Just got back from Yosemite and on the way back stopped at a flea market type thing in Coursegold.... Bought this for $5 bucks.... Needed gaskets... Pump leather and some straightening as I think it was dropped. Ordered a cap leash.... But it runs SUPER GREAT. It does have an odd ring on the bottom I'm not familiar with...is this to balance the stove or something? I've turned those stoves down before... But now I kind of feel like I shouldn't have. Runs exceptional actually....
Morning, @Remus1956 , Congrats on scoring that great stove, and for such a low price! You figured out the ring on the bottom: It's to keep the stove as level as possible, on uneven ground. It works, after a fashion, and is nice to have. My first 550, was the A version, and I did not care for it that much. In fact, whilst trying to fire it up, on a camping trip in a desert canyon, the entire stove flared up, and was engulfed in flames! In a fit of anger, I kicked the stove into the nearby creek, to put out the flames! The second version was the B version, and it worked much better. In fact, back when we did the first 850 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, That is the stove that we ended up using for most of the trip. Started with an Optimus 00, but gave up on it, as I had not practiced using it enough to make it work for us; then, went to the MSR X-GK, but it was far more powerful than we needed, and I was not hip to using a simmering plate at that time; and then, came the MSR Whisperlite Internationale V1. Which turned out to choke and die when using kerosene, no matter how much I cleaned it! As we had bought around 40 gallons of water white, K1 kerosene for our PCT adventure, we wanted to stick with a stove that would burn kerosene. VOILA, the Coleman 550B came into our lives! Using the kerosene generator, and sometimes fire paste under it, to help get it going, that stove worked a treat for the bulk of our trip! I ended up filing some notches in our Sigg Coleman windscreen, and we still use that setup today! Ya' done good, my Friend! Thanks for sharing your great find, and for the excellent photos. If we do another CASG, you need to try to join us! I think you would enjoy the gang that usually turns up for those events! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc PS - Interesting that we went through three different stoves in less then 150 miles, before we got the Coleman 550B! We used that same stove on our second PCT trip, where we did most of the Sierra. Worked perfectly on that trip, too!
@Doc Mark ok perfect! Glad someone else knew what it was. Yeah i was pretty surprised on how it acts...makes a chattering noise when running but flame is stabile. I assumed white gas as the gen doesnt have the cuts in it, and it smelled like gasoline. it was hella bent up though...took a while to straighten it out. I have a ton of stoves but this one is one I think I will put in the trunk for a user stove or a good backup. It seems to handle a breeze really well too. Im in if there is another CASG....I have only met @Daryl with my wife before haha....dont know anyone else here.
Nice find at a good price indeed. As Doc said these are good kerosene stoves with the right generator. Also, with the kerosene generator installed, the stove runs OK with white gas, just a little less heat. With regards to the cap leash, it seems like a good idea but I found it just gets in the way of my banged-up fingers, so I got rid of it.
@Remus1956 , Glad to hear that you might join us at another CASG event! You will meet a few of the regulars here at CCS, and it's a good, sharing bunch! I'll see about planning another event, when work demands allow it. We have had those events, mostly, at Mid Hills Campground, in the Mojave Preserve. There are pit toilets there, and there used to be water available, too. But, I think it's now "bring your own" when it comes to water. I'll keep in touch, and we'll see if we can get something together. Take care, and God Bless! -Doc
By the way, I agree with @itchy , when it comes to the cap leash. Not a bit fan of it, as it's a bit fiddly. Try it, and see if it works for you. - Doc
@Doc Mark man...that seems familiar...isnt there something there called "slot in the wall" or something like that?
Congratulations on your score @Remus1956 I have a few of these and was able to buy some generators for €1 each almost 20 years ago when an outdoor shop owner quit his business. They never failed me ever since. And I agree with @Doc Mark and @itchy don't use the 'leash' if you value your fingers Although, I don't want to steal your thread, but what is the difference between the 550, 550A and 550B? I was never able to figure that out.
@itchy thats interesting...a lot of people talk about the kero gen. Might have to get one to try it on it. I am going to try the leash but I see what you mean. might be better with a chain or nothing at all. Interesting the cap is aluminum
@ajvuik hey man! Long time since we talked haha...yeah I am thinking to skip it as this gets pretty hot. Not sure about the versions...this is the first one I have had I didnt walk away from.
Howdy, @ajvuik , You asked, "what is the difference between the 550, 550A and 550B?". I just grabbed a few of the 550 stoves I have, and am looking for one more. When I get them all out, I'll photograph them, and post those here. You will see the differences, one of which was that the earlier 550's were made in Canada, and the later ones were made in the USA. The photos will support that, I believe. Back when I find that last stove, and if I can't find it, right now. I'll just photograph what I have in hand, and post that here! Talk soon, and God Bless! - Doc
@Remus1956 You wrote: "man...that seems familiar...isnt there something there called "slot in the wall" or something like that?" I'm posting three photos from our May, 2014 CASG, held at Cottonwood Campground, in Joshua Tree National Park. In them, you will see a few of our Ne're do well, CASG Gang, and also two CCS visitors from the UK! This may be the "hole in the Rock", that you mentioned, but I don't know the official name of it. @ArchMc , I'm betting you know the answer to that question! Here's @flivver, long time member of CCS, at that hole in the rock. And, here's @ArchMc doing his World Famous Balancing Act, in the same area. And, here's a group photo of most of those that attended that CASG #8. Left to right: Hikin' Jim, Mrs, and Mr. Arch, Big Jim Henderson, Linn Morton from the UK, Sweet Bride, Flivver, and husband of Linn, Terry Morton, aka @Trojandog, here at CCS. Arch, if you know the actual name of that hole in the rock, please share that, here. Much appreciated. Sorry to Hijack three thread, Remus. I'll get back on track and share some 550 photos soon. - Doc PS - Mid Hills Campground is not in the National Park, but rather, I believe, in the Mojave Preserve. Not the same place as the CASG pictured above.
Good Evening, @La Suegra , This campground is huge, with lots of spaces to camp. Our site, came with a large sheltered cooking and meeting space, under which we setup our stove displays, and cooked and ate our communal dinners. Our trip to the hole in the rock was a day adventure, for those of us who wished to see it. Thanks, for asking, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc PS - I don't know where Wyandotte is, but if you want to join us for a future CASG, I'll make sure to send you an invitation, and information abou the dates and location of our gathering.
Doc's photos are of Arch Rock (no relation), near White Tank Campground in Joshua Tree National Park. @Remus1956 is thinking of "Hole in the Wall", which is a feature and (small) campground, several miles south of Mid Hills (in the Providence Mountains in Mojave Preserve). I have some photos of it somewhere (but not on this computer). If you search for it online, you will get lots of photos of rocks with holes in them, but no good ones of "the Hole". Its scale and the accessible vantage point make it hard to get a good photo. So it must remain (for now) one of life's mysteries on this forum. @La Suegra There's usually no dispersed camping allowed at Joshua Tree National Park, though there are "backcountry boards" where you can park your car while you backpack into remote areas of the park. (Some backcountry areas are off-limits to protect desert bighorn sheep.) There are several campgrounds with assigned sites, as well as a couple of group camping sites. These all require reservations, as the park has become one of the most popular destinations in the USA. Mojave National Preserve has both set campsites and dispersed camping along many of the preserve's roads. It's always best to contact the managing agency (National Park Service in both of these cases) for details of which areas are open to dispersed camping. Of course, that's not possible at the moment with the government shut down. ....Arch
I would be very grateful for CASG info if only for an excuse to get out and do something. I have a very mild interest in stoves as I’ve a barn with a variety of crusty things left over from the previous generations. I do have a somewhat growing desire to see old things appreciated and put back into use if possible, very likely an effect of my own aging. I’ve also some vivid memories of my mom standing so calmly at the ancient Coleman stove as it was spewing flames and getting the dragon under control. And I dearly love to camp, we go about a month a year. Wyandotte is on the outskirts of Oroville, where our dam tried to collapse in 2017 and right next door to Paradise (The Camp Fire, 2018) and host to the Bear Fire 2020, Dixie Fire 2021, & Thompson Fires 2024. We are a resigned, hearty people.
@Doc Mark thanks for taking the time and effort to answer a silly question @Remus1956 I hope you dont mind me derailing your thread with my 'stupid question'
