, due to the civil codes, otherwise it would be my favorite yes!! 99% Ethanol is not easy to find, because nobody needs, but still it is legal product yay... On the contrary, any of Methanol is not easy to find from consumer market due to so much harmful for health.
Interesting burning alcohol in the 550B, I have not seen that before. BTW, the valve on a 550B is not designed to be tight. The o ring seals it and it usually feels loose. Mine are set at 5 full turns. Six would likely strip the threads.
Thanks @BradB, Good info. As I only got the stove 'as is' and whilst I realised the generator could be swapped for different fuel I was unaware the valve block also changed since I only got what was on the stove. I can see why only tightened down onto a O-ring makes sense but I don't recollect seeing an O-ring on mine and it was leaking through the threads considerably. I did take note of the turns when undoing it and agree with your 5 which is why I turned it back because the 5 aligned with the recess. The breakdown chart in the reference library is for a 550 and shows two O-rings on the valve. It does not show the O-Rings on the valve spindle which is the one I replaced. Are there many differences between the 550 and 550B? As I have no alternate valve assembly for a different fuel; I'll stick with it locked in place at 5 turns though and keep it on metho for the time being. Do you know if the generator cleaning rod can be removed as It seemed stuck and I have not worked on a bent generator before? Thanks
The fine wire in the generator is very thin and the openings through which it goes are tiny. I have removed the wire but have never had any luck cleaning a generator. The original 550 was a bit different. It had a different fuel pickup, I think, for kerosene, so it had to be changed along with the generator to burn kero. Also, the nicked generator was for gas. With the 550B Coleman realized they didn’t need a different fuel pickup. Then, the nicked generator nut was kerosene. I am not sure about the 550A. The wire in the generator regulates the flame, so I am not sure how you are using the stove if it is stuck. You have me intrigued to try alcohol in mine.
I tried a 2005 Coleman 550B with gas generator. Filled it with denatured alcohol, likely a 50-50 mix of ethanol and methanol. It will not stay lit for more than one second. Brad
Mine really did not like the alcohol. After shaking as much out as I could, which is not an easy task with Colemans’ safety designs, it sputtered and stopped for 5 minutes. It finally pushed most of the alcohol through and then ran steady on gas, again. Brad
